Smart splurge: Custom-blending wine tasting

A new winery experience at Conn Creek Napa Valley rates high on the smart scale both financially and intellectually.

Yes, it's $95 - but, even a mundane tasting room visit costs $15-$30 these days. For those, you don't get to take home your own, custom-blended bottle of wine, or sample barrels of various appellations and varietals to learn about terroir and blends. For this, you're winemaker for a day.

Available by appointment only to no more than 10 visitors at a time, the AVA program includes expert guidance, barrel sampling that includes appellations arranged from south to north in the AVA Room, and, finally, blending to the visitor's taste.

I tried it with an industry insider about a year ago, when the program was in its experimental stage, and the early price tag on this was expected to be $150. Thank the economy for dropping a digit.