Vanilla

1998 Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana Imperial Reserva Rioja ($45). Seven years of aging can do wonders for a fine red wine, as this elegant and mature Rioja shows. This producer, known as CUNE, produces many fine Riojas, but this is one of the best. It's a complex, medium-bodied wine with intense black cherry, herb and vanilla flavors. The finish is smooth and persistent. Match this beauty with a fine and simply prepared cut of red meat. - - Michael Dresser

While in France, I ate wonderful little vanilla cakes called canneles. I have tried several recipes for these cakes. Can you give me some tips to help them come out like the ones that I remember? History says that more than 200 years ago, canneles were created by nuns who salvaged spilt flour from the holds of sailing ships. The key to getting the crisp, crunchy crust is the beeswax, which is available in health food stores. There shouldn't be any leavening agent in your recipe (i.e., baking powder, baking soda, yeast)

McCormick & Co. reported yesterday that profits were essentially flat compared with a year ago and lowered its earnings projections for the rest of the year, blaming unfavorable moves in foreign currency rates and slipping sales to its industrial customers. The Sparks spice maker said net income in the quarter ended May 31 was $42.8 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $42.9 million, or 30 cents per share, for the year-earlier quarter. Sales climbed 5 percent to $629 million as a result of new products and the acquisition of Dutch spice maker C.M. van Sillevoldt BV in November.

Jack Harvey Sensory panelist responsible for taste-testing products at McCormick & Co., the spice and flavoring maker in Sparks Age: 64 Years in business: Four Salary: Sensory tasters work nine to 12 hours per week and earn $7 to $20 per hour. How he started: Harvey, who retired after 20 years at Aberdeen Proving Ground, was looking for a part-time job and applied at McCormick. He passed the initial screening that determined he has a discriminating palate. He then went through a three-month certification program to learn to quantify the value of flavors in products.

McCormick & Co. Inc. has scooped up several competitors in recent years, and the dividends have paid off handsomely enough that the Sparks-based spice maker said it plans to acquire even more rivals. During the company's annual meeting yesterday, Robert J. Lawless, McCormick's chairman, president and chief executive officer, told about 1,000 shareholders at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn that the company is looking for businesses to buy. "We are interested in acquiring strong brands that take us into new markets or niche products that fit well in our overall portfolio," Lawless said.

An investment in expensive vanilla beans soured profits at McCormick & Co. Inc. for the second quarter in a row, executives said yesterday. Profit fell 5.4 percent to $36 million, or 26 cents per share, in the three months that ended Feb. 28, compared with $38.1 million, or 27 cents per share, in the fiscal first quarter last year. A consensus of analysts surveyed by Thompson Financial had forecast earnings per share of 29 cents. Sales rose 5 percent to $603.6 million, from $572.4 million in the quarter last year.

Bakers, rejoice. Vanilla prices are plummeting after five years of increases that saw the cost of an 8-ounce bottle of extract rise higher than a pound of prime beef tenderloin. Some retailers have cut prices nearly in half; others are likely to do so in coming weeks. Wholesale prices dropped in February, when an abundant vanilla crop started coming to market. King Arthur Flour's spring catalog exhorts bakers to "stock up while you can" on cheaper vanilla. Other retailers have been slower to cut prices.

Debbie Misterka of Amherst, Mass., requested a recipe for a chocolate Coca-Cola cake that she and her son had enjoyed at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. We received many submissions in response to her query, all made almost exactly the same way. I tested the recipe for "Coke Cake" sent in by Louise Dunn from Fayetteville, Ark. She is 94 years old and is still making this moist and delicious cake. Once you see how easy it is to prepare and how good it tastes, you will understand why so many readers had a version they wanted to share from their collections.

WHEN I think of scotch drinkers, I think of florid-faced men in pinstriped suits sunk into leather chairs at some fancy club, their beefy hands wrapped around a glass of 25-year-old Ballantine as they argue whether Ike knows what he's doing with the Russkies. I think of hat-check girls and Guy Lombardo and boozy nights at the Copa, a haze of cigarette smoke clinging to the room like a fog bank. Scotch, to me, is a drink from the past. This is no knock on scotch-drinkers, but in my circle of friends, I know exactly one person who drinks the stuff.