For a drop of the good stuff try these picnic drink ideas
Champagne
and more champagne (and water I guess!) are the picnic drinks to pack in your hamper, if you’re preparing for a venue such as Ascot, Henley or an evening at Glyndebourne.
Fizz comes in other forms of course, such as a crisp, floral prosecco, a Spanish cava, or a sparkling New World wine. All of these will help you celebrate a sunny day.
However, most of the time our picnics are not of the gourmet variety. Therefore, if you want to serve wine, I suggest you should leave your special bottles at home and go for the cheap and cheerful varieties, which can withstand a hot or bumpy journey, and are easy to drink.
Chill bottles of white or rosé wine well in advance and pack in cool-boxes with ice or freezer packs.
For a sunny picnic drink, choose a light, refreshing white such as Portuguese Vinho Verde or an Italian Pinot Grigio.
Herby Mediterranean dishes call for aromatic whites like very dry Muscadet, or grassy Sancerre.
Barbecue flavours mix well with the bolder New World flavours of Sauvignon, Semillon and Chardonnay.
You can save on the cool-box space if you serve a full-bodied red wine of course. My favourites are soft reds such as Spanish Rioja or South African Merlot and Pinotage.
Majestic Wines sell on-line as well as through 140 stores throughout the UK and I'm beginning to order almost exclusively from them these days as they offer FREE delivery at a time to suit me and I can also order beer, soft drinks and even water from them. I love anything that saves me time when preparing a picnic! My favourite Rioja from them is a
Reserva 2002, Berberana.
Of course you may choose to follow the European tradition of serving a chilled red as your picnic drink, such as a Spanish Tempranillo, or a light Loire, Beaujolais or Chianti.
You should also try tinto de verano/summer red wine as they call it in Spain, by mixing chilled red wine with some lemonade and soda water, ice cubes and some orange and lemon slices.
Add a little more - orange juice and a splash of brandy - and you have a refreshing Sangria spritzer.
If you want to keep it simple with the wine and confine the picnic drinks to one colour, then choose a dry rosé. Australia produce some very nice ones, as do Italy, Spain and Hungary.
And pink is the colour this year! Yes, rosé is back in fashion big time. The bright and fruity flavours go well with all sorts of bold picnic and barbecued foods. However, make sure you serve it really cold. Warm rosé is horrid!
There are, of course, lots of other picnic drinks to choose from apart from wine.
Pimm's
is a very popular summer drink in England and you won’t hear many men complaining about a nice cold beer or lager.
Ginger beer
or a ginger cordial mix is a terrific non-alcoholic alternative. Ginger is very refreshing and also helps with travel sickness I believe, so if you have someone on your picnic who didn’t like the journey …. !
Ginger cordial can be added to hot or cold liquid, fizzy or still. It’s good with lemon juice and sparkling mineral water.
Cider is another appealing choice, especially for a picnic in the country. There are many varieties to choose from and some are a lot more alcoholic than you think – so beware! I don’t want to tell you about my experience with cider and a large bed of nettles – so I won’t!
Iced tea
is supposed to be soothing on a hot summer’s day but, in the UK anyway, I’m sure you’ll find lots of people will be happy with hot tea and even coffee.
To make life easier, why not invest in some funky picnic cups which self-stir?
Suitable for both hot and cold drinks, Flej Picnic cups are ideal for family outings. Stackable and fluted (so they will dry while stacked), they take up little space in a picnic basket and make mixing a drink easy and fun. Check them out here.
Try iced coffee too. It’s lovely, especially if blended with ice-cream to make a thick coffee milkshake.
Forget the fizzy cans and make really refreshing
home-made lemonade
for the kids, which is much better for them and tastes amazingly good. If you struggle to get five portions of fruit and vegetables into them, I’m sure all the lemon juice must count as one fruit!
Another way to get the recommended five portions of fruit & veg. into your daily diet, is to buy or make
smoothies
to take on your picnic.
All these picnic drinks and smoothies are great but don’t forget your body needs lots of pure water in hot weather and it's the best thirst quencher going.
In the heat (or even not in the heat!) it’s always best to drink equal quantities of water with your alcohol – especially if you don’t want to end up, like me, in a bed of nettles! (It was a long time ago and I’ve learnt my lesson!)
Hot tea and coffee are standard but make hot chocolate too and how about chilli hot chocolate? I fell in love with 
Slice 2 red chillis in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Add to a litre of milk (full cream is best) in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. Watch it doesn’t boil over!
