The Wine Century Club

A couple of years ago I attended my first Fed Square Wine Showcase, right in the city of Melbourne. Apart from being fortunate enough to try some 40+ quality Victorian wines, I happened to meet Darby Higgs from Vinodiversity. Darby has a passion for new and alternative grape varieties and wines, in Australia. I was awed by the knowledge that Darby had and sought to purchase his book:

click to purchase

I also learned that Darby Higgs is a Wine Centurion. The Wine Century Club is "the club for adventurous wine drinkers who've tried one hundred grape varieties or more." Being quite the adventurous type myself, I saw this as a challenge to accept. "The first fifty will be easy", Darby commented. I thought that he must be joking. Turns out, he was right. 50-55 really started to become tricky. So I went and bought myself a De Long's Wine Varietal Table to adorn my office wall.

click to purchase

De Long's Table showcases 184 wine grape varieties, really just the tip of the iceberg in drinkable grape variety land. I haven't been able to tick off 100 different tastes just yet, but I am sure the wait will not be too long. Each new variety is tasted and relished with a little sniff of victory.

Slowly, but surely!

Most recently I was able to try a Mac Forbes (Yarra Valley) Blaufränkisch and a Judge Rock (Central Otago) St Laurent to inch closer to my target. Once I reach the magical 100, I am sure something really special will be 'popped' open and enjoyed!

~Please note: I have not received payment nor compensation from suppliers of the above products, I simply intended to share wine tools that I have come across in my own personal wine journey.

I would love to hear about interesting, new or alternative grape varieties that you may have tried, post a comment below or send an email to ladyoenotria@gmail.com