Happy Friday, everyone. Thanks for all your submissions for the Ultimate Blind Date tasting at Flora Springs Winery. It was great fun reading through your answers. I printed out the correct ones and then pulled the winner’s name out of bowl that I sometimes use as a decanter.

The question, once again, was: Besides drinking, wine is used as a cleanser. What is it good for cleaning, and why?

Here’s the answer: According to Dr. Mark Daeschel in the Journal of Food Science, wine is a great cleaner of kitchen counters and silverware, as well as of fruit and vegetables. Its acidity and alcohol are effective at combating E. Coli and staphylococcus. The journal went on to say that someday, a wine-based cleaner could be a natural alternative to bleach.

So, the winner is: Chip Ferguson.

In his answer, Chip went on to give the ‘why.’ He wrote:

The wine acts as a disinfectant and kills salmonella, a common food-borne bacterium, within a few seconds. Wine is a natural antimicrobial and scientists at Oregon State University are developing a new disinfectant containing wine to fight off microbes like bacteria. Dry whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, work best because they don’t leave a stain or sticky residue.

Well done, Chip! Email me and I’ll hook you up with your tickets. Everyone else, check back Monday for the next trivia question. We’ve got four more pairs to give away!

I thoroughly enjoyed Mike Steinberger’s piece on the downsides of blind tasting on Slate.com today.

He talks about how labels hold so much truth for us (or at least we think they do) not to mention that when you taste blind, you’re not going in with any knowledge of how the wine was prepared, or sometimes even where or when.

Steinberger is being modest though. He has a super palate and can taste a wine and determine not only its age but its Social Security Number.

I taste blind with my a group of friends once a month, but those experiments aren’t too scientific. My greatest experience of tasting blind was last year during the re-enactment of the Judgment of Paris, when I had the honor of sampling the younger vintages of the Cabernets and Chardonnays being pitted against their French counterparts.

All were liquid gold and garnet, there’s not much to say there.

But the Vintners Club Petit Sirah and high-end Cabernet tastings I attended this year were good examples of what Steinberger writes about. Many of us in this venerable group felt that some of the wines in both tastings were flawed. It wouldn’t have mattered too much, except some of the winemakers are members of the club, and were in the mix, blindly tasting and ranking their own wines.

As much as critics say they can do a blind tasting of 200 wines a day and still be astute, sometimes I think the whole set-up is just a way to pucker out your palate. And labels aside, what if you’re simply in a bad mood that day?

Late yesterday, I received a press release about the big blind tasting of 12 high-end California Cabernets that took place in Bordeaux on Oct. 19. You might recall I went to the local version of this tasting, organized by the Vintners Club, in September. I’ve been anticipating these results.

The vintners from the States included winemakers Chuck Wagner of Caymus, Amelia Ceja from Ceja Vineyards, and Ravenswood founders Jim and Julia Wisner. They used a 20-point scale. All wines were from the 2002 vintage.

Tasters from Bordeaux included top producers such as Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus, Christian Seely of AXA Millesimes, Liliane Barton of Leoville Barton, Kees Van Leeuwen of Chateau Cheval-Blanc, Eric d’Aramon of Chateau Figeac and May-Eliane de Lencquesaing of Chateau Pichon-Lalande.

The impetus for the tasting came when Bordeaux producers expressed a desire to taste some of our best blind. Never has such a tasting of California wines taken place in Bordeaux, which I find a bit strange.

And here’s an even bigger surprise: Karl Wente’s The Nth Degree Cabernet Sauvignon ranked 4th. I’ve tried this wine and recall finding it a bit hot for a Cabernet, but perhaps it was straight out of the bottle and probably could’ve used some aeration.

Meanwhile, Ridge’s Monte Bello, which won the Judgment reenactment last year, finished 11th. It also finished low in our local tasting back in September. Here’s the complete list, in order of ranking by the group:

1. Rocca Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville, Napa Valley (Release SRP $55)
2. Caymus Vineyards, Special Selection, Napa Valley (Release SRP $136)
3. L’Aventure, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles (Release SRP $60)
4. Wente Vineyards The Nth Degree, Cabernet Sauvignon, Livermore Valley (Release SRP $50)
5. O’Shaughnessy Estate, Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Release SRP $65)
6. Ramey Wine Cellars, Jericho Canyon Vineyard Cabernet Blend, Napa Valley (Release SRP $90)
7. Robert Craig Wine Cellars, Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Release SRP $60)
8. Flora Springs, Rutherford Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Release SRP $100)
9. ZD Wines, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Release SRP $115)
10. Palmaz Vineyards “Gaston,” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Release SRP $100)
11. Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains (Release SRP $120)
12. Justin Vineyards, Isosceles Reserve, Paso Robles (Release SRP $85)

A quote from the proud Karl Wente:

“The Livermore Valley is truly one of the premier wine regions of the world,” Wente said in the press release. “When we developed our small-lot winery to create The Nth Degree wines, our goal was to prove that our estate can produce wines that are among the best in the world. This tasting is one of many validations of the estate fruit. To earn a place among some of California’s greatest, most iconic Cabernets is very rewarding.”

What do you think of these results? Do you have a favorite wine among this list? Caymus and Justin are among my favorites, and of course the Monte Bello, but I have noticed that that wine is less consistent than the Justin and Caymus.

I want to hear your feedback, and your favorite Cabernet, whether it’s on this list or not. Let me know!

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)

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

If you want to hold a blind tasting and don’t have time to gather all the items you’ll need, try Blind Wine’s Wine Tasting Game: Where Friends & Family Compete, made by two East Bay guys who love wine. Their company, Marc & Josh’s House Party, LLC, is based in Danville. The game is sold at Prima in Walnut Creek and online at Blind Wine. It costs $25. I see it more as a gift that something you’d buy for yourself.

As someone who attends or throws a blind tasting once a month, I wouldn’t call it a game. That threw me a little. I took Blind Wine to my monthly Wine Groupies, thinking inside was some fun wine trivia board game or something competitive we could play after we go through our blind tasting, which usually involves at least 8 wines and is pretty focused and serious. There’s no winner, per se, because we’re not guessing the wines.

We merely choose a varietal or category (Unoaked Chardonnay; 04 Pinot Noir) and taste them against one another and then rate them. If there’s any winner, I suppose it’s the person who happened to buy the wine that comes out on top. But in a lot of cases (like this month’s category, Portuguese blends), the winner was unfamiliar with their bottle. They just got lucky.

Anyway, back to Blind Wine. It’s essentially a kit comprised of all the things we forage for around the house: invitations and envelopes to send in advance (we just use Evite or email), a booklet on how to throw a blind tasting (it’s really not that complicated), a first place medal (we have a last place, racy cork from Vegas), scoring cards, bags to cover the bottles (we use aluminum foil or brown bags from wine stores), pencils, thank you cards and wine glass labels.

Again, it’s a nice introduction to blind tastings but it’s not a board game or anything. Cheers!