一个宁静温暖的午后
一张优雅的法国香颂
一壶芬芳馥郁的水果茶
在这个匆忙而繁华的都市
我们远远地逃离一切
幸好
还有普罗旺斯陪在我们身边
September
—In the Way of Seeking Wines
九月
——寻觅美酒与酒窖欢宴 (有删节)
It had taken me some time to get used to having a separate purpose-built room devoted exclusively to wine—not a glorified cupboard or a 1)cramped cavity under the stairs, but a genuine cave. It was buried in the bottom of the house, with permanently cool stone walls and a floor of gravel, and there was space for three or four hundred bottles. I loved it. I was determined to fill it up. Our friends were equally determined to empty it. This gave me the excuse to make regular visits—2)errands of social mercy—to the vineyards so that guests should never go thirsty. 
我花了很长一段时间来适应家里那间为了储存美酒而特意单独建造的房间。那不是华丽的酒橱，也不是楼梯下面低矮阴沉的角落，而是间名副其实的酒窖。它就埋藏在房子最下面的地底下，四面墙壁由终年冰冷的大石块砌成，地面则铺满了碎石，看空间，就算放上个三四百瓶酒也没有任何问题。我喜欢这个酒窖。我决心在适当的时候把它填满，同时也相信我们的朋友会以同样的决心把它喝空。于是我有了借口，经常像亲善大使一样走访各地的葡萄园，搜购好酒，免得渴着了朋友。
In the interests of research and hospitality, I went to 3)Gigondas and 4)Beaumes-de-Venise and 5)Chateauneuf-du-Pape, none of them bigger than a large village, all of them single-minded in their dedication to the grape. Everywhere I looked, there were signs advertising the caves that seemed to be at fifty-yard intervals. 6)Dégustez nos vins! Never has an invitation been accepted with more enthusiasm.
为了追寻美酒和友谊，我去过吉恭达斯和威尼斯—彭姆，也去过教皇新堡。这些著名的美酒产地都不比一个稍微大一点的村庄大多少，但看得出，每一个地方和当地的人们都在全心全意地致力于制造美酒这项美好的事业。所到之处，好像每隔五十码（相当于45.7米）就有一座酒窖，因为随处都可以见到各家酒窖的广告，广告词简单而热情：“请来品尝我们的美酒！”世界上从没有哪份邀请会受到宾客无比热情的欢迎。
It was early afternoon when I turned off the main road leading out of 7)Vacqueyras and followed the narrow, stony track through the vines. I had been told that it would lead me to the maker of the wine I had liked at lunchtime, a white 8)C’tes-du-Rhone. A case or two would fill the 9)void in the cave that had been made by the last raiding party we had entertained. A quick stop, no more than ten minutes, and then I would get back home.
下午两三点钟光景，我从通往瓦给拉斯的大路上转下来，开进了一条两边栽满葡萄的狭窄石径。据朋友们说，这条小路通往一家专门制造罗讷河白葡萄酒的酒窖，而这种白葡萄酒恰是我午餐时的最爱。再有个一两箱，就可以重新填满酒窖中上次家中举行狂欢酒会后腾出的空位了。我暗暗盘算着，短暂地停留一会，应该用不了十分钟吧，买了酒就可以回家了。
The track led to a 10)sprawl of buildings, arranged in a square “U” around a courtyard of beaten earth, shaded by a giant plane tree and guarded by a 11)drowsy 12)Alsatian who welcomed me with a halfhearted bark, doing his duty as a substitute for a doorbell.
小径的尽头是成片的房子，在一株巨大的悬铃树的遮蔽下，呈U形坐落在一片空地上，中间庭院里的土地被踩踏得很平整。一只昏昏欲睡的阿尔萨斯牧羊犬趴在树下，对着我无精打采地吠了两声，又兀自埋头睡去，算是尽到它作为替身门铃的职责。
The curtain of wooden beads hanging across the front door parted, and Uncle Edward came blinking into the sunshine. He was wearing a sleeveless vest, cotton 13)bleu de travail trousers, and carpet slippers. His 14)girth was impressive, comparable with the trunk of the plane tree, but even that was overshadowed by his nose. I had never seen a nose quite like it—wide, fleshy, and seasoned to a color somewhere between rosé and 15)claret, with fine purple lines spreading out across his cheeks. Here was a man who clearly enjoyed every mouthful of his work.
