In wine, rules are made to be broken. Consider the case of serving temperatures and dolcetto.

Upcoming wine classes

When John Staten, president of Field Stone Winery & Vineyard, near Healdsburg, planned the harvest blessing for his 2005 crop, he didn't have to look very far for a clergyman to perform the duties.

To the savvy wine consumer, reading a wine label can provide vital information, such as the varietal, producer, vintage, alcohol content and the appellation, which tells the place of origin of at least 85 percent of the grapes from which the wine was made.

If it's January, it must be time for ZAP. That's the tag by which the giant zinfandel tasting -- hosted by the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers organization at Fort Mason in San Francisco every year -- is known.

NVC Foundation offers gift annuity

Dear Len & Rosie,

Today's world of mass-market, made-in-China merchandise makes a handmade or one-of-a-kind gift harder to find. Add affordability to the mix and the search may be impossible. But Napa's Melilli's gallery and gift store seemed to have found a niche that shoppers appreciated.

WASHINGTON -- Higher productivity and more jobs fueled growth in the nation's urban areas in 2004, but declines in manufacturing could spell trouble for the Midwest, according to a new report.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. posted its largest annual loss in more than a decade, laying bare the problems the automaker is facing: rising labor costs, fierce competition from Asia and falling sales at home. It was another blow for the U.S. auto industry, already reeling from massive job cuts announced this week by Ford Motor Co.

WASHINGTON -- Orders to American factories for big-ticket goods posted a solid gain in December, propelled by strong demand for autos and machinery, as manufacturers closed out a record year.