In this article: Birthdays Last week's Who's News Hollywood and vine: Celeb vineyards

Matalin's job -- which includes everything from updating the press on the VP's heart condition to explaining the president's agenda -- keeps her so busy we can't get her on the phone anymore. But her husband, that rabid Democrat James Carville, tells us he doesn't mind picking up the slack at home; what he misses is time to talk politics. "When she's home, it's more about family. She's working harder, and there are so many things about life you've got to do." Though this is her first stint as an administration figure, Matalin, 47, was a key player in George Bush senior's presidential campaign, and she's glad to be back with the Bushes, says Carville, 56. Meanwhile, he's in charge of daughters Matty, 5, and Emma, 3. "It's fun," he says. "I like taking them to school and picking them up." They play at his office and their mom's. Emma "offered President Bush her bottle. He said, 'I might try it later.' "

Tyne Daly and Amy Brenneman deserve a lot of credit for making "Judging Amy" one of the best shows on TV, but I'm curious about the actress who plays Donna. She's so comical. Who is she, and was she in "The Perfect Storm"?
Pat Hrdlicka, De Pere, Wis.

Jillian Armenante, 32, wasn't in "Storm", but you may recognize her from "Girl, Interrupted": She played Winona Ryder's tough hospital mate, Cynthia. The Paterson, N.J., native had small roles in plays and films in Seattle and L.A. before landing Amy two years ago. "I miss the laughs from the audience," Armenante says of TV vs. the stage. "But now people come up and tell me they love me, or honk and yell, 'Hey, Donna!' " It hasn't gone to her head. She still drives a black '88 Mazda RX-7, buys flea-market furniture and rides a green '70s Schwinn. Her first splurge after getting a regular TV gig? "Rent," she says seriously. "After that, I paid for my last 15 years on credit cards."

Thanks to all the accolades for "Traffci", Benicio Del Toro is no longer an unknown. What's next for him?
Melanie Ramsay, Lockport, Ill.

Del Toro, 34, is in Oregon filming "The Hunted", a thriller. He knows awards are a mixed blessing, because with them come offers of as many bad roles as good ones. "I wish I could take my time and do the stuff you recognize as good," he says, but with a writers' strike looming, he may not have the luxury of waiting for the perfect project. Interestingly, he didn't peg "Traffic" as good at first. Despite the big names in the cast, he tells us, he had no idea it would prove so special.

Hollywood and vine: Celebs grapple with the grape

YOU'VE WON the Super Bowl, your Oscar, your Olympic gold. Your financial portfolio is portly. It's no longer enough to have a well-stocked wine cellar. Now, well-heeled oenophiles are growing their own grapes. Vanna White, Joe Montana and new Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil are just a few of the boldfaced names doing it.

For those with the means, but not the time to toil the fields, Clos LaChance Vineyards' CK Vines in California's Santa Cruz Mountains will plant, tie and tend the grapes. Cost: $30,000 per acre for the initial installation, plus $5,000 per acre for maintenance. The 25 vineyard clients include Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming. "It's a peaceful setting," the skater says. "When we were first married, we even attempted to make our own wine. It's hard!" Their 1.5 acres will produce about 160 cases, a lot for friends and family, so they'll donate some wine to charity auctions.

Winemaking isn't for those light of pocketbook or patience. An acre in California's Napa Valley can go for $200,000, and your grapes won't produce wine for years. Few have the resources or vision of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, whose Niebaum-Coppola Winery puts out 250,000 cases a year. Golfer Greg Norman doesn't have his own vineyard but nonetheless has his own line, Greg Norman Estates Australian wines (his current favorite: Greg Norman Estates Shiraz).

Vermeil says people are already asking about his wines, the first of which is a year away from the marketplace. The label will be Jean Louis Vermeil, after a winemaking great-great-grandfather. Vermeil's involvement will largely be the marketing of what he hopes will be about 200 cases a year of well-produced boutique (or "garage") wine. "Hopefully, we'll make it the cabernet of the NFL."

Other winey celebrities include Gérard Depardieu, Steven Seagal and the Smothers Brothers. Famous name or no, if the wine is poor, it's unlikely to last. "The truth of the wine is in the soil," says "Wine Spectator" magazine's Thomas Matthews. "That's an abiding truth, regardless of the flash and glitter of who may own the winery."

THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS

April 8: Patricia Arquette, 33; Robin Wright Penn, 35; Betty Ford, 83
April 9: Cynthia Nixon, 35; Dennis Quaid, 47; Hugh Hefner, 75
April 10: Haley Joel Osment, 13; Mandy Moore, 17; Babyface, 43
April 11: Bret Saberhagen, 37
April 12: Claire Danes, 22; Shannen Doherty, 30; Vince Gill, 44; Andy Garcia, 45; David Letterman, 54
April 13: Rick Schroder, 31
April 14: Sarah Michelle Gellar, 24; Pete Rose, 60