As an ethical consumer there are still very few options available when visiting your local wine shop (not to mention bottle store). Ask for an organic wine, one that is sulphite free, or a guarantee that no chameleons were harmed in the production of your tipple and you'll most likely be met with a blank stare.

Is your "Wine of the month" club not offering any environmentally friendly wines? Do you know any wine cellars that are BEE or wines where the workers own a share of the cellar? Never thought that your wine drinking habits could make a difference?

Well that's about to change with socially responsible drinking of a different kind. I've stumbled across two cool ventures that allow you to vote for a better world with your spending power.

One is the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative, which encourages growers and wine producers to set aside a portion of their land for conservation (currently 40513 ha, some 40% of the vineyard footprint is being conserved). There are over 60 producers who you can now look out for when selecting your next bottle if you want to be more biodiverse in your drinking habits.

Saturday was my third outing as "the organic veggie guy" selling fresh produce at the new Constantia County Living Market at the Cape Academy in Tokai. It was a very slow day, measured in sales, but a fulfilling day nonetheless.

My Mon-Fri job is spent in front of a 17-inch computer screen, hammering out code to automate the testing of software for corporate clients - an activity far removed from the natural world. So how does an IT guy by week, become an organic veggie salesman by weekend and why?

I've been a GIY (grow it yourself) fanatic for a few seasons and also know a few people involved in the organic scene in Cape Town, so when friend and market organiser, Jen Kummer, needed a produce stand for the market I put her in touch with someone who could help. As it turned out he was committed to other markets and, at the last minute, I was offered the job!