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I pitied the other tourists at the car rental lot at the Los Angeles airport: The sight of two Englishmen in their mid-30s sinking uncertainly into a white Mustang convertible is not pleasant.

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Money Magazine: Retiree havens go on saleupdated: Mon Dec 12 2011 11:17:00

Even if you're a decade or more away from quitting time, you may be thinking about buying a retirement home right now.

Champion pumpkin fails to squash world record, but still is plenty plumpupdated: Mon Oct 10 2011 20:20:00

Although the champion of the Half Moon Bay, California, pumpkin weigh-in didn't break the world record Monday, as officials hoped, it was big enough to smash the state record and help the event keep its reputation as the Super Bowl of weigh-offs.

SI.com: Ann Killion: New jersey number, new opportunity for Raiders' Pryorupdated: Fri Aug 26 2011 21:23:00

NAPA, Calif. -- Terrelle Pryor was out on the Raiders practice field for the first time on Friday, recognizable by his height but not by his number.

Money Magazine: Forget Napa: 3 cheap wine destinationsupdated: Fri Aug 26 2011 18:18:00

Don't follow the crowds to Napa or Bordeaux this fall. You'll save nearly 40% on lodging at these locations -- and the vino is cheaper, too.

San Francisco police arrest Picasso thief suspectupdated: Thu Jul 07 2011 14:31:00

San Francisco police have arrested a suspect who they say stole a $200,000 Picasso piece Tuesday from the Weinstein Gallery, according to a police statement.

America's best wine country restaurantsupdated: Fri Nov 05 2010 12:08:00

Eating well has always been easy in wine regions. It makes sense: people who pay close attention to what they drink don't typically settle for fast-food cheeseburgers. But dining well is different from eating well, and in many wine areas it has become possible only recently.

As vote looms, Northern California ponders how to peddle legal potupdated: Mon Nov 01 2010 15:18:00

Tony Smithers has been answering a lot of questions lately about marijuana. Over coffee at Ramone's Bakery & Cafe, he was polite but mildly irked to be fielding queries about a substance the federal government outlaws.

California wine country -- with kids?updated: Tue Jul 06 2010 09:27:00

We're in California's famous wine country -- shopping for frying pans.

A new Napa valleyupdated: Tue May 11 2010 08:04:00

CNN's Nic Robertson mets a Macedonian businessman who returns to wine making with a new idea.

Napa Wine Train in middle of stimulus fightupdated: Fri Jan 29 2010 07:50:00

It is the quintessential Napa Valley experience.

Wine train funded by stimulus?updated: Fri Jan 29 2010 07:50:00

CNN's Randi Kaye reports on the Napa Wine Train, which has been criticized for allegedly receiving stimulus funds.

Napa Valley's top secretsupdated: Tue Nov 17 2009 09:42:00

You don't need us to tell you that Napa Valley is a nice place to visit. What you do need is a way to lose the masses.

Fortune: Wine buying for vulturesupdated: Fri Sep 25 2009 11:34:00

There's an oft-repeated bit of eno-philosophy that says the wine business is immune to recession because people drink in good times and bad. But it turns out there's a caveat: In bad times such as these, they mostly drink the cheap stuff.

4 wine country contendersupdated: Tue Sep 01 2009 09:29:00

Perhaps they're not the first place you think of when it comes to wineries, but these four regions offer character and great wine, without the hoopla.

SI.com: Ann Killion: New coach, new scandal, same old dysfunction with Raidersupdated: Tue Aug 18 2009 09:50:00

This season the Raiders dirty laundry was supposed to be stuffed in the hamper. Out of sight. Deodorized. This was going to be the year that the woeful Raiders finally turned it around. Instilled discipline. Got back to basics. Stopped all the nonsense and distractions and the Al Davis public displays that come complete with overhead projectors and legal action.

Fortune: World's best Chardonnay...from Canada?updated: Fri Jun 12 2009 10:48:00

Ask most wine hounds and sommeliers on either side of the Atlantic where the best chardonnay originates, and the answer will almost certainly be California or France.

People.com: Natasha Henstridge Planning International Wedding Bashupdated: Fri Jun 05 2009 02:28:00

The actress wants a ceremony on the beach and celebrations in Canada and Scotland

Fortune: Another round?updated: Wed Mar 11 2009 15:12:00

Professional golfers and hackers alike try all sorts of unusual things to avoid the dreaded three-putt: cross-handed grips, staggered stances, elongated putters. Jayson Woodbridge has his own trick. He swings with one hand.

