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My little sis brought over a bottle of $7 wine the other night to open up while we sat down for a long overdue chat. Now, I’ll admit it; I’m spoiled by some of the pricier wines I’ve had recently. But I’ve decided of late to expand my horizons and remind myself of those totally affordable every day wines. Plus, my bank account is getting mad at me.

So I picked up the bottle. California wine… But I only drink Washington! — Don’t I? Ya, right. I have to give Washington wines context.

Clean label. It actually reminds me of an old Sony Vaio commercial. I wonder if this will make me as happy as it made my friend Nadia to have a new Vaio back in the day? This isn’t a label for my grandma. That’s for sure. A bit too trendy and perhaps not traditional enough to be trusted. But I like clean lines. And clean wines. (Clean seems to be coming up a lot.)

So here we have a Pepperwood Grove 2004 California Syrah. Synthetic cork. Oh my. I’m not going to get into this argument with anyone. Then I pull the cork out. And I am such a sucker for “green” marketing. Here’s what I saw.

And I thought, clever. Because I was sucked in by that little green triangle at the bottom that means I can toss this in my recycle bin and clear my conscience by reducing my carbon footprint.

I know this might not make any sense, but I’d almost buy this wine just so I could feel better about myself by taking out this “neocork” and recycling it. Silly? Absolutely. Except the wine isn’t bad. It has an earthy nose. Dark berries, some dark chocolate, and a bit of pepper to taste. I got some other spice on the end. Clove maybe? Finish was a bit metallic. But for $7, I was pleasantly surprised.

Now what about this neocork business?

This is what Don Sebastiani & Sons, the makers of Pepperwood Grove have to say about their nifty conscience-soothing closures. Hmm…

It certainly appeals to the growing conscientious consumer market–which is rapidly expanding. For that I give them kudos. And although I wouldn’t necessarily buy this wine again (even considering the joy of recycling the cork), I certainly wouldn’t turn down a glass.