How many different wine grape varieties have you tasted?

I learned about this 'Club' a couple of years ago and I have been on a crusade since that time, some times more vigorously than other times (my enthusiasm wanes when I seem to lose sleep from the red wines...)  I can't claim that I can actually discern each grape I have tried, but my husband has been a really good sport about buying wines just to try a grape to add to my list. I am counting backwards and I have twelve more varieties to try before I can submit my application.

Here is a label for the addition of two grape varieties to my list, from Turkey, a lovely rose:



I took this article from the Washington Post website...

By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

We'll bet that your list includes chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, two of the world's most popular wine grapes. It might also include some or all of the other four that make up the "noble" grapes, so named for their use in creating the finest wines: merlot, pinot noir, Riesling and sauvignon blanc. But that's a small fraction of the thousands of grape varieties that exist.
The Wine Century Club was created two years ago to encourage wine lovers to explore the diverse array of wines around the globe. The sole criterion for membership -- which is free, and earns you a proverbial "certificate suitable for framing" from the club's London headquarters -- is to have tasted more than 100 grape varieties. The club's online application featuring a checklist of 185 varieties can be found at http://delongwine.com/century.html. Although it has been downloaded more than 6,000 times, only 3.5 percent have actually been submitted.
The club's mere 211 members represent a cross section of wine lovers around the globe. In the United States, 15 are based in Williamsburg, Va., the site of the club's first local chapter, which launched last year.
Georgetown University philosophy professor Henry Richardson has been the District's lone member since November 2005 -- and he'd enjoy a little company. "I am sure that there are a good number of people who already qualify, if only they've kept good notes," says Richardson, who had tasted 160 varieties at last count.
We wish we'd kept better notes of all the wines from such places as Slovenia and Lebanon we've been served while researching our last half-dozen food books, because we suspect that each of us has easily tasted more than 100 varieties. However, now that we're completing our WCC applications, we've decided that if we're not positive we've tasted a grape, better to taste it again. (What's the downside in that?)
"Most people in the wine business or advanced amateurs can get to 50 to 80 grape varieties fairly quickly, but then the work begins," says Steve De Long, a London-based architect and wine enthusiast who co-founded the Wine Century Club with his designer wife, Deborah, after they had tasted 188 varieties. They're now at 216. "In this way, membership isn't really free at all. It also helps to explain why the club isn't bigger than it is."
De Long offered some insider tips to those interested in expediting the process. No. 1: It's fair game to have sampled grapes as part of a blend. One taste of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the famed Rhone red that features up to 13 grape varieties, can take you 13 percent of the way to membership.
A single taste of port can take you as much as 40 percent of the way. However, it's often tough to determine which grapes are part of the blend, because European labels generally do not disclose it.
Heather Hatcher, general manager of the Wine Seller in Williamsburg and head of the WCC's local chapter, suggests exploring the robust red blends of Portugal's Douro region. "The Portuguese grow an array of different grapes that aren't often used in other areas of the world," says Hatcher, who has tasted 124 grape varieties.
Richardson says that many unusual grapes are cultivated in France, Italy and Spain, especially outside the best-known areas. "Consider wines from the Loire and Corsica, from Friuli and Sicily, and from Galicia and Basque country," he advises. However, for exotic grapes, he, too, recommends turning to other countries such as Greece and its excellent, well-priced imports. "These range from the Xinomavro reds, which are like Malbecs with slightly brighter fruit, to wonderfully fresh whites like the well-priced Biblia Chora, a blend of half sauvignon blanc and half Assyrtiko," he says.
As you inch toward your own 100-grape milestone, don't overlook the interesting varieties being cultivated in the United States. Veritas Vineyard's Kenmar (Virginia, $25; http://www.veritaswines.com), an award-winning dessert wine, is made from Traminette, a cross between Joannes Seyve and Gewürztraminer. And check out some blends, including Sonoma's Bucklin Mixed Blacks (four grapes, including Alicante Bouschet) and Oregon's Sokol Blosser Evolution (nine grapes).
We hope you'll join us in tasting at least 100 grape varieties -- and pushing yourself out of any wine rut you might find yourself in. E-mail us about your experiences, and we'll share comments in a future column.
Membership is on the honor system, but beware: The club's Web site threatens a curse of the Roman wine god Bacchus on cheaters.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat" and several other books, can be reached viahttp://www.becomingachef.comorfood@washpost.com.