Scroll down to see our picnic wines for summer
So, the sun is shining and your thoughts are turning to sitting outside in a park or on the beach with a picnic – at a suitable social distance from your companions.
As well as packing some lovely food (recipe ideas below), it makes sense to pack a bottle or two of wine.
But the question is, which wines should you take? We’ve rounded up some ideal picnic wines, rated by our experts
Picnic wine essentials:
- A corkscrew. It sounds obvious, but without one you’ll be left resorting to that Youtube video you once saw about someone opening wine with a shoe. Alternatively, take screwcap wines.
- Ice or ice packs. If you’re going for white, rosé, sparkling or even a light red wine, then you’re probably going to need a way of keeping the wine cool. If you’re already out and about, head to the nearest shop and buy ice and salt.
- Glasses. Chances are that you won’t have the latest grape-specific wine glass to hand. Instead, plastic cups can do the job, at a stretch – if not too big or flimsy and the wine is kept cool and fresh. But real glass – even a simple tumbler – provides a better experience and the environment will thank you. Or, try out the growing trend for canned wines, such as the Mirabeau ‘Rosé to go’ recommended below.
- Consider ordering a picnic wine glass holder: Because life is too short to spend time balancing a wine glass on blades of grass.
Picnic recipes with wine matches:
Bucatini and watercress pesto | Plum tomato tart | White chocolate and mascarpone mousse
More summer wine ideas
Top picnic wine recommendations:
First published in 2016. Updated June 2020.
