Singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney says it nicely: “It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine, it’s summertime!”
Memorial Day is a memory, school is out, days are long and warm - it’s time for the unserious but tasty wines of picnics. You could go until Labor Day without spending more than $20 on a bottle of wine. With all the nice diversions, from dipping toes in water to swatting mosquitoes, you’re not going to pay as much attention to the wine as you might in the short, cold days of winter.
For now, you want wines made for outdoor dining. Wines that are light and bright, maybe low in alcohol for the warm weather. Wines thrust into the ice chest alongside the beer and thus drunk cooler than they would be in winter.
Needless to say, we’re not talking about top-vintage Chateau Lafite Rothschild wines that deserve concentrated attention, swishing and sniffing and such.
Let me just reminisce about some of the memorable wine/food combinations I’ve had in the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summers past.
- Cold, crisp fried chicken and even colder, inexpensive bubbly, straight from the ice-packed cooler, served on a red-and-white-checkered table cloth on the grass. This might be the finest food/wine combination of all time.
- Cool, dill-scented potato salad on paper plates with a nice, herbal sauvignon blanc, also served extra cool. With plastic forks.
- Fresh fruit served cold, eaten out of hand, with a lightly sweet white wine blend. Or even cut up and served in plastic cups with the wine poured over it.
- A cold watermelon, cut in half, seeds scooped out, filled with fizzy prosecco and eaten with big spoons family style.
- Cold macaroni salad with creamy, cool chardonnay.
- Cold seven-layer bean dip with chips and a cool, light-bodied red like pinot noir.
- Mason jar foods such as chicken salad, mac ‘n’ cheese, icy gazpacho or vichyssoise with cool, crisp pinot gris. All the rage today.
- A complete French pique-nique of a crusty baguette, sliced saucisson, chicken liver pate, fromage and that quintessential (if counterintuitive) Gallic treat of radishes slathered with unsalted butter, with a fruity pinot noir.
- Sandwiches of all kinds - ham and cheese, tuna salad, cold roast beef, even that ultimate fistful of goodness, cold, day-old meatloaf on a thick slab of rye bread slathered with green-peppercorn mustard. All with a crisp, cool, dry rosé wine.
- Shooters, simple, made by dropping raw oysters into plastic glasses of pinot grigio.
- Picnic desserts: a handful of red raspberries dropped into a glass of bubbly rosé. A cup of Italian gelato in a cup of sweet, fizzy, red lambrusco.
Highly recommended
- 2012 Las Rocas Garnacha, Calatayud DO, Spain (97.5 percent garnacha, 2.5 percent syrah) deep dark hue, aromas and flavors of black cherries and milk chocolate, soft tannins; $14.
- 2014 Mouton “Le Rosé de Mouton Cadet Festival de Cannes Limited Edition (74 percent merlot, 15 percent cabernet franc, 11 percent cabernet sauvignon): floral aromas, flavors of ripe strawberries and raspberries, fruity and crisp; $11.
- 2013 Steelhead Vineyards Pinot Noir, Sonoma County (100 percent pinot noir): hint of oak, aromas and flavors of black cherries and cloves, soft tannins; $15.
Recommended
- Nonvintage “Centenario” Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, Emilia Romagna (100 percent lambrusco): lightly frothy, slightly sweet, aromas and flavors of strawberries and red raspberries; $11.
- 2014 Raptor Ridge Winery Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, Wash. (100 percent pinot gris): light-bodied and crisp, with aromas and flavors of peaches and citrus, mineral-tinged finish; $20
- Nonvintage Deccolio Prosecco, Veneto, Italy (100 percent glera): lightly fizzy, lightly sweet, with aromas and flavors of ripe apples and honey; $13.
- 2014 Matchbook “Chasing Venus” Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand (100 percent sauvignon blanc): crisp and full-bodied, with aromas and flavors of white grapefruit and lemons; $16.
- 2013 Kennedy Shah “Picnic Blend” White Wine, Columbia Valley, Wash. (59.8 percent riesling, 35.2 percent muscat, 5 percent gewürztraminer): light-bodied, fruity and dry, with aromas and flavors of ripe apples and pears; $14.
- Nonvintage Sutter Home “Red Blend,” Calif. (50 percent zinfandel, 40 percent merlot, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon): dark hue, soft and lightly sweet, with aromas and flavors of vanilla and red plums and milk chocolate, ripe tannins; $7.
- 2013 Austerity Wines Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco (100 percent chardonnay): rich and ripe, with flavors of mangos and pineapples, smooth finish; $17.
- Nonvintage Segura Viudas Cava Reserva Brut sparkling wine, Spain (macabeo, parellada and xarel-lo): light, crisp and clean, with lively bubbles and flavors of green apples, smooth finish; $10.
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