The view from the Carnelian Room’s exclusive, 52nd-floor Wine Room set the mood for last night’s high-end California Cabernet tasting. As the smoky pastel haze settled on the Bay Bridge, the 65 members of the elite Vintners Club took their seats and got to sniffing, swirling, sipping and ultimately judging.

There wasn’t much discussion during this portion of the evening. It reminded me of the Judgment of Paris reenactment at Copia, May of 2006. Save for a clicking glass or two, you could’ve heard a pin drop in that room, and it was the same here.

We were tasting blind 12 (A-L) of the finest Cabernet wines made in California, if not the world. This is a serious wine club, with serious members and a 36-year history. This was their 1,466th tasting. Wine importers, top winemakers, serious collectors. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Treasurer Lalita Waterman, who I learned shares a similar palate to me. To my left, Domaine Chandon’s winemaker James Kress. Across the table was a lovely Danville couple, the Silvas, who have an impress 1,000-plus bottle cellar.

I loved the Vintners Club’s extended Wine Wheel, modified to include nutty aromas (walnut, hazelnut and almond). They’d opened the bottles around 1:30 p.m., Lalita told me, and poured the wines around 4:45 p.m. The tasting began promptly at 6 p.m.

I mention this because many of the wines, we all concluded, were a bit off and no one could figure out quite what it was. Clarity was minimal, I thought, and the nose on many of the wines was tight, closed. What’s more, a few were imbalanced and flawed, according to Kress’ copious notes. Unusual, considering most of us were very familiar with these wines, the likes of Shafer, Ridge and Corison, albeit older vintages. Most were 2004 vintages, ranged in price from $65 to $217, and command five-year waiting lists.

My favorite wine: I voted the Caymus Vineyards Special Selection Napa Valley as my #1. So did Lalita. It was silky and full and gorgeous; it stood up to its Napa Valley roots with big dark fruits, chewy tannins and even some green and black olives in the back of the nose. I thought it was true to varietal, something a lot of the thinner bodied, jammy wines did not command.

Before Lalita announced the results of the blind tasting, Paul Draper, Ridge’s legendary winemaker and a Vintners Club member, spoke about his traditional training and the terroir of his Santa Cruz appellation that produces the Judgment winner, Monte Bello. He’s a great man. A class act and a star, so what I’m about to tell you probably didn’t phase him much. The Ridge Monte Bello finished last in the blind tasting. I ranked it 4th.

The group’s #1 was Rocca Family Vineyard’s Yountville Napa Valley, the second most affordable wine, at $65, in the tasting. I ranked it 6th. Shafer’s Hillside Select, the cult wine of cult wines and one I still dream about after tasting it during Premiere Napa Valley earlier this year, came in 3rd. I voted it 8th. There you have it.

What does all this mean? Vintage vintage. Aging aging. I think we should go back and taste these wines next year. 2001 continues to go down as my favorite year for Cabernet, but now that I think about it, I felt that way in 2004. What is extremely interesting is how these wines will play out to the French, who will taste many of them as a group for the first time in Bordeaux on October 19. The Danville couple I mentioned is going. The Vintners Club has deep ties to Bordeaux, and when the chateau owners and winemakers from Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Lafite-Rothschild among others expressed interest in a blind tasting of Cali cabs, the Tiburon-based club was happy to organize.

Until then, here are the 12 wines along with group ranking and price. Cheers.

1st Place: Rocca ($65)
2nd Place: Garguilo Money Road Ranch ($70)
3rd Place: Shafer Hillside Select ($217)
4th Place: Ramey Pedregal Vineyard ($152)
5th Place: Kendall-Jackson Stature ($103)
6th Place: Caymus Special Selection ($147)
7th Place: Flora Springs Out-of-Sight Vineyard ($92)
8th Place: Williamson Wines Atlas Peak ($62)
9th Place: Chappelet Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard ($135)
10th Place: Corison Kronos Vineyard ($135)
11th Place: Dominus Estate Yountville ($132)
12th Place: Ridge Monte Bello ($217)

I haven’t blogged about the Urban Wine Experience on purpose because I’m devoting an entire cover to the wines, the people and the overall movement in our paper on Sept. 19.

