Monday Kit Tip - Wine on The Hill

Our latest Monday Kit Tip is either a luxury or a near essential, depending on how you're wired - it's your passport to sipping a glass of wine under the stars while water laps at the tarn shore just feet from your tent.

Wine is lovely, but bottles are heavy, even when empty, and need to be carried out afterwards. Fortunately there are some neat solutions out there. One option is to buy your wine in a box, but - and here's the clever bit - simply remove the internal bladder from the cardboard packing, leaving you with a tough but light container with its own on/off tap. Once you're finished your evening, just roll up the empty bladder and carry it out. Simple.

Interestingly, some winemakers have even done away with the box themselves, just using a pouch alone as packaging. Downsides? Most wine boxes are 3 litres or 1.5 litres, so you'd better be thirsty.

Smaller Quantities

Fussy about your wine? We're not suggesting you carry your vintage vino up a hill, but if you simply must have a particular vintage, try decanting the contents of your chosen bottle into a 750ml sports bottle-type mineral water bottle. Fits nicely, weighs nowt and you can drink easily direct from the bottle so no additional glasses needed.

Finally, a further lightweight option, supermarkets now sell quite acceptable wine in small tins.  Probably not what you'd choose for a sophisticated dinner party, but there's a certain rustic charm to opening up a tinny of wine to go with your lightweight outdoor feast. And once you're done, simply crush the can and carry it out.

Cheers, salut, santé...