I’m one of those people who hates camping. I mean I loathe it! Yes, I’ve tried it…no, a nice camper doesn’t
make it better. In fact, it makes it
worse. (Being lined up next to a hundred
of my closest strangers in a campground makes me cringe.) The idea of no flushing toilets and no hot
shower frightens me a bit. (And no, I’m
no city slicker; I’m a ranch kid from Wyoming.)
I just don’t like experiencing the outdoors in this fashion. However, I do LOVE the outdoors. Yes, I know this seems a little
counterintuitive, but I could spend all day outside on a lake, on a trail, or on
a mountain, but I want to come inside to shower and go to bed! When I do spend this time with Mother Nature,
I prefer to have wine be a part of it.
Mother Nature and wine...the perfect pairing!
Wine and the outdoors tip one: invest in a wine carrier. There are multiple ways to carry wine
outside. The industry has expanded
beyond the regular glass bottle as a wine receptacle. Some wineries are using lighter wine containers
for environmental and weight purposes.
Plastic wine bottles, wine bags, single-serving portions, and wine boxes
all weigh less and take up less space for hiking, biking, swimming, camping, or
boating getaways. However, if outdoors people
go with one of these options, like Copa Divino or Bota Box wines, they are at
the mercy of the varietal, type, and style of wines those producers make. However, I like more flexibility in my wine
choices than just having to drink the wines a few producers make and put in
lighter weight containers. The answer to
this problem is the Platypus brand PlatyPreserve. This is my favorite weapon in my wine and
hiking arsenal. I pull the wine of my
choice, pour it into my PlatyPreseve, put it in my backpack, and head to the
hills! It holds exactly one 750 ml
(milliliter) bottle of wine, is light weight, and is easy to carry.
The Platypus brand PlatyPreserve.
Wine and the outdoors tip two: invest in portable wine glasses. Just like there are differing ways to carry
wine outside, there are several options for drinking wine outside. Again, some producers like Copa and Bota Box
create individual serving sizes of wine making it so no actual glass is needed. However, the same negative issue happens
again—the wines to choose from are then quite limited to what a few producers
make. Thankfully, light weight and
unbreakable “glasses” have come a long way.
GSI Outdoors produces nesting glasses where the stem unscrews from the
bowl of the glass and then snaps inside the bowl for easy traveling. GSI also makes stemless glasses out of strong
plastic and both stemmed and stemless glasses out of stainless steel. The GoVino stemless glasses come in white,
red, and sparkling styles and are made with appropriate bowl sizes and shapes
for each style of wine. The plastic is
thin yet durable, mimicking the thinness of crystal stemware. The newest outdoor drinkware option is the wine
tumbler (made by numerous companies). This
drinkware has a wine glass shape inside the outside tumbler with the sippy,
travel coffee mug style lid. I have all
of these kinds of glasses. My favorite
is the GoVino because out of these glasses, wines taste and smell closer to how
they would in actual glass stemware. Outdoor
glassware is essential to enjoying wine in nature!
The GoVino red (top) and the GSI Outdoors nesting glass (bottom).
Wine and the outdoors tip three: keep food simple. Let nature and the wine do most of the work
to create an elaborate experience for your hike or picnic. The food needs to be simple and easy to
carry. Fresh cut fruit, aged cheeses,
and flavored crackers are enough to nibble on while sitting in a picturesque
setting. If a more elaborate meal is the
goal, make sandwiches on focaccia bread with garlic-basil aioli, lunch meat,
tomato, and fresh mozzarella. Dessert
can be as simple as homemade cookies, ‘smores bars, or chocolate chunks. These simple yet flavorful items are not only
easy to prepare, but, more importantly, are also easy and lightweight to pack,
making them the perfect outdoor cuisine.
Simple and flavorful foods.
Wine and the outdoors final tips: Don’t forget to think about the temperature of
the wine at the time it will be consumed.
If I’m hiking on a warm day, I usually chill red wines until they are
quite cold, pour in my Platypus, and put in my pack. That way, the wine warms while hiking and is
proper temperature when ready to sip.
For white wines, I chill until extremely cold, sometimes putting the
wine in the freezer for a period of time before pouring in the Platypus, and
then I even put a freezer pack around the outside of the PlatyPreserve during
the hike so the wine stays cold the entire time. Yes, this is some extra weight to carry, but
it is very worth it for a chilled white wine.
These steps would not necessarily be needed if the weather was
chilly. Finally, I like to keep all of
my hiking and outdoor wine supplies together so I don’t forget anything during
an outdoor excursion. It really is a
bummer to pack wine four miles only to find there are no glasses for
drinking! (Yes, this has happened to me
before; yes, I found a way to overcome that obstacle…haha!)
Don't forget your outdoor glasses! (It causes desperate measures.)
The number of summer days is waning, and winter is just
around the corner. Though you won’t find me scurrying to get in
my last days of camping as I feel fall’s nip in the air, you will find me
trying to get into nature as many times as possible before Old Man Winter
steals Mother Nature’s welcoming weather.
Whether you prefer to hike a beautiful trail, bike through the hills, or
camp on a lake, now is the time to enjoy the outdoors! Make wine a part of your nature experience—it
makes all aspects of the outdoors that much more pleasant.
Cheers to Mother Nature!
