The following students were named to the Vintage High School Honor Roll for the Spring Semester of the 2006-07 school year.

Nationally known artist Lowell Herrero will be celebrated at the Napa Valley Museum with an exhibition of 30 paintings created over the past decade in his Calistoga studio.

Napans have been hoping for greater access to one of Napa’s premiere performance venues for a dozen years, and it’s coming to fruition with the introduction of the Jarvis Conservatory’s Saturday art film series.

The latest show at the di Rosa Preserve Gatehouse Gallery offers an up-to-the minute look at the work of nine emerging artists from three North Bay counties: Napa, Solano and Sonoma.

A typical night at the Napa Valley Opera House tends to make this reporter feel conspicuously young. I’ll let my hair down from its ponytail and trade my flip flops for a pair of heels in an attempt to blend in. But Saturday night, at the Opera House’s Best of the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition, the ponytail prevailed.

As Baltimore native Greg Kihn hadn’t performed in wine country for more than a decade, I’d almost forgotten what a terrific rock ’n’ roller he is.

Annabelle Huffman, 13, Napa, won Honorable Mention for her entry in the California State Fair Poster Contest, sponsored by the Friends of the California State Fair.

Education

While fresh tomatoes are available year-round, they're definitely at their best during summer.

On a recent, sparkling Napa Saturday afternoon the Redwood Retirement Home became a culinary battleground with five fine North Bay chefs competing in Holiday Retirement's "Iron Chef 2007" cooking contest, modeled after the popular television series.

Todd Humphries, executive chef, Martini House

Todd Humphries, executive chef, Martini House

Sometimes the best way to make the most of fresh produce is to crank up the heat.

Creating a variety of dishes from one prime ingredient provides a welcome challenge for wine country chef Todd Humphries.

It was an alert reader who notified us that the Foothill Café, closed since January, was back in business -- prompting a swift trip to "the one and only since 1991" cafe that helped put Napa on the food map.

Deadline cooking is all about the ingredients. Select the right high-flavor, low-prep ingredients and great meals practically assemble themselves.

The concrete creations of Calistoga artists Emily and Quinn Scheibal are hot.

The Soroptimists of Napa Wine Country held a lobster sale June 16, making possible additional assistance for the women survivors of the devastating disaster long after Hurricane Katrina stopped making headlines.

Sixteen-year-old David Cornes of Napa embarked on an extraordinary adventure last month when he traveled to Russia to participate in the Naval Sea Cadet Corps’ International Exchange Program from July 22 to Aug. 2. The trip was a highlight of Cornes’ many activities with the corps, an organization he joined at age 13.

PHAN — William vs. Catherine Lapidario, Aug. 17, 2007.

ALEMAN-DOMINGUEZ — Aristides Antonio Aleman, 28, Severus Drive, Vallejo to Michelle Dominguez, 27, Winedale Lane, Napa.

QUEEN OF THE VALLEY

Nickname: The Ooute

Nickname: Bud

Readers have something to crow about with this month’s “Where in the Napa Valley.” This month’s mystery rooster is joined by a couple of historic buildings.

Trying to master terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language.

Terms of engagement: Put a French wine lover in a room with a California wine lover and tell them to talk about Champagne and they will soon be at each other’s taste buds, arguing that Champagne and California sparkling wine cannot be compared, contrasted or even mentioned in the same breath. Let’s burst their bubbles — the differences between excellent French Champagnes and excellent California sparkling wines are so slight that few wine experts can tell the differences in a blind tasting of several wines on the table.

When Eileen Crane decided to become a winemaker — a groundbreaking move for a woman 20 years ago — there was a reason she decided to focus on sparkling wines: “I knew I’d be tasting a lot of it,” she said.