hill country; Julia Reed picks up a few tricks from world-class hostess Sandy Hill at her Santa Ynez Valley ranch.(Interview)

Byline: Julia Reed

Before I went out to California's Santa Ynez Valley to visit Sandy Hill at the ranch and vineyard near Los Olivos where she and her husband, Tom Ditt_mer, spend much of their time, she sent me an E-mail: "Do you ride? Do you wine taste? Do you shoot guns?" Though it must be said that the bulk of my talent lies with the second endeavor, I am capable of all three, so I responded accordingly. And then I panicked. This is a woman, after all, who has scaled the highest peak on each of the world's continents, someone so fit and brimming with such preternatural energy and health that she was once described as looking like she might be about to throw a ...