Content created in partnership with Rosie Wine
Gather your friends and shake out your nap dresses - with some help from Rosie we’ve put together your essential guide for an #aesthetic and fuss-free picnic. All you need is a patch of grass, a bottle of Rosie, and a few found objects from around the house and garden.
#1. Start at the bottom
Any piece of material big enough for you to sit on can form a picnic blanket. With this in mind, have a good rummage through your cupboards – you’ll be amazed at how instantly cottage-core an old floral sheet or the lacy tablecloth your nan gave you will look once spread on the grass. Overlap a number of smaller sheets, blankets or old tablecloths for a lush, comfy look. Old rugs and carpet off-cuts are also perfectly suited.
Keep in mind that you want your guests to be relaxed sitting on the ground and this means cushions galore. Coffee sacks can make great instant outdoor cushion covers – stuff them with old cushions or rolled up towels for maximum comfort. There are a number of coffee roasters around the country, and they usually have excess sacks so contact your nearest one – often they are happy to part with the sacks for a gold coin donation. Coffee sacks also make great planters so you can indulge your green thumb when the party is over.
#2. Glasses up!
Next up: something to balance your wine on. The most common disaster at any picnic is a spilled glass, so as the host it’s imperative to provide a nice flat surface for guests to securely stow their wine. You may have thought you’d seen the last of the beer crate and bricks aesthetic in your uni days but it’s a classic for a reason – it’s cheap and easy to construct. If you can’t find any bricks for the foundation of your table, piles of books will do in a pinch. Wooden pallets are readily available for your small-scale construction needs, try checking your local community Facebook page to see if any businesses are getting rid of pallets, or ask at your local shops (hardware stores in particular are a good place to ask). Pegs are also super handy for helping keep makeshift tables together or keeping tablecloths secured.
#3. Tableware
If your tableware is more Kmart than kitsch, you may want to pay a trip to the op shop. Vintage tableware can elevate anything – even cheese and crackers look suddenly adorable on a Crown Lynn plate. Be sure to grab some mismatched wine and water glasses too, and any other tableware that would look cute holding a tealight. Go with the classics for food: cheese, dips, crackers, olives and a big rustic loaf of sourdough.
#4. Flowers and leaves
To make your picnic spread look lush and inviting, flowers and greenery are a must. If your garden isn’t abundant with flowers, buy a bunch and split it up between several jars. Pad out the arrangements with greenery from the garden, the flowers can just be a colourful pop in each. Herbs are great too – stalks of rosemary and bunches of thyme can look beautiful, and curly parsley looks like a tiny topiary when amongst other greens and flowers. A string of solar powered fairy lights running around the flower jars or down the middle of the table is another cute touch.
#5. Wine!
Finally: the wine. Don’t spend all this time setting up for a gorgeous picnic only to get this part wrong! Rosie is the perfect addition to any table setting - when styling bottles this pretty, half your job is already done. The magic hour light of a late-summer afternoon lends itself beautifully to a glass of rosé but the pinot gris and sauvignon blanc are equally picturesque and just as delicious. For the long, balmy summer evenings, make sure you provide an ice bucket to keep the wine chilled. You can get creative here too – a vintage mixing bowl filled with ice will do the trick.
