正文翻譯

How can I learn more about wine?

我怎樣才能更多地了解葡萄酒呢?

評(píng)論翻譯

Alder Yarrow
How can someone start learning about wine?
Here’s what I call the Five Stages of Self Education about wine.
In the course of putting on wine dinners, attending and hosting wine tastings, and generally just drinking wine in public, I end up talking a lot with people about wine. Increasingly, many of those conversations are turning towards the subject of “wine education.” This means different things to different people, but in general, from novice to expert, people seem to want more of it. They’re not necessarily clamoring for their neighborhood stores to start holding classes, or for me to start an online wine university, but they are frequently asking me: “How can I learn more about wine?”

人們?nèi)绾伍_始學(xué)習(xí)葡萄酒知識(shí)？
以下是我所說的關(guān)于葡萄酒的自我教育的五個(gè)階段
在舉辦葡萄酒晚宴、參加和主持品酒會(huì)的過程中，通常只是在公共場(chǎng)合喝葡萄酒，我最終與人們談?wù)摿撕芏嚓P(guān)于葡萄酒的話題。越來越多的對(duì)話轉(zhuǎn)向了“葡萄酒教育”這一主題。這對(duì)不同的人意味著不同的事情，但總的來說，從新手到專家，人們似乎想要了解更多。他們不一定強(qiáng)烈要求附近的商店開始開設(shè)課程，或者讓我創(chuàng)辦一所在線葡萄酒大學(xué)，但他們經(jīng)常問我:“我怎樣才能更多地了解葡萄酒?”

After getting over my initial mild embarrassment of being considered an authority on all things wine (yes, I’m still not quite used to it), I have typically answered the question by telling people there’s nothing wrong with taking classes if they’re that interested. Mostly I find myself suggesting that the easiest thing is to simply taste a lot more wine; but I’ve come to realize that while this is a simple way for me to answer the question, it’s only barely useful. I mean, c’mon, my day job is as a business consultant, right? I should be able to provide a little more structured approach for those who are interested in applying themselves to the subject.
Without further ado, then, I present my point of view on the stages through which any wine drinker should pass on their (deliberate or accidental) path towards being a serious student of wine, whatever that means for them. One can begin at any stage, and remain at any stage indefinitely. Some journeys never get past the first, while others determinedly progress to the last; but if you’re serious about it, this is the path I recommend taking. If you’re not serious about it, then perhaps it’s enough to know which stage you are in, and to be content with that.

在克服了最初被認(rèn)為是所有葡萄酒方面的權(quán)威的尷尬之后（是的，我仍然不太習(xí)慣），我通常是這樣回答這個(gè)問題的:如果他們感興趣的話，參加課程并沒有什么錯(cuò)。通常情況下，我覺得最簡(jiǎn)單的方法就是多喝葡萄酒；但我逐漸意識(shí)到，雖然這是我回答問題的一種簡(jiǎn)單方法，但用處不大。我是說，拜托，我的正職是商業(yè)顧問，對(duì)吧?我應(yīng)該能夠?yàn)槟切?duì)這個(gè)主題感興趣的人提供一個(gè)更有條理的方法。
言歸正傳，我就葡萄酒飲用者(有意或無意地)在成為一名認(rèn)真的葡萄酒學(xué)生的道路上所應(yīng)走過的幾個(gè)階段提出我的觀點(diǎn)，不管這對(duì)他們意味著什么。一個(gè)人可以在任何階段開始，也可以無限期地停留在任何階段。有些人從未走出過第一關(guān)，而有些人則決意走向最后一步;但如果你是認(rèn)真的，我建議你走這條路

STAGE 1: Red, White, Pink, or Bubbles
One of the first choices most wine drinkers tend to make is whether they like red or white wine. You don’t have to decide in one direction or the other (many love both), but knowing that the two taste different — and deciding if you like one more than the other — is an important first step. Trying your hand at pink wine and sparkling wine also helps to build the foundation of preference.
STAGE 2: Varietal Schmarietal
It’s time to start learning about different types of grape varieties and how they manifest in wine. At the basic level this involves trying at least the following kinds of wines: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Syrah. At this stage you are just trying to learn the names, remember them, understand that they taste different, and get a sense of how those tastes vary. Order them with dinner, or buy a bottle and bring it home, but try them all and see if you develop any preference. It is especially helpful to try them side by side (several whites or several reds). A friendly wine shop owner or waiter can be useful in steering you towards the right bottle for your price range or the dish you are eating.

