Learn something new, every day!

Well, I just learned where cork comes from! All these years, I thought cork came from the sea. I'm not sure why I thought this, but it doesn't.  I just found out that cork comes from Cork Oak Trees. At first, I was a bit disturbed by the way it is harvested. I got a little angry, in fact. So, I did some research and I'm happy to report that the bark of the Cork Oak grows back! How cool is that? Want to learn more about cork and perhaps how to recycle your cork? Go here: corkreharvest.org (photos courtesy of Cork Reharvest.org)

Want to learn more about the Cork Oak trees? Go here: http://tree-species.blogspot.com/2008/04/where-does-cork-come-from.html (photos courtesy of tree-species.blogspot.com)

I was reading that the cork oak absorbs a great deal of CO2 gases, which is great for the environment! I'm seeing now why we need to get our wine companies to go back to cork stoppers rather than screw tops. Yeah, I know, only cheap wines use screw tops. Well, guess what? Many of those "cheap" wines taste better than something you spend a lot of money to buy. I speak from experience, I've had expensive wine and cheap wine and the cheap wine wins every time! No point in paying a lot of money for something just because it makes you look good. I'd rather enjoy what I'm drinking, personally!

Besides, no one fusses when you make a wine cooler out of the less expensive wines. If you did that with the expensive ones, people would accuse you of putting ketchup on a good steak. Who does that? :o) Here's my favorite homemade wine cooler:

Fill a tall glass or a water goblet with ice. Fill the glass about 2/3 to 3/4 full with you favorite wine. I like blackberry Merlot or strawberry Chardonnay. Top off with sprite or 7-up, or you can use soda if you prefer. Add a slice of lime or lemon or float sliced strawberries on top of the Chardonnay.  (You can use Rose or Sangria, any wine that leans to the sweet side works well.) Enjoy!