Memorial Day seems especially sweet this year because of Chicago’s long dreary winter and chilly spring. So mark the unofficial start of summer with a picnic in your back yard, local park (if allowed) or apartment balcony.
Cold beer always works, true, but a couple of bottles of wine will really make your al fresco meal a celebration. Nothing too fancy or expensive is necessary; pick a wine with a refreshing crisp flavor that pairs well with summer foods.
That means steering clear of oaky or complex wines, said Jan Henrichsen, wine buyer for Pastoral, which will host a free “Al fresco Vino: Perfect Picnic Wines” tasting at its Loop location, 53 E. Lake St., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 31. Too late for Memorial Day — but just in time for summer.
Why avoid more complicated wines?
“I think we get three-and-a-half days of summer in Chicago,” Henrichsen said with a chuckle. “Usually you are so enthralled with eating outside you aren’t going to pay attention to the wine.”
That said, you should still make the wine a good one.
“Picnic wine has gotten a bad rap,” she said. “Whenever someone has a wine that isn’t good they say it would be a picnic wine. Every wine should be quality, whether it’s super-expensive or not.”
While I focused this week’s tasting on white wines, Henrichsen said picnickers can run the gamut from white to rose to red.
Unoaked whites are an especially good choice, she said. Henrichsen likes the 2006 Domaine des Herbauges Muscadet Cotes de Granlieu from France because it is “bright, crisp, refreshing summer wine in the tradition of Loire Valley whites.”
For reds, Henrichsen goes for big fruity reds that don’t need a lot of attention. Her choice? “Drink ‘n’ Stick” from Some Young Punks (yep, that’s the winery) in Australia. It’s a blend of shiraz and mataro (mourvedre).
“It’s a rich, jammy, steak- and burger-friendly wine,” she said. The bottle is fun, too, because it “encourages you to dress up the ’50s-style vixen on the front by playing paper dolls.”
For roses, she likes a full-bodied pink like the Marco Real Granacha Rosado from Spain because it has “a deep color, more richness, [is] still bone dry, and the higher alcohol means it’s great for grilled pork chops and ribs, barbecue sauce and smoke.”
The key to any picnic wine is to keep it well chilled if it’s a white or rose, and cool if a red. The cold makes the wine livelier and tastier in the heat. Make sure, too, to bring a corkscrew or buy wines with screwcap closures. Don’t worry about glass stemware unless you’re really putting on the dog; plastic tumblers work fine.
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Pack up one of these
There are plenty of wine options when it comes to a picnic, but whites seem so right, especially if well chilled and snappy. These six whites come from around the world and are typical expressions of both the grape and the place.
2007 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc
Classic sauvignon blanc with an appropriately grassy nose. The flavor offers mango and papaya, with notes of grass and a slightly citrusy kick on the finish. Pair with deviled eggs, pistachio chicken.
(3 corkscrews) $11
2007 Saracco Muscato d’Asti
This fizzy Italian white has the distinctively grapey nose and flavor found with the muscat grape. Sweet candylike finish. Serve with fresh melon topped with prosciutto, fruit salad and blue cheeses.
(3 corkscrews) $16
2005 Hugel Pinot Blanc Cuvee Les Amours
From Alsace, a fresh, tart white with a springy herbal aroma and plenty of grapefruit flavor dosed with a pinch of black pepper on the finish. Serve with chicken salad sandwiches, grilled shrimp kebabs, fried chicken.
(3 corkscrews) $16
2007 Kim Crawford Dry Riesling Marlborough
There’s a lovely floral nose to this New Zealand white. Good acidity and green apple notes keep the wine crisp and lively. Serve with a vegetable frittata, cold sesame noodles, shrimp salad.
(3 corkscrews) $17
2006 Shafer Chardonnay, Red Shoulder Ranch
A golden California chardonnay with a toasty, slightly buttery flavor to balance the wine’s acidity. The nose is of butterscotch and oak. Serve with barbecued chicken, roast pork tenderloin, lobster rolls, grilled scallops.
(2 corkscrews) $47
2006 Barton & Guestier Vouvray
This French chenin blanc has a subtle floral aroma and a thin but fruity flavor with very sweet overtones. Bitter finish. Serve with deviled ham sandwiches, barbecued Chinese spareribs.
(2 corkscrews) $9
Sources: These wines may or may not be in stock at your local store; inquire first. At least one of these wines was found at these stores: Binny’s Beverage Depot, Sam’s Wines & Spirits, CD Liquors, Sal’s Beverage World, Sav-Way Fine Wines & Spirits, Dominick’s, Treasure Island Foods, The Gourmet Grape, Wine Discount Center, Cabernet & Company in Glen Ellyn and Naperville, DiCarlo Fine Wine & Spirits in Mundelein, The Wine Cellar in Palatine, Vintages in Arlington Heights, WineStyles in Woodridge.
(4 corkscrews) Excellent
(3 corkscrews) Very good
(2 corkscrews) Good
(1 corkscrew) Fair
(No corkscrews) Poor
— B.D.
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wdaley@tribune.com
Hear Bill Daley on WBBM-AM 780 at 8:52 a.m., 11:52 a.m., 3:41 p.m., 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. Tuesdays and 7:52 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
