Merryvale Pino Noir Rosé 2002

生產國：美國
產地：加州納帕谷
釀酒廠：Merryvale
年份：2002
種類：Pino Noir Rosé
價格及出處：NT 1,350/瓶 台灣金醇零售價
品酒日：2008-03-15

Country: USA
Region: Napa Valley, California
Winery: Merryvale
Vintage: 2002
Wine Style: Pinot Noir Rosé
Price and Point of Purchase: 1,350NT/Bottle at Formosa Imperial Wineseller
Date of Tasting: Mar. 15, 2008

美國政府廢除禁酒令之後，Merryvale 酒廠是納帕谷建立的第一座酒廠。酒廠位在St. Helena市中心的0.25英哩外。酒廠主人Jack W. Schlatter 跟兒子René所製作的具豐富複雜度的酒，將他們葡萄園的風土條件完全展現出來，為他們酒莊在國際上贏得了不少喝采。

Rosé的製作方式可以是把紅酒加進白酒中，或是在初期發酵的時候把葡萄皮留在葡萄汁裡，之後再將葡萄皮取出，進行中後期的發酵。

Merryvale winery was the first winery built in Napa Vally after the US government repealed prohibition. The winery is located 0.25 miles outside of downtown St. Helena. Owner Jack W. Schlatter and son René have garnered some international acclaim for their complex wines that reflect the terroir of their vineyard.

Rosé can be made by either adding some red wine to white, or by leaving the grape juice in contact with the dark grape skin of the red grape during the first fermentation.

Darren 的品酒日記 / Darren's Tasting Notes-

色澤：橘紅色，像是紅色麥芽酒的黃褐色。這種顏色應該是氧化的現象，也許已經氧化完成，現在整瓶酒正在走下坡。
Color: Orangey-red; the tawny color of a red ale. The color seems to indicate oxidation, perhaps this wine is over-the-hill.

氣味： 果實味道加上一股惱人的酵母味。有一點甜味，像是酒精杏仁糖的味道。
Nose: Fruity with an annoying yeasty quality. It has a sweet, alcoholy marzipan quality.

口感：風味結構相當不平衡的酒。酒精與酵素控制了整個味覺，把淡淡的果實味都給蓋下去了。我想這瓶酒的味道被酒裡的亞硫酸鹽(sulfite)破壞了！這是釀酒師加在葡萄酒裡頭當作清潔用的。 我寧可喝其他的酒！
Taste: Unbalanced. Alcohol and yeast dominate the palate and hide the wines subtle fruity flavors. I think perhaps this wine is tainted by sulfites, which are used by winemakers as a cleaning agent. I would rather be drinking something else.

評定等級：11 (不好)。
Rating: 11 (Poor).

我還是青少年的時候曾經跟一位好女孩約會，有一天我邀請他來我家吃晚飯。我突然想到，也許應該去買一瓶 “好酒” 來助興… 但是想當然爾，那時候根本沒什麼錢，也不知道是幸或不幸，後來老天還是找到了一瓶不到加幣2塊錢的Rosé (那時的匯率還不到1:19，所以一瓶不到40塊台幣)。當我轉開〝瓶蓋〞的時候 –在當時並不是一個好品質的象徵 – 所以即使那時我的味覺還沒被訓練，我就證明了那瓶酒完全無法下肚！

因此，我今天真的很希望可以喝到一瓶好的Rosé，可是結果太令人失望了。絕對是有好Rosé的，只是不是這瓶。
When I was a teenager, I had a date with a nice young woman whom I invited over for dinner. As almost an afterthought, I decided to buy a bottle of “fine” wine, but as was often the case I was financially embarrassed. Luckily?!? I managed to find a bottle of rosé for under $2CDN. When I unscrewed the cap – at that time most definitely not a sign of quality – the wine proved totally undrinkable, even to my untrained palate.

So, today I was really looking forward to trying a decent rosé. What a disappointment. There are good rosés, unfortunately this was not one.

Venus 的品酒日記 / Venus's Tasting Notes-

色澤：淡淡的琥珀色，相當不粉紅，不像是一般Rosé的顏色。
Color: A very light amber color. Unlike the other rosés we see, it is not pink at all.

氣味：不喜歡的味道又出現了。第一次聞到這個味道是上次那瓶拿來煮飯的George DuBoeuf白酒，第二次是今天的葡萄牙Port，今天又聞到的時候，第一時間就覺得不想喝。等了半小時之後，再聞一次酵母的味道少了一點，查了一下，原來是亞硫酸鹽(Sulfite) 的味道。有一點點、一點點、果香的味道，但聞不出是什麼果香。
Nose: The smell is back again! The first time I smelt it was when we drank the George DuBouef Chardonnay; the second time was from a Portuguese Port. Today this bottle again had that smell! I don't want to drink it. So I waited for about 30 minutes, smell again, the yeast smell had gone away a little. I checked a website, the smell is caused by sulfite, which comes from yeast. There’s also a very subtle hint of fruit, but I can't say what fruit.