But for now, I can’t help but gush about some of the wines. I’m very proud this is all happening in my backyard (the 15 wineries that make up the East Bay Vintners are in Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda areas).

If you missed the event, here are the wines you need to get your hands on now. Look out for my story in the Food & Wine pages of both our paper and the Oakland Tribune on Sept. 19, where I hope to tell their stories:

The winery: Harrington Pinot Noir, Berkeley.
What to try: The Carneros pinot was my favorite, but since that’s hard to find, I recommend the 2005 Sonoma Coast ($38). They made 160 cases of it. It’s got a lot of big tannins, dark fruit and game.
Find at: Solano Cellars, Albany and Farmstead Cheeses & Wines, Alameda.

The winery: Dashe Cellars, Oakland.
What to try: 2006 Dry Riesling from McFadden Farms ($20), in Mendocino County’s Potter Valley appellation. Bone dry, it’s got an orange blossom nose and honeysuckle flavor. Gorgeous acidity. I can’t wait to have this with Burmese food.
Find at: Their web site, or call the distributor.

The winery: Eno, North Berkeley.
What to try: Grenache “G05,” Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino ($25). The 10 percent Syrah deepends this wine’s color and mouth feel yet stays completely true to the varietal, with bright colored fruit flavors. I can see why, as it was age in neutral French oak.
Find at: on their site.

The winery: JC Cellars, Oakland.
What to try: 2005 Preston Vineyard Marsanne ($32), gorgeous, lush, full of mineral and a treat to be home grown. If you can afford it, get your hands on the Pourquoi Pas ($135) as well, half winemaker Jeff Cohn’s Rockpile Syrah and half his buddy, French winemaker Pierre Gaillard’s Northern Rhone Syrah, from Cote Rotie. As of last weekend, they only had 9 cases left but boy is this stuff beautiful. It’s the only Syrah blend of its kind and should age beautifully for at least a decade.
Find at: on their site.

The winery: Aubin Cellars, Oakland.
What to try: 2004 Columbia Valley Syrah. Boy oh boy, talk about complex and black currant goodness. Washington state’s long growing season (harvest in October) helped I’m sure.
Find at: Du Vin Fine Wines, Alameda.

Here’s a San Francisco tasting garnering international chatter. On Monday, Aug. 27, the Vintners Club of Tiburon is hosting a blind tasting of the 12 finest Cabernet Sauvignon made on our state’s soil. Yes, the likes of Shafer, Ridge, Corison and other small production, 5-year waiting list bottles that fetch $200 and up each.

The tasting will be held at the Carnelian Room’s legendary Wine Room in San Francisco at 6 p.m. But here’s the kicker: a similar tasting will take place in October in Bordeaux, for Old World winemaking stars who are curious about the competition here in the States.

I spoke with Lalita Waterman of the Vintners Club for a few minutes yesterday, and she told me the goal of the tasting is to see how these wines appeal to the European palate. It’s the first blind tasting of its kind in Bordeaux, and for this reason, Waterman has been inundated with calls from Los Angeles to China, mostly from wine press and serious enthusiasts hoping to snag a seat.

At this point, those command $205 for nonmembers, and $165 for members on this side of the Atlantic. You can try to get a last minute seat by calling 415-381-4467. Waterman and I joked that you’re also paying for that glorious view, which I wrote about in Night Writer earlier this month.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The folks in Bordeaux — at a chateau in the Margaux appellation, to be specific — will taste the 2002 vintage of all the wines, including Justin and L’Aventure, both of Paso Robles, while we will be served the 2004.

Doesn’t seem fair? Waterman says it’s fine with her and the big-name members and organizers from the 36-year-old Vintners Club, which includes high-end consumers and winemakers such as Mike Grgich, Warren Winiarski and Paul Draper, of Ridge. His Monte Bello won the Paris Tasting re-enactment last year. Grgich and Winiarski, you’ll recall, won back in 1976.

