星期三, 五月 24, 2006

摘抄

博客像葡萄,而文学是葡萄酒,两者的区别在于后者甘于寂寞的酿造和对酿造的耐心和敬畏。

星期五, 五月 19, 2006

香槟酒及文化

香槟“CHAMPAGNE”一字,与快乐、欢笑、和高兴同义。因为它是在庆典仪式上和欢度佳节时所使用的美酒,它具有奢侈、诱惑以及浪漫的色彩,她也是葡萄酒中之王。历史上还没有任何一种酒可以香槟酒的神秘性相媲美,同时它还给人们一种纵酒高歌的豪放气氛。香槟酒味道醇美,任何时刻都可饮用,与任何食物都可以搭配好。

  香槟酒在罗马凯撒大帝征服高庐的时代就有了。早期的香槟酒是无泡的,现在仍有无泡的香槟酒。不过全世界的人对有泡的香槟是比较熟悉的,其发泡的原因,是由于在密封的酒瓶中有了二次发酵的缘故。

  在十七世纪前,发泡的葡萄酒尚没有取“香槟”的名称。有人说在法国BENEDICTINE教区,有位聪明的僧侣,名叫丹姆培里永 DOM PERIGNON,当时主管教会的财产与酒库,他把酒里加进了气泡,是对香槟酒贡献很大的人,并且在葡萄酒品质的改良方面,也胜过了以往任何一个人,因为从一六六八年至一七一五年,他执掌了葡萄酒的酿造与品尝的事务。

  丹姆培里永也是第一个用软木塞来作香槟酒瓶塞的人。虽然其他产酒区早已用,但是他是第一位把软木塞引进到产酒的香槟地区,以替代当时用麻屑所做的瓶塞,并使酒中的气泡能够保存更长的时间。葡萄果农为了纪念他所作出的贡献,还为他铸造了塑像,并且在一九三九年,举行了一次三百周年纪念仪式。

  真正的香槟酒,产自巴黎东北部的RHEIMS和EPERNAY地区。其他国家生产的,大都以法国的制造法为范本,也有以简化方法制造的。大多数的香槟酒,味道都不错,如果在酒会上只重量而不重质,用香槟酒来调些混合饮料,如黑天鹅BLACK VELVET或潘契PUNCH酒,都很适当。

  精美的法国香槟酒,是用黑、白两个葡萄品种混合制成的,葡萄汁要很快榨出,以免果皮影响了酒汁的颜色。另外还有玫瑰色香槟和白葡萄香槟,玫瑰色是来自黑葡萄的果皮色素,或者在其中加入一些红葡萄桌餐酒。

  大多数香槟酒都是混合制品,因而都不标明生产年份,只有在葡萄特别好的收获年份,生产商、经销商才会考虑在标签上注明生产年份。不过每一个酒厂,只注重混合的技巧,以求永远保持一个标准的品质而长期取信于顾客,纵然不是特好的年份,香槟酒的品质也不会受到影响。

  法国法律明文规定“香槟产区”以“法国香槟地区”的范围为准,即在今天法国北部的汉斯﹝Rheims﹞与艾贝涅﹝Epernay﹞附近的城镇。在此区域内,依照特殊酿造法使葡萄酒在寒冷的冬天之后发生第二次发酵,而后才能在温暖的春天里产生气泡。

  香槟酒发酵所采用的葡萄与一般的葡萄酒无差异,但是必须遵守瓶内发酵﹝Bottle Fermentted)原则,才是真正的法国香槟酒。初步发酵后,加入糖与特殊的酵母,然后装瓶、封口、贮存于低温酒窖,贮存至少二年以上。酵母使糖产生第二次发酵,其所产生的二氧化碳乃气泡的来源。沉淀物依上述方法去除之后,加入一定比例份量的榶使香槟更可口。香槟可分为完全不甜﹝Brut﹞,不甜﹝Sec﹞,微甜﹝Demi Sec.﹞与甜﹝Doux﹞等。有些香槟根本不加糖,才是真正的完全不甜。法国所产的香槟,在瓶塞或卷标上标示Champagne以作为识别,若按真正香槟制造方法在瓶内发酵者则标明“`a la Me'thode Champegnoise”字样。

  国共有19个著名香槟厂牌,如Bolinger、Krug、Veuve Cliquot、Moet Chandon等,依照法国政府1927年所颁的法令规定香槟分类如下:

