goes in chef-repo/data_bags/apache/

data_bags_apache_stuff.json

{
  "id": "stuff",
  "admin_address": {
    "_default": "noone@example.com",
    "production": "root@example.com",
    "development": "devs@example.com",
  }
}

my_vhost.conf.erb

<VirtualHost *:80>
  # bunch of config!

  ServerAdmin <%= @server_admin %>

  # Other config!
</VirtualHost>

recipe.rb

# selecting the address from the data bag by environment

apache_stuff = data_bag_item("apache", "stuff")

template "/etc/apache2/sites-available/my_vhost.conf" do
  source "my_vhost.conf.erb"
  variables(:server_admin => apache_stuff['admin_address'][node.chef_environment])
end