They rationalize that the older wines will be slightly softer, more mellow, and thus more familiar to the European palate. And since we’re not rating them or comparing them to their French counterparts a la Judgment of Paris, what’s the fuss?

I’ll tell you when I taste them on Monday. Here’s a list. Cheers for now:

Caymus Vineyards, Special Selection
Ramey Wines, Pedregal
Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello
Dominus Estate
Corison Winery, Kronos Vineyard
Shafer Vineyards, Hillside Select
Flora Springs, Out-of-Sight Vineyard
Gargiulo Vineyards, Money Road Ranch
Kendall-Jackson Vineyards, Stature
Rocca Family Vineyards
Williamson Wines, Atlas Peak
Chappellet Vineyard & Winery, Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard

My friend Chloe hosted a wonderful dinner in her Rockridge apartment last night. I was in charge of bringing the wines to match her four courses. I want to share with you what I did and pretty much show you how easy pairings can be. All you have to do is look for some similar or contrasting nuances. And if you choose smart, one wine can usually do duty on two courses.

Here’s her menu. Don’t drool.

Gruyere with rustic bread, roasted garlic, fresh figs, wild strawberries and quince preserve
Insalata Caprese with heirloom tomatoes and purple basil
Swiss chard and red onion ravioli with red pepper pasta wrappers, olive oil and sage sauce
Hazelnut chocolate mousse

So when you think garlic and fruit you pretty much think rose. The acidity will cut and stand up to the garlic and a really fruity rose will match the figs and quince nicely. I went with: La Crema Pinot Noir Rose Russian River Valley 2006 ($20). This wine is dark for a rose and is brimming with strawberry and watermelon on the finish. It was perfect and versatile. Read on.

The grassy basil, juicy yellow tomatoes and subtle nuttiness of the cheese in the insalata caprese needed a super dry white wine, even drier than a Sauvignon Blanc. Is there such a thing? You bet. I went with: Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2006 ($30). I popped the cork and let the herbal notes of the wine open for a few minutes before serving it. Those who needed something with a little more depth to tackle the acidity in those tomatoes kept drinking their rose with the salad.

That gorgeous ravioli from Market Hall. I’m still thinking about it. The subtle bitterness of the chard. The sweetness of the onions. The richness of the olive oil. I knew it needed something sparkling but with enough fruit to stand up to the onions. I went with: Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Barbolini ($20). The beauty of this wine, and all three really, is that they were totally interchangeable with the three courses.

Had I had time, I would’ve grabbed a Madeira port or reserve Zinfandel to go with the mousse. But, thank goodness, it tasted just fine with the Lambrusco.

So what’s the takeaway? That pink wines and lean, dry whites go with everything? Yup, pretty much. Deal with it.

Just read an interesting report about wine sold in restaurants. In the U.S., restaurants are most likely to feature California wines that sell for less than $39 a bottle, according to Winemetrics LLC.

The start-up research firm’s first annual “On-Premise Wine Distribution Report” was released yesterday. It ranks the nation’s top 100 wine brands based on the frequency of their inclusion on restaurant wine lists.

Topping the list: Beringer (eh), Kendall-Jackson, (eh again) and Robert Mondavi (go for the Reserve). In fourth and fifth place, respectively, are Beaulieu Vineyard (woohoo!) and Washington state’s Chateau Ste. Michelle. I downed their Chard at my friend Elizabeth’s wedding in June. Good stuff.

Winemetrics’ data was gathered from over 10,000 casual and fine-dining restaurants in 20 states. Upscale restaurants obviously had more extensive lists. The study was generated partly because many consumers buy wine based on what they taste at restaurants.

I remember, when Jenny and I were living in San Luis Obispo, we ordered Wild Horse Merlot at every restaurant. These days, I’m much more likely to order a Spanish Cava, sparkling rose, or a Gruner Veltliner. Something that goes really well with food. Anyway, I digress.

Anyway, back to the study. U.S. consumers spent $24.3 billion on wine in 2005, with $11.8 billion coming from restaurants and bars.