Practical advice about car warrantiesupdated: Fri Dec 26 2008 09:28:00

"Isn't it covered under my warranty?" This question is asked thousands of times a day in dealership service departments around the country.

Fortune: Winemaking for fun and profitupdated: Tue Oct 07 2008 10:47:00

As the former president of Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Television, Rich Frank has a long list of blockbusters to his credit, from Cheers and Entertainment Tonight to Pretty Woman and The Lion King. He's a born marketer with a knack for convincing the public that we want what he's got. And now he's ready to reveal his latest masterpiece, several years in the making. At his office in Calistoga, Calif., he reaches behind his desk for a dark, unmarked bottle that must weigh five pounds or more. It's called Promise. He hands it over. "This," he says, "is going to be one of those cult wines."

Plush Tennessee farm a treat for familiesupdated: Wed Sep 03 2008 11:31:00

I'd all but given up on resort vacations for my family. I just couldn't take the food. As the editor of Food & Wine magazine, I've grown accustomed to culinary adventures pretty much every day. But resort meals, with their overcooked pasta and tasteless chicken, managed to fall short of even my lowest expectations.

Time.com: Bottle Shock is Hard to Swallowupdated: Fri Aug 08 2008 18:00:00

The somewhat true story of the little California wine that could lacks all the character one expects from a fine vintage

SI.com: Tom Bowles: NASCAR's search for sponsors may not get any easierupdated: Thu Jul 31 2008 16:40:00

Four days after tires, tempers and tension ran high at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the buzz continues about the sport's future direction.

SI.com: Asomugha will sign one-year deal with Raidersupdated: Thu Jul 24 2008 11:42:00

The Raiders will have all their players present Thursday when they open training camp in Napa, Calif.

Time.com: Bush to Survey California Wildfiresupdated: Thu Jul 17 2008 07:00:00

President Bush will visit Northern California to get a first-hand look at the wildfires that have ravaged hundreds of square miles and strained the state's firefighting resources

Best temperatures for these tasksupdated: Mon Jul 14 2008 09:49:00

From making an omelet to getting some sleep, a little change in the mercury can make a big difference

Time.com: 1 Dead in Calif. Wildfiresupdated: Fri Jul 11 2008 10:00:00

Firefighting officials said Friday that one person died when a wildfire swept through a rural area of Northern California, a rare human casualty among the hundreds of blazes that have tormented the state for weeks

SI.com: Brian Cazeneuve: Banner night for swimming royaltyupdated: Sat Jul 05 2008 00:28:00

Youth was served at the Olympic swimming trials Friday night. And experience savored the meal.

Big Sur wildfires wreak havocupdated: Fri Jun 27 2008 20:47:00

Smoke climbed high into the sky Friday as firefighters struggled to contain two wildfires that combined near Big Sur in California, a fire official said.

CNNMoney: Get your hands off my gas...capupdated: Fri May 30 2008 10:19:00

As gas begins to look more like liquid gold, more motorists are keeping it under lock and key, fueling sales for locking gas caps, according to retailers and manufacturers.

Sonoma, California: Where local food mattersupdated: Fri Apr 18 2008 11:16:00

Sondra Bernstein shocked Sonoma 10 years ago with her tiny, Cab-free restaurant, the Girl & the Fig. No Chardonnay even -- just Rhône wines (many locally grown and made) and a gutsy southern French menu fashioned out of the county's bounty. And at nearby Cafe La Haye, John McReynolds and Saul Gropman had started turning out stellar California-French dishes in a kitchen they could reach across.

FSB: A new Napa: No. 11: American Canyon, Calif.updated: Tue Apr 01 2008 15:09:00

His brown hair encased in a paper hairnet, Jeff Mezzetta strides through the aisles of his bottling facility in American Canyon, Calif., six miles south of the city of Napa.

Fliers beware: 2007 set to be worst year for delays, report saysupdated: Fri Sep 28 2007 11:41:00

Frequent and lengthy flight delays are increasing and worsening, putting 2007 on track to break records set in 2000, according to a Department of Transportation inspector general report.

FSB: A chocolate company's comebackupdated: Fri Sep 28 2007 08:53:00

In some ways the errant freight car that tore through the factory of Maud Borup Chocolates in 2003 did the owners a favor. Sure, the incident - in which no one was injured - ruined the building, destroyed inventory and raw materials, and put the underinsured company's survival in question (see "Thrown off track," from the February 2004 issue). But, says co-owner Kim Kalan, "the train accident made us rethink our whole business."