口感：全都是酵母的味道！難以入喉！真生氣！我花了1350買的！應該選那瓶500塊的Rosé！
Taste: It's all yeast. Really hard to drink! I am not happy. I spent 1,350 for this?!? I should have gone with the 500 dollar bottle of rosé.

Darren Haughn & Venus Chen (c) 2008-03-15

喝酒VS寫作 / Drinking VS Writing

葡萄酒跟寫作其實很像。葡萄酒有風土條件，寫作有文筆天份。天生文采好的人，再怎麼不好的題材，就是有辦法吸引讀者的目光；風土條件好的葡萄酒，遇到再不好的釀酒師或酒堡主人，還是有其精采的地方。

喝酒跟寫作也有點像。喝酒除了爽，還是爽之外，還要有一點想像力。寫作除了抒發情感，把感情訴諸文字之外，也是要運用一點想像力，把一瓶酒變成一幅畫。

喝酒跟寫作另外一個相像的地方，就是練習。寫作需要練習文筆，練習文字的流暢，練習把情感跟文字結合，練習精準地用正確的詞句表達心中的想法。喝酒需要練習酒膽、酒量之外，還要練習分辨酒中的不同元素，看、聞、嚐，這每一步動作跟都是需要練習才能達到精準的境界，才不會把泥土的味道聞成爆竹的味道，才不會把柑橘的香味嚐成無花果的口感，才不會把烤焦麵包的味道當成蜂蜜。

我的文字屬於無厘頭的口沫橫飛，仔細看Darren的文章，發現其實他的文字是美麗的。在他的英文用詞裡有許多文學的元素，但透過翻譯有的時候沒辦法完全的表達出來，更何況他的譯者是一個無厘頭的創意型不連結自以為俏皮的莫名其妙。

我建議各位讀讀Darren的英文寫作。他的文字也許比較嚴肅，用詞比較專業，我想這除了跟他年紀大有關之外，大概是從前報社編輯出身的職業病吧！這個論調也很有趣，因為依照這樣的理論，我的無厘頭大約是從小耍賴的天生懶骨造就出來的吧！

[Darren的註解：寫作風格的不同另外還有文化與語言的關係。英文這種語言可以寫簡單明瞭的文章，所以很適合寫技術、科學、法律等文章。但若用來寫具意象、藝術、與詩意的文章，就不太適合。因此我的文風比較清楚簡潔，Venus就常會天馬行空。這也是為什麼Venus有時候覺得我的文字不好翻譯的原因。英語同一個詞可以用不同字，來形容不同的程度，英文在這方面其實分的比中文要細，這也讓英文可以清楚並精準的用在技術用語上。這不是我說的，這是取自偉大的人類學家跟文化語言學家Umberto Eco的作品。

我喜歡Venus的寫作風格，她把味覺和嗅覺都圖像化了。她這種把口味田園化的作法在英文裡面很難找到，所以在我修改她的英文的時候很難把他的意象語言修正為敘述語言。但是這種想像是值得的，我最喜愛的一段是她把微酸的酒形容成跳跳糖在嘴巴裡的感覺。]

註：年紀大會是原因是有我的道理在的。時下年輕人或上班族使用黑莓機收發電子郵件、手機傳簡訊，漸漸習慣以最少的文字最快地傳達訊息，已經很少人會美麗文藻或譬喻手法來發送簡訊了。Darren除了身為加拿大人，還有歷史學者的背景，對於”效率”這種事情不會太積極，因為歷史的洪流，不像現代化的過程，是會跟隨著社會的發展的加快腳步的。

[Darren的註解：很多台灣人把速度和效率搞混了，這兩個不是同義字。試想一個典型的台灣公司的辦公室內，有著許多人忙進忙出，卻沒完成什麼大事 –這就是一個很好的例子。]


台灣人覺得一定要跑在前面，所以才不會輸給別人，這是台灣”贏的哲學”。近年來台灣已經有一些針對生活品質的體認，但是尚未貫徹執行。Darren在某些方面是對的，台灣的管理階層即使根本沒什麼大事要做的時候，也會有意無意的鼓勵員工加班來顯示忠誠度，所以才會造成員工在雜事上面花了太多的時間精力，沒有把眼光或精神放在大事的決策上，而導致了能量與速度的分散。>

[Darren的註解：很不幸的是，除了老闆之外，每個人都知道這個道理。]

而這些最後的爭論跟品酒或寫作一點關係都沒有。那寫幹嘛？因為作者是個台灣人，也總是忙來忙去什麼事也沒達成。
-----------

Wine and writing are similar, just as good wine requires terroir, good writing needs talent. A born writer can attract readers, even if the subject's unenjoyable; wine from a good terroir can somehow stand out despite a terrible winemaker or chateau.