不一会儿工夫，前门上悬挂的木珠编成的门帘掀开了，爱德华大叔在阳光的照射下，闪着耀眼的金光出现在门口。他身穿无袖汗衫和蓝色棉布工作裤，脚上套着双地毯拖鞋。他的腰围十分可观，足可与庭院中那棵悬铃树的树干相媲美，但是他的鼻子却更加惊人，我有生以来从没见过这样的鼻子——宽大、厚实而多肉，鼻头呈现出一种介于玫瑰红和深紫色之间的某种颜色，紫色的线条则从鼻侧醒目地越过脸颊。毋庸置疑，眼前的这个人钟爱他所酿造出来的每一滴酒。
He beamed, the lines on his cheeks looking like purple whiskers. “16)Bon. 17)Une petite dégustation.” He led me across the courtyard and slid back the double doors of a long, windowless building, telling me to stay just inside the door while he went to switch on the light. After the glare outside, I could see nothing, but there was a reassuring smell, musty and unmistakable, the air itself tasting of fermented grapes.
他微笑着向我望过来，脸颊上的皱纹绽放得像一条条紫色的胡须。“你好。请先来尝尝我们的酒吧。”说罢，他领我穿过庭院，推开两重厚重的木门，进入一座没有窗户的长方形房子。他让我在门内等着，自己走去开灯。由于刚从阳光刺眼的外面走进来，我在屋内什么也看不见，但鼻子分明闻到一股略带霉味、但绝不会弄错的味道，空气中飘散着一股发酵葡萄的芳香气息。
Uncle Edward was polishing glasses, holding each one up to the light before placing it on the table. He made a neat line of seven glasses, and began to arrange a variety of bottles behind them. Each bottle was accorded a few admiring comments: “The white, 18)monsieur knows, yes? A very agreeable young wine. The rosé, not at all like those thin rosés one finds on the 19)C’te d’Azur. Thirteen degrees of alcohol, a proper wine. There’s a light red—one could drink a bottle of that before a game of tennis. That one, 20)par contre, is for the winter, and he will keep for ten years or more. And then …”
在我观察房间的摆设时，爱德华大叔已经在那边擦拭起一排高脚玻璃酒杯来。每擦完一个都要举到灯光下察看，仔细确认没有什么杂质残留物之后，这才放到桌上。在七只杯子整齐地排列在桌上之后，他又开始将各式酒瓶依次摆放在每个杯子的后面。每安置一瓶酒，他都要简短地赞扬一番：“这白酒，先生您是知道的吧？新鲜酿造的，非常容易入口。这玫瑰红酒，可不像蔚蓝海岸那边淡薄无味的玫瑰红，味道浓着呢。喏，瞧这瓶，十三度的酒精含量，恰到好处。这是淡红酒，就算喝上一整瓶也可以照常下场打网球。这一瓶，恰恰相反，是冬天喝的，可以储藏10年以上。还有……”
I tried to stop him. I told him that all I wanted were two cases of the white, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Monsieur had taken the trouble to come personally, and it would be unthinkable not to taste a selection. Why, said Uncle Edward, he himself would join me in a progress through the vintages. He clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder and sat me down.
我几次试图阻止他再说下去，并一再表示，我只要两箱那种白酒就好了，但他对我的话置若罔闻。他认为，既然先生已经不辞辛苦大老远地亲自跑来，哪能不多尝几种酒就走呢？哎呀，爱德华大叔说，在葡萄收获期他将会邀请我一起来体验采摘过程。他在我肩膀上重重地一拍，将我按坐在桌边。
It was fascinating. He told me the precise part of the vineyard that each of the wines had come from, and why certain slopes produced lighter or heavier wines. Each wine we tasted was accompanied by an imaginary menu, described with much lip smacking and raising of the eyes to 21)gastronomic heaven. We mentally consumed 22)écrevisses, salmon cooked with 23)sorrel, rosemary-flavored chicken from 24)Bresse, roasted baby lamb with a creamy garlic sauce, an 25)estouffade of beef and olives, a 26)daube, loin of pork spiked with slivers of truffle. The wines tasted progressively better and became progressively more expensive; I was being traded up by an expert, and there was nothing to be done except sit back and enjoy it.
我们品尝着各种美酒，而爱德华大叔则开始向我讲述每一种酒具体产自于葡萄园里的哪个地方，以及为什么某些山坡出产较清淡的葡萄酒，而某些坡地则出产较浓郁的葡萄酒。不知不觉中，我竟然渐渐听入了迷。每尝一口酒，我们都在想象中为它搭配了可口的菜肴，在描述中还伴随着大量的咂嘴声，眼睛也不时抬向脑海中的美食天堂。在想象中的天堂，我们不仅品尝了鳌虾和醋溜三文鱼，还饱餐了迷迭香烧布列斯鸡、蒜泥汁烤羊羔肉，外加牛肉炖橄榄和蘑菇片红焖猪腰肉。酒的滋味是一种比一种好，也一种比一种贵。但想到我正在接受专家的款待，除了坐下细品之外，好像也没有别的办法。
“There is one more you should try,” said Uncle Edward, “although it is not to everybody’s taste.” He picked up a bottle and poured a careful half glass. It was deep red, almost black. “A wine of great character,” he said. “Wait. It needs 27)une bonne bouche.” He left me surrounded by glasses and bottles, feeling the first 28)twinges of an afternoon hangover.
