September 16, 1981

The Dr Pepper Company has agreed in principle to acquire the business and most of the assets of Norton Simon Inc.'s Canada Dry subsidiary, the two companies announced late yesterday. Analysts said that the transaction would solidify Dr Pepper's nowtenuous market position as the third-largest soft-drink company after Coca-Cola and Pepsico. It is just ahead of the Seven-Up Company, a Philip Morris subsidiary. The announcement gave no indication of the nature of the transaction or of its estimated value. The brief statement, issued after approval of the sale during an afternoon meeting of Norton Simon's board, said the transaction was subject to the ''preparation and execution of a definitive agreement containing customary conditions.''

One recent afternoon, in the quiet time between the end of lunch and the beginning of dinner, 13 men sat down at a long table in the pale green Art Deco dining room of the G. Lombardi restaurant in Little Italy for a meal consisting of a salad of mussels, squid, shrimp, flaked codfish and black and green olives dressed with olive oil and lemon, a pasta with pesto and a main course of veal, chicken and mushrooms in Marsala. At the head of the table sat Salvatore Lubrano, who quietly smiled as the 12 others ate and chatted. Then, as they finished, he clapped his hands and said, ''All right!'' Aprons were strapped back on, toques went back on heads, black bow ties were clipped back on collars, monkey jackets were buttoned and the diners became second chef, salad prep, dishwashers, waiters and busboys. The staff had eaten and were going back to their jobs under the watchful eye of Mr. Lubrano, who is G. Lombardi's managing chef, or first cook, as he calls himself.

I used to be among those who were constantly trying to write something perceptive and flattering about California wines. ''The California miracle...30 years ago an industry in ruins...up from the ashes of Prohibition...new wineries every week...better and better...more and more'' - not original, but heartfelt. Not suprisingly, a couple of years in Europe, away from that charged atmosphere, effects a few changes. Actually it started fairly early in my tour. Lonely travelers would appear bearing California wines in their kits. They - the wines, not the travelers -seemed to have lost some of their charm, the reds in particular. Was it some kind of latent snobbism? Was it possible to become the Henry James of wine, eager to embrace the Old World and shuck off the New?

President Reagan, after threatening to veto an appropriations bill, won a key House test vote. (Page A1.) He also scored a victory over the dairy lobby when the Senate adopted his plan for lowering milk price supports. (A25.) Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige acknowledged implicitly that the economy was likely to be weaker nextyear than the Administration forecast two months ago. (D1.) Scores of banks lowered their prime lending rates by half a point, to 20 percent, giving business relief from high interest rates. The cut reflected a decline in what banks must pay for their own funds. (D1.)

Businesses across the country received a bi t of relief from high interest rates yesterday as scores of banks l owered their prime lending rates half a percentage point, to 20 percent. The reduction reflected a sharp decline in what banks must pay for their own funds,giving them leeway for further reductions in the interest rates they charge their customers. Interest rates also declined in the credit markets yesterday for both long-term and short-term issues as the financial markets debated whether the Federal Reserve had eased monetary policy. (Page D12.)