The mayor of Zagreb, Croatia, was in Rutherford Thursday to present Mike Grgich with a golden medal from the city, a rarely given award that recognized Grgich’s contributions to American-Croatian relations, his contributions to Croatia and the relationships he has built between the vintner’s land of birth and his adopted home.

When Copia opened in November 2001, it was called “The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts,” but as it has evolved, it’s become clear, that, just as wine and and Napa Valley are practically synonymous, Copia’s concentration should be on the grape.

NAPA — Round and round they go, hundreds of bottles of Two Buck Chuck rattling and clinking their way toward a big machine that deftly fills, corks and seals each one in a rhythmic dance of metal and glass.

ANDREW DORNENBURG

One word — education — seemed to keep popping up during two seminars at the walk-around tasting of the Association of African American Vintners at Copia last weekend.

VOLGA, S.D. — Jim and Nancy Schade opened their winery, Schade Vineyard, with the goal of bringing a touch of Napa Valley to the South Dakota prairie.

There's something about balmy summer evenings that makes you want to fire up the old grill and treat yourself to an alfresco meal.

Each year Sutter Home Winery's Build a Better Burger National Cook-Off, with its grand prize of $50,000, draws competitors from around the nation with recipes for burgers that range from sublime to strange. Duck burgers, anyone?

If hot dogs and hamburgers don't inspire you to hit the hiking trail and pitch a tent, how about sausage jambalaya bubbling over the campfire followed by hot berry cobbler?

Sticky Chicken

The intense, dry heat of the grill can be a chicken breast's worst enemy.

Blue Cheese Burgers