Green grapes: Turning sunshine into Napa wineupdated: Wed Sep 12 2007 12:11:00

California's Napa Valley, with its rolling hills, vineyards and prized terrain, produces some of America's finest wines. Here, tradition and craft are everything.

Business 2.0: Two Buck Chuck takes a bite out of Napaupdated: Fri Sep 07 2007 03:58:00

There's a war on bluster, and Fred Franzia is losing. Sure, the CEO of Bronco Wine, the nation's fourth-largest wine company, tells me repeatedly that only a sucker would pay more than $10 for a bottle of wine - including his own $35 Domaine Napa. And that Napa's and Bordeaux's claims about their special soils are bogus: "We can grow on asphalt. Terroir don't mean sh*t." After relieving himself by the side of his Jeep, Franzia recounts a trip to Burgundy where, after an elaborate tasting, he told the winemaker at Château Haut-Brion, "You can bottle gasoline if you can sell that."

People.com: Usher & Tameka Foster Finally Get a Weddingupdated: Tue Sep 04 2007 08:42:00

After a quiet civil ceremony, Usher and Tameka Foster at last pulled off their dream wedding in Atlanta on Saturday.

California's Lake County looks better than ever updated: Thu Aug 09 2007 23:56:00

By the time we arrive at Ceàgo Del Lago Winery, on the northwestern shore of Lake County's Clear Lake, we've seen far more birds than people. Western grebes, thousands of them, bob peacefully until our boat gets directly in front of them. Then they dive upside down like toy ducks, showing their black-and-white behinds before disappearing under the surface.

If you go: Lake County, Californiaupdated: Thu Aug 09 2007 23:24:00

With new wineries, restaurants, and places to stay, Lake County (north of Napa) looks better than ever.

Monster truck drives into crowdupdated: Thu Aug 09 2007 21:50:00

Monster truck drives into crowd

Napa and Sonoma Styleupdated: Tue Aug 07 2007 22:37:00

Travel + Leisure scoured California's wine country to find one-of-a-kind boutiques and charming small-town stores. From Calistoga to Healdsburg, these eight spots are worth a visit.

Art in Napa: Festival del Soleupdated: Wed Aug 01 2007 00:47:00

Art in Napa: Festival del Sole

Wine, wedding and songupdated: Wed Aug 01 2007 00:47:00

If Barrett Wissman were in the ministry, his arts festivals would be sunny outposts on a fast-widening mission field. His Tuscan Sun Festival opens Saturday in Cortona, Italy. An all-new Singapore Sun Festival opens October 18.

Drink in the views in America's fabled wine countryupdated: Mon Jul 23 2007 04:00:00

Press the switch to open the curtains in your valley-view room at the Poetry Inn, and you're suspended with the primary-striped hot-air balloons of postcard fame. Pedal up the Silverado Trail to the Miner Family villa, climb the steps, look west over your shoulder, and a world-class view is yours too. The first might be a decade's splurge; the second, just a weekend getaway. There are many ways to enjoy this wine country.

A day of spas, with a side of Syrahupdated: Sat Jun 30 2007 06:48:00

Whether you're looking for mud baths or bike routes, a castle or just a good meal, Travel + Leisure steers you in the right direction on this easy drive from San Francisco to Calistoga, California.

CNNMoney: Top 5 consumer complaintsupdated: Wed Feb 07 2007 16:40:00

Of the more than 670,000 consumer fraud complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission in 2006, identity theft was the biggest category of reported cases, accounting for 36 percent of calls.

Fortune: A backyard vineyard that makes wine - yoursupdated: Fri Dec 08 2006 09:53:00

One weekend morning in 2002, Michael Brill had the sort of epiphany that commonly befalls successful businesspeople - particularly tech businesspeople who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fed up...

Top chef has appetite for successupdated: Wed Nov 01 2006 08:57:00

Drive for an hour north of San Francisco following Highway 29 and you will enter the majestic wine country that is Napa Valley.

FSB: Annie's Homegrown: A rabbit comforts mac 'n cheese buyersupdated: Thu Sep 14 2006 16:26:00

Similar to Robert's American Gourmet, Annie's Homegrown, a Napa, Calif., company founded by former organic farmer (and Smartfood creator) Annie Withey in 1989, sells packaged food that's supposed to be better for you than competing products. But unlike the iconoclastic, fun approach that Robert's takes, Annie's sends a message of caring and concern.