The top 100 list is dominated by U.S. producers, with most coming from California. There are also 15 wine makers from France, seven from Italy, two from Australia and one from Chile.

Other brands near the top of the list include Caymus and Cakebread as well as Sterling Vineyards, Veuve Clicquot, and Fortune Brands Inc.’s Clos du Bois. Major eh for the latter. All the others? Fab wines.

According to the sample, the largest portion of wines consumed in restaurants sell for between $25 and $39 per bottle, according to the report. Those bottles would cost $13 to $19 at retail.

Red wines outnumber whites by a ratio of two to one, with Cabernet Sauvignon edging out Chardonnay for the top variety. Pinot Noir was the second most common type of red wine listed. And Merlot was third even thought it far outsells Pinot Noir in volume.

Weeks after Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars sold to big wine companies for $185 million, Central Coast wine pioneer Brooks Firestone announced the sale of his family’s Firestone Vineyard to the Foley Wine Group this afternoon for an undisclosed price.

Before you get your knickers in a twist, let me say that this sale is a bit different. The Firestones and the Foleys have been friends and neighbors for a decade, and the operation is staying local. Bill Foley acquired the J. Carey Cellars property from the Firestone family in 1997, which became Lincourt Vineyards. They have history.

The acquisition includes the Firestone Vineyard and Prosperity Wines brands, along with the Santa Ynez Valley winery and 480 acres of land, inclusive of 380 vineyard acres. The Firestone family will retain ownership of Curtis Winery (my fave Syrah!), Firestone Walker Brewing Company and the new family winery in Paso Robles, where I visited Andrew Firestone back in May.

I got the Firestones’ PR rep Christopher Weir on the phone and he told me the deal had been in the works for about three months. The reason they’re retaining their smaller, newer properties is because they “want to continue doing the things they’ve been doing, just less of it,” Christopher told me. It’s sort of a right person at the right time thing.

Here’s a quote from Brooks Firestone, from the press release: “While this was a tough and emotional decision for us, we are energized by the opportunity to more closely focus on our other winemaking and brewing enterprises on the Central Coast.”

There you have it. Firestone Vineyard will be folded into Foley’s small portfolio of estate wineries, with further and hopeful acquisitions in Sonoma, Napa, Oregon and Washington. No significant changes are anticipated in the operations, staffing or distribution of Firestone Vineyard wines.

If you don’t know the history, Firestone Vineyard was founded in 1972 as Santa Barbara County’s first estate winery. William Foley established his Lincourt Vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley in 1996 and opened Foley Estates Winery in the nearby Santa Rita Hills in 2005.

Sigh.

Slow Food Delta-Diablo is hosting a cool event next Saturday, Aug. 25 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. It’s called Food and Farming on Film, and there will be no less than three films screened: Jed Riffe’s “Ripe for Change,” “Eat at Bill’s” by Lisa Brenneis and a series of shorts called “Slow Food on Film.”

But the film I’m plugging is “Harvest Young” by Sonoma State University grad Scott Hardie. Hardie’s film explores the marketing of wine to millennials and making it “whatever you want it to be.” Ya know, like Reisling with leftover pad thai and Sicilian blends with Zachary’s. Or Lambrusco with yo lovah. Arrrrr.

Anyway, sorry to digress. I haven’t seen the film yet but judging from Hardie’s subjects (Naomi Brilliant of Roshambo and Darryl Roberts of Wine X Magazine), his accolades (Official Selections at this year’s Sonoma Valley Film Festival and the California Independent Film Festival), and his goals (”To encourage the wine industry to recognize this generation like any other and to encourage young adults to experience wine), I’m guessing it’s worth watching.

The event is from 5 to 10 p.m. and costs $15; $10 for students and Slow Food members. Hardie will be there as will filmmakers and subjects from the other films. Los Medanos College is located at 2700 Leland Road. The event takes place in the Community Room of the new library.