階段1：紅色、白色、粉色或氣泡
大多數(shù)葡萄酒飲用者的首選之一往往是他們喜歡紅葡萄酒還是白葡萄酒。你不必選擇一種或另一種(很多人都喜歡)，但知道這兩種味道不同——并決定你是否更喜歡其中一種——是重要的第一步。嘗試品嘗粉色葡萄酒和起泡葡萄酒也有助于建立偏好的基礎(chǔ)。
第2階段：葡萄品種
是時(shí)候開始學(xué)習(xí)不同類型的葡萄品種以及它們?cè)谄咸丫浦械谋憩F(xiàn)了。在基本層面上，這需要至少嘗試以下幾種葡萄酒:夏敦埃酒、白蘇維濃、灰比諾、黑比諾、梅鹿汁、卡百內(nèi)、馨芳葡萄酒和席拉。在這個(gè)階段，你只是試著學(xué)習(xí)名字，記住它們，理解它們的味道不同，并了解它們的味道是如何變化的。晚餐時(shí)點(diǎn)它們，或者買一瓶帶回家，但試一下所有的，看看你是否有什么偏好。把它們放在一起(幾瓶白葡萄酒或幾瓶紅葡萄酒)品嘗尤其有幫助。一個(gè)友好的酒店老板或服務(wù)員可以幫助你找到適合你價(jià)格范圍的酒或搭配你正在吃的菜的酒。

STAGE 3: Distinctions
Once you can remember the difference between different varieties, you’ve hopefully started forming preferences. Maybe you like Merlot, but don’t care for Cabernet as much. Maybe you’ve decided that you are more of a Sauvignon Blanc person than a Chardonnay person; it’s at this point that you have a lot of ground to cover. There are lots of things to learn about: producers, vintages, regions, and let’s not forget all the other varietiess of grapes and blended wines out there. The best way to fill out this knowledge, honestly, is to taste, taste, taste. And I don’t mean just asking a sommelier to pick a random wine for you at dinner, or having a glass of something you’ve never heard of at a bar; the best education you can get at this point will come from sitting down with lots of wines and comparing them side by side.
There are two ways to proceed: either going on wine tasting trips (if that’s convenient or attractive to you) or attending or hosting tastings of your own. I much prefer the latter, mostly because it provides an opportunity to try many wines of the same type together (most wineries don’t make five different Chardonnays, for instance).

第3階段：記住這些區(qū)別
一旦你能記住不同品種之間的差異，你就有希望開始形成偏好。也許你喜歡梅鹿汁，但不太喜歡卡百內(nèi)。也許你已經(jīng)決定，你更喜歡喝白蘇維濃，而不喜歡喝夏敦埃酒；在這一點(diǎn)上，你有很多事情要做。有很多東西需要了解：生產(chǎn)者、年份、地區(qū)，讓我們不要忘記所有其他種類的葡萄和混合葡萄酒。老實(shí)說，最好的方法就是品嘗，品嘗，再品嘗。我的意思并不是讓侍酒師在晚餐時(shí)隨便為你挑選一杯酒，或者在酒吧喝一杯你從未聽說過的酒；在這一點(diǎn)上，你能得到的最好的教育將來自于坐下來品嘗大量葡萄酒，并將它們并排比較。
有兩種方式可以進(jìn)行：要么開啟品酒之旅（如果這對(duì)你是方便或有吸引力的話），要么參加或主持自己的品酒會(huì)。我更喜歡后者，主要是因?yàn)樗峁┝艘粋€(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，可以一起品嘗許多同類型的葡萄酒（例如，大多數(shù)酒廠不會(huì)生產(chǎn)五種不同的夏敦埃酒）。

Here’s how it works: Get a bunch of (at least six) friends rounded up and have them all come over for a tasting party. Everyone should bring a bottle of wine made from the same variety, and all the bottles should be roughly in the same price range. When people arrive, one person should wrap the bottles in individual brown paper sacks or in aluminum foil with just the neck exposed, write a number on it with permanent marker, and pull the cork. Sit down at a table or in the living room, give everyone a piece of paper, a pen, a wine glass, and start tasting the wines one at a time.