Fortune: Wine shouldn't be workupdated: Thu Sep 07 2006 14:09:00

Why is it that wine has a singular ability to reduce otherwise worldly men and women to insecure, stuttering naifs--or worse, swaggering poseurs? It's mystifying, frankly. But as chef Mario Batali ...

Money Magazine: Case File: Luxuriesupdated: Fri Sep 01 2006 00:01:00

THE LAW There's an added cost to buying fancy items--call it the bragging tax. But often the same quality and features can be found for less if you feel like evading that surcharge.

Money Magazine: How to get the best deal on luxuriesupdated: Mon Aug 07 2006 08:03:00

Do you need a pair of tickets to Springsteen? A bottle of wine? A fancy wristwatch?

Fortune: My summer vacationupdated: Mon Jul 10 2006 00:01:00

Having recently explored the options available to the busy executive for summer relaxation, I was at a loss, I don't mind telling you.

CNNMoney: Stuck! Homes sit longer on the marketupdated: Mon Jun 26 2006 09:49:00

The tell-tale sign of a stagnating real estate market? When homes for sale start lingering - and that's exactly what real estate brokers and other industry watchers say they're seeing now.

Texas Hill Country: The next Napa?updated: Thu Mar 16 2006 10:02:00

Texans consider seeing the bluebonnets abloom in the Hill Country a true rite of passage. For those of us merely passing through this time of year, the experience borders on pure joy.

CNNMoney: Wine country lifeupdated: Fri Nov 25 2005 10:30:00

One of the favorite fantasies of the affluent post-industrial age is the retreat to wine country.

Napa's dreamupdated: Wed Jun 22 2005 10:05:00

River floods leave fertile soil in their wake, the silver lining to the havoc wrought. But instead of cropland, the Napa River is repaying its namesake city with a revitalized downtown scene.

CNNMoney: Planning weddings, at $500,000 perupdated: Thu Jun 09 2005 14:14:00

Not long ago a wedding was a modest affair: a little lace and a bit of the bubbly were all it took to launch a couple on the sea of matrimony.

FSB: A $500,000 Wedding?updated: Wed Jun 01 2005 00:01:00

Not long ago a wedding was a modest affair: a little lace and a bit of the bubbly were all it took to launch a couple on the sea of matrimony. These days it calls for much more pomp and ceremony. H...

Business 2.0: The Fall of the House of Mondaviupdated: Fri Apr 01 2005 00:01:00

"Take it back," snapped Robert Mondavi, his pulse quickening with rage. What had been a festive family celebration that day in November 1965 got eerily still. Robert and his brother Peter had toile...

CNNMoney: Pinups for the auto eliteupdated: Tue Feb 08 2005 10:15:00

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Call it a girly pin-up for metrosexuals.

FSB: A New Vintageupdated: Tue Feb 01 2005 00:01:00

It's an 85-degree day in September, and Mike Wood of Wood Family Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., is inspecting his 14 acres of merlot grapes. He wanders between the rows of vines, sampling grapes t...

CNNMoney: Valentine's vacationsupdated: Mon Jan 24 2005 14:43:00

Nothing says "I love you" like a $125,000 five-day getaway that starts in the Alaskan wilderness, stops on Rodeo Drive and comes to a finale on an historic Broadway stage.

CNNMoney: Champagne & toastingupdated: Wed Dec 15 2004 11:26:00

For many, ringing in the New Year will involve making a toast. Some people find it intimidating -- especially in front of a crowd.

Outsourcing study a welcome surprise in budget billupdated: Sun Dec 05 2004 20:39:00

Congressional authority to peek into citizens' tax returns wasn't the only clause hidden in the omnibus spending bill that recently passed. There's also a more welcome surprise for the American worker: a grant for a comprehensive study of the effects of outsourcing U.S. jobs to cheap, foreign labor markets.

CNNMoney: Keeping them down on the farmupdated: Tue Nov 16 2004 09:31:00

The property begins a few yards from the Mediterranean, wanders through fields and orchards, then climbs up a talus slope before ending at the base of a marble cliff.

CNNMoney: Spain's moment in the sunupdated: Thu Oct 07 2004 10:33:00

Every few years, wine lovers anoint a country or region as their new darling. In the 1970s, it was Napa. Then came Sonoma, Chile, Australia and others from the New World.

FSB: Wine 2.0 A small Napa winery uses high-tech aerial cameras to tend its vines. Result? Robust yields.updated: Tue Jun 01 2004 00:01:00

Ah, the legendary romance of winemaking. Apple-cheeked peasant girls treading grapes under a harvest moon. Intimate tastings. And, of course, multispectral imaging and neutron probes. Huh?