If you are equal parts Corkhead and hiking buff, you must check out Kunde Estate’s Green Tours. The next tours are on August 25 and October 20, the former coinciding with the beginning of the harvest season (Kunde’s 103rd, no less). The tour integrates lessons in green harvesting practices and sustainable winegrowing.

Fourth Generation Winegrower, Jeff Kunde, leads the eco-hiking tours, which climbs from the Sonoma Valley floor and up 1400 feet through the vineyards and into the Mayacamas Mountains. The program concludes with a wine country picnic and tasting overlooking Sonoma Valley. Hello — that’s so awesome!

Here are the deets:
Green eco-tour, tasting and lunch with Jeff Kunde Cost Per Person: $75.00.
Reservations: required.
The hike: Moderately strenuous and lasts about four hours. You’ll see sights of bountiful wildlife, panoramic views of the breathtaking scenery of the Sonoma Valley.
For more info: 707-833-5501, ext. 331.

If you can’t make those dates, Sonoma Valley Docent Bill Myers does similar hikes on Sept. 8, Oct. 13, Nov. 10, and Dec. 8 and his are free! No lunch, obviously, but reservations are required. You can bring a sack lunch. Myers also goes through Kunde and wind through the estate’s distinct eco-systems, each one uniquely contributing to the process of sustainable winegrowing.

This hike is also moderately strenuous and lasts about four hours. They begin at 10 a.m. at the Kunde Estate Tasting Room. The hike will also conclude at the Tasting Room, where hikers can sample Kunde’s hand crafted estate-grown wines.

Happy wining and hiking!

“Bottle Shock,” the movie about the famed 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, may be leaving out the red wine that put Napa on the map with Bordeaux, but Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars still made headlines this month. Massive ones.

Pioneer and owner Warren Winiarski sold his family’s winery — with its prime spot on the Silverado Trail, between Napa and Yountville — to joint buyers Marchese Piero Cellars (Italy) and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (Washington state) for $185 million.

It was just one in a string of vintners selling their family businesses to the big boys over the past week. Duckhorn Wine Company sold a majority interest to private equity firm GI Partners. And the larger-than-life EJ & Gallo bought Napa’s William Hill Estate and Canyon Road.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a new trend, necessarily. Two years ago, Atlas Peak was sold for $14.2 billion to Fortune Brands as part of a 10-winery deal. And, of course, who could forget the sale of amusement-park-turned Robert Mondavi Winery to Constellation for $1.36 billion in 2004. That started everything.

What’s different now is that family drama, soaring real estate prices and competition from smaller artisan wineries that produce far less wine than these recently-sold properties make it easier to get out, and get out rich. The value segment has also exploded and both brick and mortars and Web sites are devoted to scouring the globe to find the best deals on the best wines money can buy.

This is the way of things. The next generation of small family producers will rise. Folks like Reverie on the Mountain and Orin Swift. Let’s just hope the future cousins of that industry-altering 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon non can live up to the name.

A substantial tasting joint was left off of my centerpiece story yesterday “Wine Bars Pour it On,” . And it’s worth checking out.

The Pleasant Hill Wine Merchants, adjacent to T.J. Maxx on Pleasant Hill Road, fosters a winery-like experience. They have separate tasting room hours (5 to 8 p.m. Fridays and 2 to 5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays) and are more than happy to host a private tasting event for you, something I don’t think I’ve encountered before.

It could just be the new birthday dinner. Why force your friends to cough it up for a prix fixe at Slanted Door when you could do a private cheese tasting for a lot less?

Much like Wine Thieves, they have three tiers to their monthly wine clubs — Smart Buy ($18), Estate ($30), Winemakers ($50) — and their tasting events have fun themes, like Ladies’ Night or Screw Caps. That document is hard to read on their Web site, so I suggest you peruse the blog and just go into the store for more information on upcoming events.

Another cool thing about their wine club is that rather than ship the wine to you every month, club members are invited to a two-night tasting event. At “Wine Club Pick Up Party” you get to sample and then select your wines — to go! It’s obviously been a success, as they’ve garnered more than 350 wine club members in the 10 months they’ve been open. Bravo!