Silverado Chardonnay 2007

Tasting Notes: Pale yellow color. Abundant fruit aromas of sweet yellow apple, honeydew melon and ripe citrus. Floral notes highlight the nose while aromas of vanilla and oak stay in the background. On the palate, light and refreshing, sprightly! Lingering flavors on the finish tempt you back for another sip.

Suggested retail $25.  VG - 4 stars

Recycle your natural corks

Whole Foods has established a program to recycle natural (not plastic) corks.   Here's the link to their post: http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/04/cork-reharvest/ and an excerpt:

Thanks to World Wildlife Fund and Rainforest Alliance, here are some interesting facts and figures on the Mediterranean cork forests:

• Approximately 6.6 million acres of Mediterranean cork forest extend across Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France.
• Oak forests support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity.
• Natural cork extraction is one of the most environmentally friendly harvesting methods in the world. Not a single tree is cut down in the process. Instead, renewable bark is stripped by hand every 9-12 years and cork oaks can live up to 300 years.
• Cork oak trees store carbon in order to regenerate their bark, and a harvested cork oak tree absorbs up to five times more [carbon dioxide] than one that isn’t harvested.
• Additionally, no bark is wasted during the cork production process, and the residue is granulated to make other cork products and even cork dust is used for fuel.

essay Shiraz 2008

A medium-bodied red that will complement a wide range of food. Ripe plum and cherry fruit with a touch of pepper spice. The viognier (2%) softens the tannins, adds plushness and floral aromas.

I haven't always been the biggest fan of S.A. wines but this is quite good and excellent value ($8 at Whole Foods). Imported by locals International Wines.