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.

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.

At most winemaker dinners, the chef who planned the menu is out of view until the end of the meal, when he or she appears to take a bow.

Oxbow Public Market, scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, announced today that three new tenants have been added — Whole Spice, Tillerman Tea and Kitchen Library. 

Our neighbors in Suisun City have reason to rejoice, in that a classy new restaurant has opened on Main Street in a storied brick building that dates from the late 19th century.