  一级产区制香槟﹝Champagne Premiere Zone﹞:法国玛奴﹝Marne﹞高地及山谷的葡萄园所产制者。

  二级产区制香槟﹝Champagne deuxieme Zone﹞:法国俄布﹝Aube﹞,上玛奴﹝Haute Marne﹞等地区所产制者。

  气泡酒:一级,二级以外地区所产生的发泡性葡萄酒,其酿制方法有采香槟之瓶内发酵方式,也有在密闭发酵后再装瓶的方式。

  茄赛菲﹝Gassific﹞或泛泰西﹝Fantiaisic﹞:以人工将二氧化碳加压于葡萄酒内而制成的气泡酒。

Best wine advice for newbie

1. Try new things - don't get stuck on just one region or varietal.
2. Drink what you like - read reviews, books, articles, etc. - there are lots of opinions out there that have the potential to shape your taste - read, understand as much as you care to and then drink what YOU like. If you agreed (or disagreed) strongly with someone's opinion, then the next time they comment on a wine, you'll have a better understanding of whether you might like it too.
3. There are lots of things that make up a good wine: varietal, region, winemaker, vineyard, vintage (weather, etc.) - you may read about a particular wine that sounds interesting, or you may have tried a wine that you really like, but when you go to your wine store you can't find it. What to do? Look for common traits - e.g.,
- If you read that a winery made a great Cabernet from Rutherford in CA in 2001 and you can't find it, but you see a Merlot from the same winery, from Rutherford in 2001 - try it. The fact is, good winemakers make good wine.- If you read that a winery made a great Pinot from Gary's Vineyard in CA in 2001 and you can't find it, but you see a 2001 Pinot from Gary's Vineyard from a different winemaker and 2001 was a great vintage for Pinot in CA - try it. Great fruit is great fruit and great vintages are great vintages.
Monday May 15, 2006 - 02:36am (PDT) Permanent Link 0 Comments

星期一, 五月 15, 2006

对葡萄酒文化的点滴思考


我们探讨葡萄酒文化的真正意义在哪里?尤其是探讨本土化或者是具有中国特色的葡萄酒文化的现实意义在哪里?我以为短期目的就是打文化牌,用文化去培育市场、赢得市场。可是一种文化的形成、认可和接受并非是一朝一夕的事情,她和一个国家的经济基础以及人们的文化传统、公民素质以及生活方式饮食习惯密切相关,葡萄酒文化也是如此。一句话:路漫漫兮,其路远兮。

星期三, 五月 10, 2006

漫谈葡萄酒博物馆

为进一步对葡萄酒博物馆的文化功能做一个全面了解,我在网上的百度搜索引擎中输入“葡萄酒博物馆”一词,其中有关澳门葡萄酒博物馆的条目最多,具体数目没有做统计,这也许就是旅游与葡萄酒相结合的最好说明。我随机浏览了几条,一条是名为“花米的路”新浪个人博客,她写到“位于赛车博物馆对面的葡萄酒博物馆更是一个富有文化教育特色的场所。一走进大门,就被长廊两边的墙柜上各种各样的葡萄酒所吸引。一千多种品牌的葡萄酒,不仅可以看,还能从精选出的六种名酒中任选取一种进行品尝。手执葡萄美酒夜光杯,倘佯在名酒的世界中,了解酿酒,葡萄种植史,参观古老的酒窑,深深感受着葡萄酒文化的无穷魅力。”,又一条则采取图片方式介绍游玩澳门葡萄酒博物馆的心情,作者名为Hing ,网址:http://www.flickr.com/photos/hing/18686953/in/set-441043/。还有一条提到南非有一座古老的葡萄酒博物馆,它在开普敦(位于在一隅狭窄的半岛上),港湾风情浪漫,景色旖旎,城市以外的郊野,葡萄园遍布,盛产味醇色美的葡萄酒。在郊区的康斯坦亚农庄内,有一座建于1685年的葡萄酒博物馆。该博物馆是一座荷兰式的古老建筑物,有粉白的墙和典雅的造型屋内的家具、器皿还保留着17世纪原状。地下室的大酒地窖里摆满了巨型的橡木桶,桶内有正在发酵的葡萄酒,散发着奇特、潮湿的香味,闻多了似乎能把人醉倒。在这里,游客可尽情品尝葡萄酒,不醉不归。

这就是葡萄酒文化所带给人们的高度精神享受,从古到今一直绵延不断。
  

再谈葡萄酒博物馆-阿根廷葡萄酒博物馆(转贴)