Business 2.0: Fruity, With Lush Margins Vintners scoffed when Nickel & Nickel debuted $125 wines in a recession. But Napa Valley is toastiupdated: Tue Jun 01 2004 00:01:00

California's wine country, it turns out, was hit just as hard by the economic downturn as the rest of the world. Prices for some of the most coveted brands plummeted by a third, and profits of high...

FSB: Thread Headsupdated: Tue Jun 01 2004 00:01:00

The sorry stats say that as much as 10% of all wine is infected with TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), a compound found in plastic, burlap, and--more to the point--cork. A mere nanogram can make a live...

Business 2.0: Great Offsites on a Shoestring Want to boost morale without sinking the balance sheet? Try one of these local spots for your nexupdated: Tue Jun 01 2004 00:01:00

That last offsite in Barbados? The beach was great, not to mention the rum punch. But add up the plane tickets and the days lost to travel and ... well, the office conference room starts looking pr...

FSB: No More Foreign Oilupdated: Sat May 01 2004 00:01:00

California's Olive Oil is about where its wine was 20 years ago: A few small producers are making great products, yet many consumers still think the best stuff comes from Europe. The U.S. imports a...

Money Magazine: Bourbon's Birthplace Forget Napa winery tours. "America's native spirit" is made in Kentuckyupdated: Mon Mar 01 2004 00:01:00

Years ago, you'd see lots of bourbon drinkers showing up in the obituaries, but not many in the wedding announcements." That's Bill Samuels talking. He's the CEO of Maker's Mark, the brand that's h...

CNNMoney: Romantic getaways: San Franciscoupdated: Wed Jan 28 2004 10:54:00

Why San Francisco? We'll leave it to Tony Bennett to explain.

Business 2.0: A Vacation Home of Your Own Tired of the crowds and costs in the Hamptons or Napa? Here are six close-in spots with everything yupdated: Thu Jan 01 2004 00:01:00

BOSTON

Business 2.0: Are Your Competitors Packing? Four reasons to consider upgrading not just the product but the stuff you ship with it.updated: Tue Jul 01 2003 00:01:00

Anytime you come home to find a big box sitting on your stoop, you know what comes next: digging through a lot of cardboard, polystyrene, starch peanuts, bubble wrap, plastic pillows, or confetti t...

Money Magazine: San Francisco, Californiaupdated: Tue Nov 19 2002 06:41:00

Rudyard Kipling once pointed out San Francisco's one drawback: 'Tis hard to leave. That's still true today, even after the Internet bust that hit the Northern California economy so hard.

Fortune: There's No Place Like These Homes Good news: Trophy properties have been a sizzling investment. Better news: This trend has legsupdated: Mon Aug 13 2001 00:01:00

Wall Street hasn't exactly been pampering Wayne Huizenga lately. The shares of his car-retailing empire, AutoNation, and his garbage hauler, Republic Services, are both chewing gravel. But while hi...

Fortune: Breaking The Wineglass Ceiling After years of toiling in the vineyards, women are rising to the top of California's luxury wine updated: Mon Aug 14 2000 00:01:00

Even in our gilded age, this spring's Napa Valley Wine Auction was amazing. Tickets to the four-day charity event, priced at $2,000 per couple, sold out within a week. The food was fantastic--salmo...

Fortune: Street Lifeupdated: Mon Jun 21 1999 00:01:00

THE BEST JOB ON WALL STREET

Fortune: BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE YOU SAY YOU CAN'T GET THE BEST TABLE AT THE FINEST RESTAURANT IN TOWN? TRY AGAIN. YOU PROBABLY AREN'T LOOupdated: Mon Sep 09 1996 00:01:00

So you've landed the vice presidency, you're spending tons of your company's money at the bistro of the moment, and the maitre d' still sniffs and seats you near the busboy. Now what? For those of ...

Fortune: In vino paupertasupdated: Mon Apr 25 1988 00:01:00

The number of bonded wineries in the U.S. has more than doubled, to over 1,400, in the past dozen years, partly because burned-out executives have been trading in the big-city life for pastoral toi...

Fortune: The Juice joins the soda warsupdated: Mon Sep 30 1985 00:01:00

In the soft-drink industry, where a successful new product can be like hitting the New York lottery, companies are placing their bets on an unlikely combination: carbonated beverages with real frui...

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