下面是它的工作原理：召集一群（至少六個(gè)）朋友，讓他們都來參加品酒會(huì)。每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該帶一瓶用同一葡萄品種釀造的葡萄酒，而且所有的酒瓶?jī)r(jià)格應(yīng)該大致相同。當(dāng)人們到達(dá)時(shí)，一個(gè)人應(yīng)該把瓶子單獨(dú)用棕色紙袋或鋁箔包好，只露出瓶口，用記號(hào)筆在上面寫上一個(gè)數(shù)字，然后拉上瓶塞。在桌子旁或客廳里坐下，給每個(gè)人一張紙、一支筆、一個(gè)酒杯，開始一次一杯地品嘗葡萄酒。

Tasting involves a few basic steps: Look at the color of the wine, swirl it in your glass, smell it, sip a little, swish it around in your mouth, and then swallow or spit (now is a good time to learn to spit — you’ll learn much more if you do, because you’ll be able to try more wines). Write down what you think. You can give the wine a score, you can give it a thumbs-up or -down, you can write what it tastes or smells like, it doesn’t matter. Go through all the wines, then talk about them as a group and see what people liked and didn’t like. Once you’ve tasted all the wines, take them out of their wrapping one at a time, and next to the notes you made about that wine, write down the vintage year, the winery, where it’s made, and how much the bottle cost. It doesn’t really matter what you do with the notes, though I recommend hanging on to them (or better yet, keeping a notebook where you save them all) but the important thing to try and get from these activities is a growing ability to remember what style of wine you like, along with what wineries you think make good wine. You are building a sense memory for what different wines taste like.

品嘗品酒包括幾個(gè)基本步驟:觀察葡萄酒的顏色，在杯中旋轉(zhuǎn)，聞聞，啜一小口，在口中旋轉(zhuǎn)，然后吞咽或吐出來(現(xiàn)在是學(xué)習(xí)吐出來的好時(shí)機(jī)——如果你這樣做，你會(huì)學(xué)到更多，因?yàn)槟憧梢試L試更多的葡萄酒)。把你的想法寫下來。你可以給酒打分，可以給它點(diǎn)贊，你可以寫下它的味道或氣味，這都沒關(guān)系。瀏覽所有的葡萄酒，然后作為一個(gè)小組討論它們，看看人們喜歡什么和不喜歡什么。一旦你品嘗了所有的葡萄酒，就把它們從包裝中取出來，一次取出一個(gè)，在這款酒旁做注釋旁，寫下年份、酒莊、釀造地以及瓶子的價(jià)格。你對(duì)這些筆記做什么并不重要，盡管我建議你堅(jiān)持下來（或者更好的是，把它們都記在筆記本上），但從這些活動(dòng)中嘗試和獲得的重要東西是，你越來越有能力記住你喜歡什么樣的葡萄酒，以及你認(rèn)為哪些酒莊釀造出好的葡萄酒。你正在建立一種不同葡萄酒味道的感官記憶。

Tastings like this are the best way to really understand a variety or a particular region, as well as to decide fairly conclusively whether you like a particular type of wine. Obviously, the more flexibility you have in the dollar amount you can spend on these tastings, the more you have an opportunity to really understand the range of possibilities in a given type of wine.
At this stage it’s particularly useful to join a wine club, which will result in a couple of bottles being delivered each month for you to try. Drink them and use the ones that are good as launching pads into new regions, producers, and varietals.

這樣的品嘗是真正了解一個(gè)品種或一個(gè)特定地區(qū)的酒的最好方法，也是確定你是否喜歡某一特定類型的葡萄酒的最好方法。很明顯，你在這些品酒上花費(fèi)的美元金額越機(jī)動(dòng)性，你就越有機(jī)會(huì)真正了解特定類型葡萄酒的各種可能性。
在這個(gè)階段，加入一個(gè)葡萄酒俱樂部是特別有用的，這將導(dǎo)致每個(gè)月都會(huì)有幾瓶酒送給你去嘗試。喝下它們，用它們作為跳板，嘗試新的地區(qū)，新的生產(chǎn)者和新的品種的酒。