In my wine environment!

The environment. It's talked about in schools, in the news, in politics and found on social media. It's discussed at dinner parties and around the water cooler in the workplace. It has rapidly gained the attention of the masses. Unlike wine, whose origins are steeped in both dirt and history, talking about the environment is a relatively new topic and is cause for debate among many. Many of us are still learning how we can best reduce, reuse and recycle. 

How much of an environmentalist are you? Do you turn off your tap to save water while you brush your teeth? Do you hang all of your clothes to dry so you don't use electricity running your dryer? Do you use a bike to get around rather than a car? Do you unplug appliances when they aren't being used? Or do you simply carry on as you always have, with no concern or thought given to your actions? Do you believe that your actions are so small to be of little consequence to the bigger picture? Do you recycle a little or or lot? How about all those empty wine bottles? Do you take them back to the liquor store, the bottle depot or throw them into the recycle bin? Do they (gasp!) end up in the garbage? Perhaps you have a basement full of empties that you are saving because one day you are going to make your own wine? 

I like to think that I fall somewhere in the middle. Not the best but not the worst either. I am a work in progress. Always trying to improve my efforts and be a more conscientious steward of our earth. To that end, when making my recent wine purchases, I chose a bottle of  Ecologica, a Reserva Malbec. It is an organic and Certified Fair Trade wine from la Riojala, Argentina. Priced at around $20 a bottle it is definitely a nice wine. It's smooth and full bodied and would be an excellent pairing for a richer meal such as roast beef or a hearty steak....which, of course, would be an environmentally friendly organic beef with fresh, organic carrots. To complete the meal we would most definitely have a fine, organic cheesecake for dessert! 

It's tough for many of us to find that perfect balance between being a good steward of the environment and keeping up with our busy lives but somewhere in the middle lies that place that we are happy with. If you haven't yet found it, it just might all begin with the perfect bottle of organic wine...you can always drink it by candlelight to conserve energy.

Cheers!