Let's be brutally honest. The no-brainer beverage choice is beer, and I'm not going to try to talk you out of it. But what we're hunting for today are wines that act like beer. Above all, they can't be prima donnas, because they are going to be bounced around in the trunks of cars, plopped into coolers and baked by the sun. They will be served in paper or plastic cups, and they will have to compete with all the scents of summer — flowers and suntan lotion, salt water and charcoal lighter. So they can't be fragile or flighty. Yet they must somehow be charming and accessible. And they'd better be good with hot dogs!

Believe it or not, more wines than ever fit the bill. And the bill is amazingly low — easily under $10. Chalk it up to improved winemaking and an explosion of delicious imports, in particular reds from southern France, Spain, Italy and Australia. Generally these inexpensive reds (and whites, in lesser numbers) are from the most recent vintages (1999, 2000 and 2001) and have not pined away in new oak barrels. Which makes them perfect for picnics, because they put the flavors of fruit and acid — not oak and tannin — up front.

Picnic wine rule No. 1: Keep them chillin'! Whether dry or sweet, white, pink, red or sparkling, any wine drunk outdoors will taste better cold. Not ice cold, mind you, but refrigerator cold. Chilling perks up simple fruit flavors, adds zip to sweet or flabby wines, protects wines left sitting in the hot sun, and answers the call of a summer-size thirst.

Rule No. 2: Experiment. When hunting for perfect picnic wines, you will want to wander off the beaten path. Skip right past pricey, over-oaked chardonnays. Instead, try a fruit-forward chardonnay fermented in stainless steel; a dry riesling, chenin blanc or gewürztraminer; a steely muscadet or vinho verde; a semi-chard from Australia or a verdejo from Spain.

Likewise, avoid over-extracted, alcoholic cabernets and temperamental pinot noirs that command big scores and high prices. Hang onto your older red wines for fall entertaining; their thick sediments require careful decanting and their delicate bouquets are completely lost outdoors.

You want young, fruity red wines designed to be popped into the refrigerator and the picnic cooler. You'll soon discover the pleasures of grapes such as gamay and zinfandel; syrah, cinsaut and mourvédre; tempranillo and grenache. Let your imagination recall the chilled, slightly fizzy stuff that you ordered by the carafe in a little café overlooking the sea all those years ago. Put some romance into your thinking, and all of a sudden wine will start to seem almost as inviting as that other stuff — what's it called?