Beckmen: A Beautiful Place to Picnic

There’s some­thing so roman­tic, and at the same time, rebel­lious, about going on a pic­nic. No longer are you con­fined with­in four walls, to a din­ing table with din­ing chairs. The world is your oys­ter; all you have to do is choose the right spot. Thank­ful­ly, in the San­ta Ynez Val­ley, there is an abun­dance of beau­ti­ful pic­nic loca­tions with stun­ning views and a qui­et seren­i­ty that only relax­ing in nature can pro­vide. Enjoy­ing a meal out­doors reminds you of the sim­pler plea­sures of life: of good food and drink, the peo­ple we spend our time with, and the beau­ty sur­round­ing us that we tend to overlook.

Pic­nick­ing nour­ish­es the body and soul. At Beck­men Vine­yards, with our four gaze­bos and two ponds sur­round­ed by lawns, we’ve done our fair share of pic­nick­ing. Read on to learn our tips and tricks, food ideas, and near­by places to pick up your goodies.

Picnicking Tips & Tricks

1. If you think the only wines served at pic­nics are whites and rosés, remem­ber that some red wines are enhanced when served at slight­ly cool­er tem­per­a­tures. Our 2013 Estate Grenache is a prime exam­ple of a wine you can enjoy chilled (but not ice cold). Pack a flex­i­ble ice pack and wrap it around the bot­tle, or if you’re pur­chas­ing a bot­tle from the tast­ing room, ask them to put it in the refrig­er­a­tor for 15 – 25 minutes.
2. Mix and match your dish­es with home­made and store-bought foods. You’ll save mon­ey by prepar­ing food at home, but there are some dish­es that are quick­er and eas­i­er to sim­ply pick-up at your local market’s pre­pared food sec­tion. Scroll down to see store rec­om­men­da­tions that are close to Beckmen.
3. Don’t for­get to bring plen­ty of water. Being out­side, pos­si­bly in direct sun­light, and drink­ing wine will dehy­drate you faster than you antic­i­pate. You won’t regret pack­ing an extra few bottles.
4. Some people’s biggest com­plaint with pic­nics is that they are too messy. But if you plan thought­ful­ly, they won’t be. Bring plas­tic bags or tup­per­ware to take home left­overs, anoth­er plas­tic bag for used uten­sils, anoth­er larg­er plas­tic bag for used plates or bowls, and a lot of nap­kins. Pack­ing up will be a breeze and every­thing will be orga­nized for clean­ing once you get home.
5. Invest in a cool­er – even bet­ter if it’s designed specif­i­cal­ly for pic­nics. You’ll thank your­self down the road.

Food Ideas

1. Pic­nics don’t have to con­sist of strict­ly fin­ger foods. Bring­ing small plates and forks will make it eas­i­er for your guests to choose what they want to eat, keep por­tion sizes in check, and add a lev­el of ele­gance to your out­door din­ing expe­ri­ence. Plus this will only broad­en your food horizons!
2. Let’s be hon­est. A pic­nic at a win­ery isn’t com­plete with­out cheese, because cheese might just be the best wine pair­ing food out there. If you’re going to have more than one (and we rec­om­mend you do), bring cheeses that are total oppo­sites: a smoked gou­da and stil­ton, brie and a sharp white ched­dar, the pos­si­bil­i­ties are endless.
3. Fruit beau­ti­ful­ly bal­ances the rich­ness of cheese. Bring pre-cut fruit to keep the pic­nic messi­ness to a min­i­mum, or pack berries since they are an easy, no-fuss fruit to eat.
4. Even if you find a shady spot to pic­nic, most like­ly it will be warm or hot out, espe­cial­ly dur­ing the sum­mer­time. Bring cool or room tem­per­a­ture foods that will fill and refresh you at the same time. Leave the hot and heavy meals for home.
5. Use grains! Make hearty sal­ads with quinoa, cous­cous, bar­ley, and far­ro. They are a healthy alter­na­tive to sand­wich­es (bor­ing!).
6. End your pic­nic with a sweet treat. You’ve been munch­ing on a deli­cious meal, tak­ing in the stun­ning view, and relax­ing with your friends or fam­i­ly. Reward your­self and fin­ish your pic­nic with an indul­gence, some­thing that will sat­is­fy your sweet tooth, whether it be fresh­ly baked cook­ies, brown­ies, or fruit (keep in mind that choco­late will melt and be a sticky mess unless you have a cooler).
   

Nearby Places to Get Your Goods

• The Lucky Hen Larder: A wide selec­tion of arte­sian cheeses, meats, and oth­er plat­ter essentials. 
• New Fron­tiers: If you’re look­ing for organ­ic or bio­dy­nam­ic goods and pro­duce, this store is a must-visit.
• Los Olivos Gro­cery: Just down SR 154 from Beck­men, this local­ly owned gourmet gro­cery is small but has an incred­i­ble cheese, meat, and deli counter.
• El Ran­cho Mar­ket­place: A full gro­cery store with all of the pic­nic neces­si­ties, from a mul­ti­tude of tasty bites, to plates and napkins.

Pic­nics are an ide­al way to relax and enjoy the beau­ti­ful out­doors. We offer a mul­ti­tude of pic­nic areas, from our four gaze­bos with pic­nic tables, var­i­ous tables and chairs around the estate, and two pic­turesque ponds sur­round­ed by rolling lawns, all with a view of the vines. Check out our Vis­it Us page to learn more about our facil­i­ties and poli­cies, or call (805) 688 – 8664 ext. 200 to make a reservation.