And while the gritty little specks of silica taste the same in picnic sandwiches on Fire Island or in the Hamptons' pate, conservation-minded association members are not about to let this natural litter continue its windblown treck to Jones Beach or, worse, New Jersey.

Then sip it langorously with picnic sandwiches or, more formally, white meat, seafood and mild-flavored fish.

We shared our resources for lunch - the girls' picnic sandwiches and a cold pie and some fruit I had bought that morning - and ate it comfortably in the cottage kitchen, with its grandstand view of the bay.

A thick focaccia makes a great picnic sandwich, sliced in half and filled with all manner of ingredients: grilled eggplant, radicchio, onions or sausage, sauteed mushrooms or the classic summer combination of mozzarella, tomato and basil.

Use the wine as an aperitif and with cold meats, chicken, pasta, crudités and almost all kinds of picnic sandwiches.

On a spring night, with a light blanket, Precious Sleep kept me at the temperature of a picnic sandwich.