About two-thirds of the way through an excellent winemaker dinner at the Rat Pack Cafe in Framingham, Todd Williams had the crowd right where he wanted them: begging for more. Todd's nickname when he was a kid -- and this is true for every kid named Todd -- was Toad, thus his winery Toad Hollow, "since Toad Hall was taken," he said. But a kid named Toad has to have something going for himself, or else, and in Todd's case, it's his enveloping intimate personality.

In between bites of his own dinner, Todd spent time with every person there, addressed the wine dinner as a group, and just generally ran the whole show. By the time the crowd begged him to sing, he and the piano player gave them "Ain't Misbehavin'", and I was shaking my head in awe of this seemingly natural entertainer. Todd's Boston rep leaned over and said, "Ever been to a winemaker dinner like this?", and I couldn't say I had. "Robin Williams is his little brother," he said, and of course he started looking familiar, not exactly like Robin Williams but like him at 60, taller, and probably easier to talk to.

Todd's Sonoma Zinfandel succeeds at a very tough price point thanks to this wine's big ripe zin fruit, layers of butter and cream, and aromas like pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Squeezed from below by cheaper synth-zins and attacked head-on by mainstream makers, this zinfandel stays true to its school. Also very good is their second label from France, Le Faux Frog Chardonnay and Syrah, both about $9. The Zinfandel is about $15, available at Fifth Ave. Liquors and others.