Enjoy the outdoors during the summer season. Picnics, barbeques, patio parties - all are great opportunities to enjoy good food and wine. Around this time of year, though it's been warm down here for a good many months and will only get warmer, it is about time to lighten things up a little when it comes to wine.

With temperatures rising and grills firing up, people everywhere are raring to relax and enjoy the warm weather. The Little Penguin newsletter encourages you to maximize your summer enjoyment-even when snacking solo or dining with friends. The ultimate ambassador of fun offers up these helpful tips to complement the bold flavors of the Little Penguin wine. Chardonnay tastes great with fresh clams, scallops and other "catches of the day". Shiraz complements a thin crust pizza; add some pineapple and ham to make it a tropical delicacy! Pinot Noir pairs marvelously with a tender piece of salmon right off the grill. Merlot works great with light Asian fare like California rolls or a sesame chicken salad. Cabernet Sauvignon matches perfectly with tender steak or homemade pasta salad. Try the new Summer White with any of your favorite warm weather cuisines-from fresh fruit salad to hamburgers straight from the grill.

Also, wine lovers can turn their vino into salad dressing. If that's the case, then try using the product from Milo's Whole World Gourmet Company. They combine the wonderful flavor of various wines in their salad dressings. Along with an e-shop, where the dressing retails for about $4 a bottle, you can also have recipes and other information that are related to their products.

You can now and then experiment in your cooking using wine in a variety of dishes; it can be with seafood, creating sauces and such. One thing we heard repeatedly on good old FoodTV is not to cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.

Then there is a company called Wine Cellar Sorbet. They have figured out a way to transform the flavors of vino into a yummy cool dessert. There are a lot of recipes that can be made but here is one which incorporates their Sangria sorbet, called a Champagne Float:

Name: Champagne Float
Category: Cocktail/Smoothie
Author: Sorbet Sommelier
Ingredients: your favorite Wine Cellar Sorbet varietals
semi-sweet sparkling wine
confectioner sugar

Directions: Powder rim of Champagne flute with sugar
Place 2 oz scoop into Champagne flute
Pour sparking wine