“还有一种酒你该尝尝，”爱德华大叔说，“虽然不是每个人都喜欢它的味道。”他挑出一瓶酒，小心地倒了半杯。酒的颜色深红偏黑。“很有特色的酒，”他说，“且慢！喝这酒需要配点儿美味的东西。”他说着转身不知去了什么地方，只留下我一个人守着一大堆空空的酒杯和酒瓶。我这时才突然感觉到肚子里一下午喝下的酒精开始起作用了。
“29)Voilà.” He put a plate in front of me—two small round goat’s cheeses, speckled with herbs and shiny with oil—and gave me a knife with a worn wooden handle. He watched as I cut off a piece of cheese and ate it. It was ferociously strong. My palate, or what was left of it, had been perfectly primed and the wine tasted like 30)nectar.
“好啦，”爱德华大叔不知什么时候又出现了，把一只盘子放在我面前——盘子里面放着两小卷山羊乳酪，撒着香草、闪动着橄榄油的光泽。接着他递给我一把木柄小刀，刀柄已经磨损了。爱德华大叔在旁边看着我切开一片乳酪吃下去。浓厚的乳酪气味，顿时塞满了我的上腭，或者说顿时占满了我余下的味觉，此时再将杯中酒慢慢啜入口中，那种感觉犹如在品尝琼浆玉液。
Uncle Edward helped me load the cases into the car. Had I really ordered all this? I must have. We had been sitting in the 31)convivial 32)murk for nearly two hours, and one can make all kinds of expansive decisions in two hours. I left with a 33)throbbing head and an invitation to come back next month for the 34)vendange.
爱德华大叔帮我将一箱箱酒搬上车时，我不禁产生了少许疑问：我真的买了这么多吗？应该是吧！我们在那阴暗的酒窖欢宴上待了将近两个小时；人在这么长的时间里，买下多少东西都有可能。我摇晃着醉醺醺的头离开，同时还带走了一份邀约：下个月，一定来参加葡萄采摘大行动。
小编絮语：正如中国的茶文化一样，葡萄酒文化曾经也是西方贵族文化的重要组成部分。品尝葡萄酒被视为一门艺术，是优雅气质和良好教养的表现。
Stage Two 进阶篇：葡萄酒的基本礼仪
Wine Tasting Techniques 葡萄酒品酒三部曲
1、Sight: Appearance (Clarity, Brightness, Color, etc). 视觉：分析外观（澄清度、亮度、颜色等）。
2、Smell: Nose (Intensity and Aromas) 嗅觉：分析气味（香气及浓郁程度）。
3、Taste: Palate (Balance, Flavors and length) 味觉：分析口感（平衡、口味及余味）。
Some Useful Words in Tasting 有用的葡萄酒描述语
1、Aromas: Flowers, Fruits, Vegetal, Spices, Animal, Toast, Mineral, Pastries…
香味：花香、果香、植物、辛辣味、动物味、烤面包味、矿物味、糕点味……
2、Tannins: have a drying effect on the gums and the tongue.
单宁：有让口腔和舌头干涩的效果。（喝浓茶时也有相同的效果。）
3、Body: is the impression of a wine’s weight in the mouth—light or full-bodied.
酒体：是葡萄酒在口腔中造成的厚薄感——或轻淡、或厚重。
4、Alcohol: warming sensation in the back of your mouth
酒精度：会在口腔后部造成灼烧感。
5、Finish or length: the period of time the wine’s flavor lingers on your palate.
回味或长度：葡萄酒的余味在口腔中停留的时间长短。
6、Texture: Creamy, Silky, Velvety…
质感：奶油质感、丝绸质感、天鹅绒质感……
7、Faults: Corkiness, Sulphur dioxide, Acetic, Oxidation…
坏酒：坏木塞味、硫化、醋化、氧化……
Basic Food and Wine Pairing 食物与葡萄酒的搭配
The success of food and wine matching is achieved when the feeling generated by their combination reach a perfect balance.
食物与葡萄酒的成功搭配在于它们能共同为口感带来极佳的平衡感。
The white wines are served before the red wines; the young wines before the aged wines; the dry wines before the sweet wines.
品酒的顺序：先白后红，先年份轻后年份老，先干后甜。（即前一种的味道不可比后一种的重。）
Red meat demands a red wine, while white meat suits a white wine.
红酒配红肉，白酒配白肉。（基本原则，但不一定非要遵守。）
Sweet, umami and spicy taste in food will exaggerate the tannins and bitterness of a wine. Salt and sour additions to the food will counteract this effect on the wine.
食物中的甜味、香味和辣味会加重葡萄酒中的单宁和苦味。在食物中加入咸味和酸味会减弱它们对葡萄酒的影响。