Celebrating True Wine Geekdom

Centuryclub
OK…Let’s see there’s 1. Cabernet Sauvignon 2. Merlot 3. Zinfandel 4. Pinot Noir 5. Viognier 6. Chenin Blanc 7. Chardonnay 8. Pinot Blanc 9. Alicante Bouschet 10. Petit Verdot 11. Cabernet Franc 12. Gewurztraminer 13. Sauvignon Blanc..

….How many is that…..13?  Hmmm… 87 to go to get into the Century Club:::::::::Sigh:::::::::::

I was only made aware of the Century Club when its founder, Steve De Long of DeLong Wine e-mailed me to let me know that Jennifer Rosen, the wine writer for the Rocky Mountain News and somewhat of a target of mine in a recent post, is not only a member of the Century Club, but as you can see by the photo Steve has posted on his blog and is now here, a somewhat enthusiastic member of the club (I retract anything negative I may have said or insinuated about Ms Rosen.)
Jennifer

But to get back to the Century Club, it’s a pretty fun idea. If you can honestly say you have tasted 100 different varietals of wine, you get entry. They have a form you need to fill out for documentation purposes.

The Century Club is celebrating its one year birthday on March 17 and Steve informs me that there are now 109 members, a growth of over 300 percent from its original 33 members.

Despite Steve’s enthusiasm, 109 is a pretty small number and this should give you an idea of how difficult it is to have actually encountered 100 different varietals of wine. However, there is a loophole.

If you, for instance, have drunk a Meritage wine that has as its blend Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, then that counts as five varietals. Hearing this it gave me a great promotional idea for one of our clients at Wark Communications.

Bucklin Winery’s Old Hill Ranch Zinfandel is a wine made from a vineyard that is a field blend of over 25 different varieties. About 20 of them get into the wine. That’s one wine that puts you 1/5 of your way toward membership. So, If I can only get this wine to be named the Century Club’s official wine, I figure it will help sell a bundled of cases.

True wine geeks need to have something they can brag about besides the rare mailing list wines sitting at the bottom of their closet. Century Club membership appears to just that.


4 Responses

  1. billy boy - March 15, 2006

    Maybe she wrote that article after having drunk all 100 varietals at one sitting?

  2. Jack - March 15, 2006

    “About 20 of them get into the wine. That’s one wine that puts you 1/5 of your way toward membership.”
    Tom, I don’t think that’s in the spirit of this thing. For it to count, I would think the grape varietal has to be a major component of the wine, rather than a minor part.

  3. St.Vini - March 15, 2006

    Funny, I was recently told that one of Bonny Doon’s Big House blends has 37 varietals in total. That seems like cheating.
    Vini

  4. Steve De Long - March 15, 2006

    Hi Tom,
    Thanks for the great write-up. Asimov or not, you’re still the King of the wine blogshere!


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