Planning a picnic? Five fizzy summer sips to pack

My mother was a practiced picnic opportunist. She paid close attention to the weather forecast and took full advantage of positive predictions. Irish picnics are hard to plan ahead without a high degree of optimism (plus back-up brollies). More typically, they are impromptu affairs, maybe committed to the day before but more often in the heat of a blue-sky moment.

If we do get a stretch of sunny weather, it can be a special pleasure to dust down the basket and plan an al fresco feast, complete with something cold and delicious to wash it down. If it happens to coincide with a bank-holiday weekend, say, it feels like the gods are smiling.

But an unexpected end-of-workday picnic in a sunny park or by a stretch of water can be just as joyous, when it’s less about the contents of the picnic than the sheer miracle of seizing the moment. A deli salad box can do very nicely, and a chilled wine spritz can feel positively luxurious.

Indeed, any wine at a picnic feels like a party, so no need to bring out your finest bottles. That’s not to say it’s not worth treating yourselves to something special, as long as it’s a wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Many of the wines recommended in the last couple of weeks would be suitable, from pretty pink rosés (O’Briens is now offering 25pc off some of its favourites, through to September) to lighter, chillable red wines — or, of course, your favourite screwcap white would do nicely.

To really embrace the fun of picnics, though, a frothy drop of fizz is just the job; bonus points if it’s low in alcohol while high in charm.

Today’s recommendations include a cheeky can of spritz rosé at just 6.5pc and a summertastic northern Italian lightly sparkling red at 5.5pc, perfect for a daytime tipple that won’t see things unravelling. I’ve included good-value options from Aldi and O’Briens respectively (or the refreshing organic Sorra Blanca Brut Cava is currently €16.76 in O’Briens), and a classy Crémant de Loire made in the traditional method used in Champagne.

Consider investing in some reusable plastic wine glasses and a wine cooler sleeve that you can store in your freezer, ready for those blue-sky moments.

Wines of the week

Contero Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG 2022, Piemonte, Italy, 5.5pc,€23.95 A speciality of Acqui in northern Italy featuring the local Brachetto grape fermented to just 5.5pc before interruption (leaving about 100g/l residual sugar), this delicately sparkling sweet red wine is bursting with ripe raspberry, cherry pop and crushed rose petal aromas, balanced on the palate by lots of tangy acidity and a bittersweet cherry finish to ensure there’s nothing cloying. Serve well-chilled from a cool box or cold stream, with (or instead of) berry pavlova or Black Forest gateaux. Gorgeous. The Corkscrew, Baggot Street Wines, DrinkStore; drinkstore.ie

Djuce Rosé Spritz, Organic, Italy, 6.5pc, €5.95 (187ml can) Just the thing to grab en route to a beach or a bench, this thirst-quenching, low-alcohol spritz is salmon pink in colour, with pretty floral and summer pudding aromas, light refreshing spritz and smashable juicy fruits on the palate. Think sandwiches, salads, quiche or dips ’n’ chips. Lennox Street Grocer, MacCurtain Wine Cellar

Montelvini Collezione Promosso Frizzante, Veneto, Italy, 11pc, €10 A lightly sparkling Chardonnay-Trebbiano blend, and great value for an impromptu park picnic to go with a falafel or salad box or whatever else you can rummage up. Clean orchard fruit character with refreshing citrus and apple acidity on the finish. From €12.95 until June 16. O’Briens Wine; obrienswine.ie

Specially Selected Fleurs d’Eau Sparkling Brut Rosé, France, 11.5pc, €13.99 An unusual blend of Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Bobal and Muscat grapes, this pale pink fizz is classified Brut in sweetness levels (with 12g/l residual sugar, making it dry but rounded and edging towards off-dry), full of red berry and ripe nectarine notes with a little creaminess and a light frizzante spritz. Aldi

Bouvet-Ladubay Excellence Rosé Brut Crémant de Loire, France, 12.5pc, €25 A classy choice for a romantic picnic, popping with Cabernet Franc’s redcurrant fruit and leaf notes, a twist of hibiscus and thyme, a fine mousse and creamy texture finishing dry, mineral and elegant. Risk the best glasses you can with a posh picnic of dainty sandwiches, crab salad and goat cheese quiche. Whelehans Wines