When it comes to leasing--whether of tractors, barrels or bottling lines--"you always have to remember that winery owners are farmers," says Mike Barrett, leasing executive with Dumac Leasing, a division of Sonoma County-based Exchange Bank. "They were brought up to pay cash; ownership is the key." American businesses annually lease an estimated $260 billion worth of equipment. But the entrenched attitude Barrett describes may help explain why, according to the latest available U.S. Department of Agriculture study, only about 20 percent of farmers lease some or all of their equipment. As for how popular or widespread leasing is within the wine industry, opinions vary--although there is general agreement about why and when leasing is conside...