Picnic Wines – Which Wines Are People Choosing for Picnics?

HE says: How about a picnic, Boo Boo?   SHE says:  Of course!  
HE says:  Let’s see Wynton Marsallis at The Hollywood Bowl.
SHE says:   Ok!  (Note to dear reader: Getting TO the Hollywood Bowl? A nightmare.  Once you’re there, a night at The Hollywood Bowl?  Priceless.)

Every city has it’s outdoor music venues, places to picnic, to enjoy the summer, breathe clean air and be thankful   for good music and outdoor venues. In Los Angeles, the best of the best outdoor venues is The Hollywood Bowl.    While picnicing before Wynton Marsalis concert, SHE got snoopy and started asking the people at nearby tables what their “picnic wine” was for that night.  Here are a few of the picnic wines from the Hollywood Bowl picnic area on June 22.

This couple chose 2007 La Finca Tempranillo from Mendoza, Argentina.  (They were sweet enough to let us post their photo, too!)  If you’ve been reading for a while then you know how much we love the wines from Mendoza.   You can read all of our Mendoza Argentina wine notes here.    This video used to have some audio with it of them telling a little story – but the audio disappeared. (thanks Moviemaker) The story goes a friend brought the wine to their house for dinner the week before and since they liked it so much, they decided to drink it again!   Value priced at $3.99 at a Trader Joe’s near you.

Although we are rather organized when it comes to food and wine, we embarrassingly enough (ok, it was She – not He) forgot to bring the bottle opener.  (Seriously.)  Sweet picnic peeps at the table beside us had a good laugh and loaned us their corkscrew.  What were they drinking?
An interesting red wine called Red Diamond  and a 2009 Per Bacco Chardonnay, Edna Valley that one man commented was a very ”clean taste”.     Again we say “Thank you!”  to their generous loan of the cork screw.

On to another table (people are pretty happy to talk at The Hollywood Bowl) we meet some newlyweds and hear another great story – one morning this paricular couple woke up, got ready to go to the gym, and instead they went to the courthouse and got married.  Ok!  Hmmm… what shall we do today… go to the gym to workout? Or get married?  Gym for a workout  – or get married? Hmmmm… Can you believe it?  They decided to get a workout on their soul instead and got married.  Very funny story.  And very sweet people.  Here they are sharing their picnic wine with you – 2007 Arrowhead Chardonnay.

And what did He and She drink at Hollywood Bowl that night?  Rabbit Ridge 2009 Paso Robles Allure de Robles red wine.   It’s easy to choose a light white wine for summer picnic’s but if you’d like to try something a little different, we’re going to suggest you try a Zinfandel or a Pinot Noir.  A little more depth, but not so bold as to overpower your picnic food.  Happy summer picnic-ing to you!

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Picnic Wine – Fourth of July Wines! – Red, White and Blueberry Wine?

SHE Says:  I wonder if there is such a thing as blueberry wine.
HE Says:  Yes. I’ve seen it. I’ve tasted it once or twice.
SHE Says:  Maybe we should have some for Fourth of July dinner?
HE Says:  No.  It’s very sweet, more like an after-dinner liqueur.
SHE Says:  And your point is…? We don’t have time for after-dinner wine?
SHE Adds:  We do have time for after-dinner wine, but no time for blueberry wine to be shipped. Tomasello’s Blueberry Wine 

SHE Says: It’s a Cornerstone 4th of July for us this year.  Cornerstone Napa sent over some Stepping Stone wines that we think are PERFECT for this Fourth of July weekend feasting!

Our dinner:  Fish tacos made with grilled salmon, grilled mahi-mahi and some seared ahi or ahi-ahi as he likes to say.  Made up a batch of some spicy mango salsa, and will serve it with some Asian cole slaw.  And in a totally different direction, slow-barbecued Memphis style baby back ribs.  Mmmm!  Gonna serve them with grilled asparagus, grilled corn, grilled potatoes (get the theme?) and…

HE interrupts:  And She will be attempting a new creation – grilled sage leaves. Something about sage leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper, wood chips and the grill.  No worries, we have a fireman in the neighborhood – we are prepared – and curious.
SHE says:  You just wait….you just wait.

HE Says:  Until then… we have three excellent Fourth Of July wines for you from Stepping Stone, the younger, wilder sister wine  from
Cornerstone Cellars in Napa Valley.

SHE Says: They’re so cute! They look like “Three Little Maids From School”

HE Says: And we’re moving on to describe the three wines..

