Wine: A drop in the ocean

There's a host of wines born so close to the sea that you swear you can breathe in the bracing, iodiney air as you stick your nose in the glass and almost taste the salty sharpness of the sea: Manzanilla, for instance, with its reviving, savoury tang; muscadet, the sea-salty bone-dry white from close to the Atlantic shores of Nantes; or the wine of santorini, the volcanic Greek island where the vine curls into a bird's nest shape in its battle with the blustery winds of the Mediterranean. Provence rosé and Sardinia's vermentino are raised in sandy vineyards so close to the sea that they refresh you just to think about them. The New World is a benchmark for seaside wines, with regions like Cape Agulhas, in South Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet, Chile's Casablanca, California's Santa Barbara, all air-conditioned by the ocean breezes.

Wines born of the sea and those for your Mark Hix-inspired beach picnic may not necessarily be one and the same, but if they can conjure up sand, surf and sun in a glass, you're halfway to chilling out already. Speaking of chilling out, we are talking Britain, but let's be optimistic and assume that you'll need something to cool your whites and rosés down over and above the weather itself. In which case, a decent eskie, as we call the cooler in Oz, or cooler jacket, is a must. For summer picnics generally, be it Glyndebourne or Eastbourne, it's worth investing in the tough, al fresco-friendly Mikasa Open Up glass (www.mikasa-uk.com), or, as an alternative, the convincing wine glass-shaped polycarbonate glass (with tumblers to match for the kids) from the likes of Cucina Direct (www.cucinadirect.com).

As for your choice of wines, Mark's veal and ham pie (see page 42) cries out for a crisp, chilled chardonnay, an Italian dry white or a juicy fresh rosé to wash it down. Your chardonnay might be a flavoursome dry white burgundy, like the 2006 Macon Fuissé, £10.99, or buy 2 = £9.99, Majestic, the richly flavoured 2005 St Véran Domaine de la Croix Senaillet, £8.71 case / bottle, Goedhuis (020-7793 7900), or the extremely well-crafted peachy-ripe 2005 Rully Blanc, La Barre, £12.45, Jeroboams. For a New World answer, you might try the opulent appley fruit of the 2006 Pirque Estate Chardonnay from Chile, £6.99, M&S. On the Italian front, aim for a crisp Friuli dry white such as the 2006 Ribolla Gialla, Vistiniti, £8.95, £8.25 bottle / case Lea & Sandeman. Rosé? Sainsbury's crisp, summer pudding-like Cuvée Prestige Côtes du Rhône Rosé, £4.99.

Salmon (see page 45) requires a crisp, dry white such as characterful, bone-dry 2006 Assyrtiko, Hatzidakis, Santorini, £8.95-£8.99, Wine Society, Waitrose, which combines exotic fruit richness with the zest and minerality of the island's volcanic ash soil. Sardinia is the source of excellent, tart-crisp vermentino such as the 2006 Crabilis Pala Vermentino, £8.50, Wimbledon Wine Cellars (020-8540 9979), while from the Adriatic, you'll find freshness and full peachy flavour combined in Santa Barbara's mouthwatering 2005 Le Vaglie Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, from the Marche, £8.99, Booths supermarkets. Further south, the zingy, stonefruit crispness of the 2006 Anthilia, Donnafugata, from Sicily, £7.99 or buy two = £5.99, Majestic, will also chime well with the salmon. As for Mark's duck-egg mayo (page 45), go for a rosé such as the 2006 Clos d'Yvigne Bel Ami Rosé, £7.99, buy 2 = £6.39, Majestic, or a delicious rosé fizz with texture and acidity to refresh if it's hot or console if it's not. No need to push the boat out too far with the redcurranty, crisply refreshing Jansz Rosé NV, around £9.99, selected Oddbins, Selfridges, Philglas & Swiggot, London SW11 (020-7924 4494), Flagship Wines, St Albans (01727 865309), from Tasmania.