NA Summer Picnic Guide

The Cheeky & Dry Guide to a Proper Seattle Picnic

Seattle summers are short, which means we treat every sunny afternoon like the precious little gift it is. The parks fill up, blankets appear, and someone is inevitably put in charge of the speaker. All that is left is something excellent to eat and something genuinely lovely to drink.

A picnic should feel easy, but the drinks still matter. They should be cold, interesting, and good enough that nobody feels they are settling. Whether you are stretched out at Gas Works, ferry-bound for Bainbridge, or claiming a spot by the lake, these are some of our favorite bottles and cans to bring along.

Bring the Bubbles

Picnics call for bubbles. A chilled non-alcoholic sparkling wine immediately makes the whole affair feel a little more considered, even if dinner is cheese, crackers, and strawberries eaten directly from their containers.

Bring proper glasses if you enjoy a bit of ceremony. If you do not, no judgment. A sparkling split or a can of rosé is charming, easy to pack, and requires absolutely no planning beyond remembering to chill it.

Our sparkling picks:

• BOLLE Blanc de Blancs and Rosé

• Domaine EdeM N.0 Sparkling Rosé

• Kisumé

• JOYUS Sparkling White and Sparkling Rosé

• Dr. Lo Riesling

• Sovi Sparkling Rosé cans

• Oddbird Blanc de Blancs splits

Beer Belongs at a Picnic

A cold non-alcoholic lager or pilsner with salty snacks is one of life’s simplest pleasures. If the picnic includes chips, sandwiches, or something spicy, beer is an exceptionally sensible choice.

For a little more personality, bring a hazy IPA or a bright sour. Cider is marvelous with cheese, fruit, and anything smoky. The only real rule is to get everything properly cold before you leave the house.

Our beer and cider picks:

• Self Care Hazy IPA

• Fremont Brewing Orange Wit

• Atmosphere Pilsner

• Go Brewing New School Sour Berry

• Best Day Brewing Kölsch

• Suntory All-Free

• Golden State Cider

Cocktails Without the Production

If you enjoy a project, batch a cocktail at home and tuck it into the cooler. A crisp non-alcoholic G&T with cucumber is fresh and unfussy. A margarita with good non-alcoholic tequila is exactly right with chips and guacamole. An aperitivo topped with sparkling water and finished with an orange slice delivers the full spritz experience without requiring you to haul half the bar to the park.

For everyone who prefers to open, pour, and get on with the afternoon, ready-to-drink cocktails are your friends. Easy can still be sophisticated, darling.

A few good things to pack:

• DHŌS Gin Free

• Free Spirits The Spirit of Tequila

• Abstinence Blood Orange Aperitif

• Pentire Coastal Spritz

• Giffard Elderflower Syrup

• Crodino

• Tenneyson Black Ginger

Let the Food Choose the Drink

You do not need a complicated pairing chart. A crisp sparkling wine is lovely with cheese, fruit, and salty little snacks. Bitter aperitifs shine with grilled vegetables, olives, and richer spreads. A dry rosé is wonderful with smoked salmon because this is Seattle and someone will absolutely bring smoked salmon.

If dessert involves fresh berries or good chocolate, try a red wine alternative, a dark beer, or something botanical with a little spice. The goal is not perfection. It is simply choosing a drink that makes the food taste better and the afternoon feel more complete.

A Few Picnic Truths

A bigger blanket is always the correct blanket. Damp Seattle grass has humbled better people than us. Bring the quilt, bring two blankets, or build yourself a small outdoor kingdom.

Freeze what you can. Frozen water bottles and cans of sparkling water help keep the cooler cold, then become useful later. Frozen grapes are also surprisingly delightful and make you look far more organized than you really are.

Choose food that behaves itself. Sandwiches, skewers, berries, cheese, olives, nuts, and very good chips all travel beautifully. If it requires several utensils and a serving spoon, it may be asking too much of a picnic.

Bring shade. Seattle sunshine can become startlingly personal after months of waiting for it. A good hat, a parasol, or a small beach umbrella is both practical and just dramatic enough.

Pack one unnecessary thing. A bubble wand, a Polaroid camera, lawn dice, or a deck of tarot cards. Picnics are allowed a little mischief.

Keep one snack for yourself. This is not selfish. It is planning.

Your Basket, Upgraded

Seattle summer is brief, your weekends are precious, and there is no reason to fill the cooler with drinks that are merely fine. We have already tasted through the options and chosen the bottles, cans, and mixers that genuinely deserve a place at the picnic.

Stop by Cheeky & Dry and tell us what kind of afternoon you are planning. A romantic picnic for two? A lively park gathering? A family outing in which the children will eat every snack before you have unfolded the blanket? We will help you build a lineup that suits the food, the people, and the mood.

Then go claim your patch of grass, open something delicious, and raise a glass to one of Seattle’s rarest seasonal pleasures: an afternoon in the sun.

Cheers, darling!