That Vagabond Booze

Beer is America’s historical beverage of choice for picnics.

To me, however, wine can offer more. Even jug wine.

The only drawback is the logistical problem of getting it--and all its accouterments--to the location in good order. After all, good wine isn’t usually found in cans. And often it’s not until you’re at some remote spot ready to dole out the smoked salmon that anyone realizes there’s a problem.

To begin with, there’s Murphy’s wine law: No matter how good the planning, there’s never a corkscrew around.

Glassware is another potential problem. Baccarat’s out, and even your everyday stemware may be too fragile for a picnic. That’s why attractive long-stemmed plastic tulip-shaped glasses have been marketed in department and specialty stores for about a decade--they’re almost as good as glass.

An even bigger problem is keeping the wine chilled. (We’re assuming here that it’s warm outside and that you’re drinking white, pink or a light red wine that still should be served cooler than the air temperature.)

The obvious solution is to buy a large Styrofoam cooler, load it with ice, toss in the wine bottles and motor off. But this requires lots of ice, which to me, means carrying a lot of unnecessary extra weight.

I have what I think is a better morning-of-the-picnic solution that doesn’t require a great deal of preparation. First, find an empty wine bottle that is the same shape as the sealed bottle you’re planning to take to the picnic.

Then moisten pages of yesterday’s newspaper and mold it to the empty bottle, keeping the bottom of the bottle free of paper. When the empty bottle is completely covered with wet newsprint (except the bottom), put it in the freezer.

After an hour, slide the empty bottle out of the frozen paper, which now acts like a cover, and slide in the well-chilled bottle of the wine you want to take along. Put the whole thing into a plastic bag, and then into a brown paper bag.

The frozen sleeve of newspaper will keep the bottle cold enough to serve at optimum temperature an hour or two later. And when you’re finished with the picnic, simply toss out the soggy newspaper.

Now, as for which wine to slide into that newspaper . . . A decade ago, jug wine was often swill--sweet and flabby and lacking any character. Today, a lot of inexpensive wine is fragrant and balanced. Perhaps it’s not stuff you’d serve at a fancy party, but it’s perfect for a picnic. A wine such as Parducci Chablis in a 1.5-liter bottle is fresh and relatively dry. The same is true of the white or red wines of Fetzer or Pedroncelli.

Still, better wine offers a more interesting experience. I love to have dry-styled Gewurztraminer at picnics. It’s often sweet enough for non-wine drinkers and dry enough for wine lovers. One good value in a Gewurztraminer-type wine is Pat Paulsen Refrigerator White, available in 1.5-liter bottles at less than $8.

The new 1988 Chateau St. Jean Gewurztraminer ($8) is the best new dry-styled wine I have tasted--extremely spicy aroma reminiscent of carnations and gardenias with just a trace of residual sugar to soften the taste.

A sweeter wine with charm is 1988 Parducci Gewurztraminer ($6.50). Others I like are from Davis Bynum, Navarro (hard to locate), and the fairly sweet Fetzer (lovely with fruit salad).

Another winner at the picnic table is dry-styled Johannisberg Riesling; two of the best from the 1988 harvest are from Trefethen and Freemark Abbey. Both retail for less than $8 and are exceptionally made wines that match with food. Both are fairly dry.

Even more exciting is the 1988 Hogue Cellars Riesling from Washington State, a wine that is redolent of spiced apples. It’s one of the best American Rieslings I have ever tasted, and sells for but $6.75. (It may be hard to find, so try wine speciality shops.)

White Zinfandel, which is usually sold for $6 or less per bottle, is really an all-purpose picnic wine, and among those I love are the 1988s from De Loach, William Wheeler, Santa Barbara Winery, Grand Cru, Bel Arbres and Santino.

In Chenin Blanc, best bets are 1988s from Dry Creek, Preston, Stevenot, R.H. Phillips, Grand Cru, and Kenwood.

Red-wine lovers mustn’t be ignored at picnics, but the wines should be fragrant and chillable. For that crowd I would choose a Beaujolais from France or such wonderful U.S. Gamay Beaujolais as those from Charles Shaw or J. Lohr (all about $6 a bottle).

A number of elegant, lighter-styled Pinot Noirs also are available these days, and those that have a place at the picnic table include 1987s from The Monterey Vineyard, Santa Barbara Winery, Domaine Laurier and Parducci. The latter may be found at about $6.

Lighter-styled Zinfandel likewise is a good choice for a picnic (especially where beef or pasta will be served). Two I like are 1987 Fetzer-Lake County and 1986 Louis Martini. They sell for only $5 a bottle.

A wine I have a personal affection for is the Heitz Grignolino ($7), a light red wine that offers a slight orange-peel aroma. Older vintages or younger, the wine can be slightly chilled and will match with a wide variety of foods including those with fresh herbs.

Champagne may be the best wine for a festive picnic. The 1986 Pedroncelli Brut Rose, made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Napa Gamay, is an impressive new release ($9.50)--that would perk up any picnic.