阿根廷葡萄酒博物馆里收藏了5000多件传统酿酒工具,从这一个个橡木酒桶、皮质的酿酒袋和葡萄轧汁机上,游客们领略了阿根廷葡萄酿酒业四百多年的历程。
大约在1554年,智利传教士——朱安·西德隆在门多萨种植了一种科里奥拉斯酿酒葡萄,从此开创了阿根廷葡萄酒的酿造史。至今阿根廷70%的葡萄酒田都集中在门多萨地区。
阿根廷天气干燥,阳光充沛,自然条件极适宜葡萄生长。所产葡萄糖分较高,酿出来的酒口感醇厚。爱好烤肉的阿根廷人最喜欢用葡萄酒佐餐,据说每人每年平均要喝掉65公升的葡萄酒,因此阿根廷出产的葡萄酒90%在国内销售,这也是阿根廷葡萄酒在国际上声名不显的一个重要原因。
为了让人们对阿根廷的葡萄就有更多的了解,博物馆鼓励游客们品尝门多萨地区出产的每一种葡萄酒,在实践中教授游客们品酒的技巧。
游客莫尼卡·林格:“我学会如何品味葡萄发酵的优劣,以及储存葡萄酒的适宜温度。”
游客:“ 这非常有趣,解说也很实际。”
建造这个葡萄酒博物馆的想法是弗朗西斯科·鲁蒂尼在1945年提出的,他想通过这个办法将门多萨葡萄酒文化的重要组成部分——葡萄酒的酿造历史纪录并保留下来。但真正实现弗朗西斯科这个愿望的是他的表兄雷纳。1977年博物馆建成,并正式对外开放。此后,博物馆每年都要吸引三万多名来自世界各地的游客。

星期一, 五月 08, 2006

Tell me your opinions on wine labels


Hello, I am a wine lover,I think that the influence of wine labels on a person's wine purchase is very important, When you want to buy a bottle of wine, There are a lot of choices. Many retail stores carry hundreds of wine brands or labels. What makes you buy a certain label over another? Pleases tell me your opinions on wine labels.

I like Napa valley !!


I have joined the "Wine Slobs" group on myspace for one week, I often view posts in this group,Today i saw a post that it's about wine tour in Napa valley, I like the post so i copy it and post on my blog. I hope i can take a trip to Napa valley one day!! :)
Trip report (LONG-ish)! My first time in Napa....My friend Marie and I returned from Napa on Sunday... it was PHENOMENAL! Everything was absolutely beautiful. Thank you everyone for your recommendations.We had our room booked at the River Terrace Inn in Napa... It was kind of modern-looking but still comfy... nice place! Saturday morning..our first stop was Silver Oak. I wanted to kiss the ground when we got there. We had a private tour at 10am, and they treated us really well, our tour guide Deke told us all the history of the family, showed us around the grounds and was giving us really generous pours. Good morning!! :)From there we stopped at the Oakville Grocery store ... on the outside it appeared as a simple country store, but inside it was stocked with all gourmet items. OMG!! I was in heaven. We picked up some sandwiches and then I found this incredible cheese there (Yes, I'm going to rave about cheese) it's called "Gjetost"...its a Norweigan goat cheese, made with a form of caramel and it tasted like a cross between fudge (yet it wasn't sweet), peanut butter, and mozzarella. It was absolutely amazing. From there we went to Plumpjack, which was very enjoyable. Then to Miner which was terrific with a great view of Napa, and then to Pine Ridge... loved their malbec blend called, "Onyx" and picked up a case for home.Sunday morning, we had a 10:00am appointment at Nickel & Nickel... WOW. Such a beautiful place... had a very elegant, Martha Stewart look to it. The tour started in the main house, then we walked across the grounds, and went downstairs to the barrel room. I've NEVER seen a more gorgeous barrel room in my life. It was breathtaking... reminded me of "The Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy goes to see Oz in that great hallway. Picked up a bottle of their Regusci Vineyard cab. Other places we went to:The Martini House (in St. Helena)--- Great bar!n.v. - (in Napa) -- wonderful, wonderful, restaurant with incredible food and serviceThe Bounty Hunter - (in Napa) -- cool place for drinks..lots of fun and packedUva... (in Napa) Great restaurant where we heard live Jazz.Downtown Joes- the local hang... live music... cool placeSilverado Country Club- we made new friends who took us there. Beautiful place, for a while I thought I was in a Vegas casino.. obviously had too much wine that day.From the beginning to the end, it was an excellent trip! Can't wait for the next time I go.