As a child, my formative picnic experience took place on a grassy meadow overlooking the Seine in the French countryside, where my vacationing family had just spread out lunch.

Suddenly, a grizzled man appeared. “You’re on private property,” he growled. “Leave here at once.”

But then, surveying our beckoning feast, his face softened. “Well, first enjoy your lunch — and then leave immediately,” he said.

Trust a Frenchman to prioritize the importance of a picnic.

Of course, prepping for the picnic season is no casual affair. Careful outfitting is a must if a picnic is to be a carefree pleasure.

Let the groundwork begin, literally, with the right covering to spread on grass or sand. Ground Hog ($24.95 at gracioushome.com) is brushed flannel plaid on top and waterproof nylon underneath. It comes with four corner pegs to keep Ground Hog battened down even on a blustery day, and the whole thing folds neatly into a belted pack.

As for that all-important picnic basket or chest, you’ll need to choose between traditional and contemporary styles. A spacious example of the former is the Highlander by Picnic Time ($129.99 at laytners.com), contoured in a Bombay style of woven and lacquered rattan and bamboo. This double-handled chest is outfitted with a thoughtful service for four, right down to a cutting board and salt and pepper shakers. More up-to-date is the sleek, rectangular Sagaform picnic trunk ($126.99 from picnicworld.net), available in black or green canvas. Its key feature is a small foldout table.

If the dishware supplied with your picnic basket strikes you as being pedestrian, consider the witty, fish-themed, melamine tableware designed by Jonathan Adler (from $6 for a bowl to $18 for a platter at gracioushome.com) that will appeal equally to adults and munchkins. As for wine glasses, if stemmed glasses seem too tippy and tenuous, a steadier alternative is the newest version of the Riedel “O” tumbler, the “Happy O” ($48.95 for a set of four from wineenthusiast.com). The base of each stout glass is tinted a cheerful hue, and they’ll minimize spilling even on hilly terrain.

If you’re planning to have a cookout, consider the Cobb Grill ($169 at orvis.com), a small, hyperefficient miracle in stainless steel portability. Measuring a mere 14-by-12 1/2 inches, it can grill, smoke, or even bake for up to three hours at 500 degrees, using just 10 briquettes. The exterior of the grill remains cool, so that it can be moved with bare hands. It comes with a soft carrying case. Sizzling burgers and hot dogs are the norm for grilling, but I’d opt for Citarella’s delicate yet flavorful seafood sausage ($9.99 a pound at all Citarella shops, including East Hampton), accompanied by marinated veggie slices.

No adult picnic is complete without a supply of well-chilled white or, even better, rosé wine. The fully insulated Bacchus case by Picnic Time ($19.95 at sierratradingpost.com), with its rattan exterior and gamay purple interior lining, is an especially handsome single-bottle wine carrier. It’s outfitted with a pair of glasses, grape-themed cotton napkins, a waiter’s corkscrew, and a nickel-plated bottle stopper. For a bigger crowd, there’s the upscale canvas-and-leather four-bottle case crafted by a Kenyan safari equipment company, Sandstorm ($165 at sandstormkenya.com). Unlike humbler beverage coolers, this one gets better looking with age. And it does its job well: A bottle I’d inadvertently left in my Sandstorm overnight had kept its chill when I discovered it the next noon. Park Avenue Liquors is also selling the Sandstorm, complete with four bottles of red wine from New Zealand’s Craggy Range winery ($275, parkaveliquor.com).

So what’s new to put in that cooler as summer settles in? A surprising entry comes from the sleepy Duero region of Portugal: Croft Pink ($18.95 at astorwines.com), the first ever pink port. While port is normally sipped once the cold winds blow, this strawberry-tinted débutante comes into its own on the rocks or, better yet, as a spritzer. Also new for the season is Champagne Pommery’s new design for “Pop,” its bubbly Champagne for two ($14.95 at sherry-lehmann.com). Decked out in the Stars and Stripes, this bottle is ready to give a French salute on Independence Day weekend — and forget the freedom fries.