Stepping Stone 2010 Rocks, White Wine, Napa Valley

Stepping Stone 2010 Riesling, Napa Valley

Stepping Stone Napa Valley Rosé Corallina (Syrah)

Picnic Wine – 2010 Stepping Stone (from Cornerstone Cellars) Rocks! White Wine, Napa Valley

2010 Stepping Stone (from Cornerstone Cellars) Rocks! White Wine, Napa Valley  

HE Says:  Cornerstone is onto a really rockin’ idea. They’re going to make a blended white and a blended red wine from the best varietals of the vintage.  It won’t be the same proportions, or even the same grapes, year after year.  This allows the winemakers lots of freedom to experiment and the ability to put out something really different and special.

For 2010, the Stepping Stone Rocks! white wine is an intriguing blend of chardonnay and muscat. I don’t think this is a combination I’ve come across before — if so, it was a long time ago.  This combo really works.  It has a hint of white peaches on the nose, making me think they added some viognier to it, but they didn’t.  The wine has a pale color, and is soft and smooth.  It has nice fruitiness, and sweet tones from the muscat grapes, but it’s not a sweet wine by any means. This wine does really rock!  I gave it a 15+, which is very strong for a white.

SHE Says:  Memories of Juicy Fruit gum come to mind.  This one sings opera – she is a soprano.

HE and SHE both say: A Sunday brunch wine, and perfect for a salad dinner and a picnic.  In fact, that’s what we expected and why we chose it for our 4th of July picnic!

Click here for more Picnic Wines from Stepping Stone at Cornerstone Cellars.

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Picnic Wine – Stepping Stone 2010 Napa Valley Rosé, Corallina, Syrah

Picnic Wine – Stepping Stone 2010 Napa Valley Rosé, Corallina, Syrah

Picnic Wine - note the Rooster in the background inviting you to take a "Walk on the Wild Side"

HE says:  First off, let me admit that I’m not a big Rosé fan.  I think it comes down to they don’t have the burst of fruity notes of white   wine or the complexity and power of red wine.  They seem a bit confused as to what they are — not a white, not a red, something kinda sorta in-between. That’s not to say they’re bad wines, but they just don’t really do much for me.  Producers in California have really been pushing rosés the past decade, and every one I have tried has underwhelmed me. And for some reason, all the winemakers love to suggest that rosés are the perfect wines for barbecue. Did they all get the same talking points page put out by the rosé wine council? Well for once I’m going to be serving a rosé with barbecue — ribs, fish tacos, spicy and salty asian flavors — so we’ll see how it fares.

Now that you know my thoughts on rosés, what do I think about the Stepping Stone 2010 Napa Valley Rosé?  Well, it’s made entirely from syrah grapes grown in the Oak Knoll district in Napa.  They named the wine Corallina, which means coral in Italian and sounds more alluring.  The coral refers to the color, and it is a very pretty coral color.  We described it as kissed by a strawberry.   A soft strawberry flavor predominates.  It’s crisp and refreshing, very easy drinking.  Would make a nice picnic wine. That being said, it wasn’t a “wow” wine for me, and pretty much fell into the pack with the other rosés I’ve tried over the years.  A decent 14 score.

SHE says:  A decent 14?  I hope my kisses score higher than the “kissed by a strawberry wine”

HE Says:  Yes, most of your kisses do score much higher.

SHE says:  Most?!?!  Your Russian genes are showing.   About the wine:  You’re very nice.  You can stay if you want, but don’t take it personally if I dont’ remember you in the morning, ok?

Links to all of our Fourth of July wine posts.

Want to try Stepping Stone or other Cornerstone Wines?  Click here for more info on where and how to buy!

Picnic Wine – Stepping Stone 2010 Riesling, from Cornerstone Cellars, Napa Valley

Picnic Wine – Stepping Stone 2010 Riesling, from Cornerstone Cellars, Napa Valley

HE says: I haven’t had too many California Rieslings in all my years of tasting. This Riesling comes from the Carneros region in the South of Napa, a long ways away from Germany or the Alsace region in France.  True to form, the aromas are wonderfully flowery — very similar to the Rocks wine with notes of white peaches.  The wine is very different in flavor tho.  This Riesling is very dry and crisp, with a nice minerally finish.  The acidity will make it great for all our spicy and tangy barbecue flavors.  This Riesling is not sweet in any form. I rated it a very nice 14.

SHE says:  You’re very serious for a white wine, must be the German genes.

Thanks for reading!  Click here for links to all of our 4th of July Picnic wine descriptions.