Garbage

Part of my job is to work with the weekly News updates on the website. This was the story we put up the other day…it about a company that takes your leftovers and uses them to fertilize growing vineyards, the guy from the company called me this morning with huge enthusiasm that he wants to send through as more pictures of the leftovers on the vines for me. Hey whatever works, I just thought it was an interesting concept to share.

Norcal uses the discarded trimmings and processes them into organic fertilizer that's designed to help grapevines grow stronger roots and develop greater disease resistance. The compost de cuisine is then shipped to more than 100 vineyards in Northern California. According to Norcal, in the last four months of 2006, participating vineyards ordered more than 450 truckloads--or 16,000 cubic yards--of compost made with food scraps collected from more than 2,000 San Francisco and Oakland restaurants and private homes that provide 330 tons of the dinner leftovers every day. Of course, the next time the sommelier tells you the wine has meaty flavors and aromas, it's not because some guy couldn't finish his steak. But don't feel bad about not finishing yours--it's going to greener pastures. (Excerpt by Eric Arnold/winespectator.com)