Both drinking and writing can bring joy; but, besides the positive feelings of expressing oneself in writing and the more earthy joys that come from drinking wine, one needs imagination to bring the two together into a written picture of the wine.

Another similarity between drinking and writing is practice. Writing requires practice to hone the skill, and accurately put meaning and feeling into words. Wine tasting also requires practice to be able to differentiate wine's complex elements. Observing, smelling, and tasting each demand lots of practice to be able to distinguish soil from mineral, citrus from fig, or burned toast from honey – to name but a few.

My writing contains weird thoughts and silly talk. If you read Darren's writing, you'll find his words are quite simple but beautiful. There are artistic wordings and literary elements to his writing, which sometimes might be lost in translation – not to mention his translator is sometimes naughty and clueless.

I suggest you read Darren's English writing carefully. Though his wording can be serious, and his phrases use some wine terminology, it still has grace and beauty. I think this relates to his background as a newspaper editor and copy-writer (also he’s older).:-) According to this theory, my weird thoughts and writing style might result from being too lazy to form a logical argument and a natural tendency towards disconnected thinking.

[Darren's Note: There are other cultural and linguistic reasons for the differences in writing style. English is a wonderful language for writing simple, clear and concise articles. English is great for writing about technical matters, like law and science. It is poor for writing in an imaginative, artistic or poetic manner. Thus my writing will tend to be clear and to the point, while Venus’s tends to wander around more. This is also why Venus finds my writing hard to translate, English has much finer gradations of meaning than Chinese – this allows us to have the clarity and precision necessary for technical writing. These are not my own ideas, I am paraphrasing from the work of that brilliant anthropologist and cultural-linguist Umberto Eco.

I understand the frustration of trying to translate English's relatively fine gradations of meaning. The only time Chinese is more clear and specific than English is when talking about family relationships. As an English speaker, I often find myself frustrated. Why do you need to know that this uncle is from your father’s side and is younger than him? Uncle should be enough information. But, I realize that English is more specific in every other area and that Chinese learners must experience the same frustration when dealing with the entire English language.

I love the style Venus brings to writing about taste and flavour. Her method of painting a pastoral scene based on flavors is very different than what one might find in English, and thus hard to edit into comprehensible form when I work on her English. But, the imagery is great and worth the effort. Her description of a slightly acidic wine as having a pop-rocks feel in the mouth is my favourite turn of phrase].

Note: There's a reason I say Darren being older makes his writing more serious. Now, the younger generation use blackberries to send emails and cell phones to send SMS messages. There are less and less people writing with “big words” or using metaphors. Aside from being Canadian, Darren also holds a master's degree in history. He is not too excited about being speedy, or should we say efficient – for history, unlike modernity, will not be moved by social development speeding up its pace.

[Darren's Note: Too many Taiwanese confuse speed with efficiency. The words are not synonymous. Think of a typical Taiwanese company with the workers scurrying around very fast while accomplishing nothing - a perfect example of speed without efficiency].

(Venus's feedback: I work with Canadians and understand their concept of efficiency. Private time and holidays always come before work. This is healthier and more balanced. However, it is a nightmare for Taiwanese businessmen dealing with Canada during holiday season. While Darren says some Taiwanese try to go fast and accomplish nothing, some Canadians are just too annoyingly slow. Holiday season is a case in point. During summer Canadians go on vacation while Taiwanese buyers are left here worrying about shipments not arriving – simply because there are no Canadians in the office. No wonder Canadians invent the Blackberry?) (But it will be nice if they use it sometimes when there's an enquiry…)

Taiwanese tend to think they need to run as fast and hard as they can in order not to fall behind the competition. Recently there has been some awareness in Taiwan of life quality issues, but perhaps not enough has been done. Darren is right that many Taiwanese management practices force workers to be inefficient. (There are bosses who encourage workers to stay late, even when they have nothing to do. There is the tendency to dedicate far too much energy to trivial matters while allowing important matters to languish unattended – the problem of misdirected energy/speed).

[Darren's note: Unfortunately everyone understands this except the bosses].

And this has nothing to do with wine, nor writing. So why compare? Because the writer is Taiwanese and also likes to run around accomplishing nothing.








Darren Haughn & Venus Chen (c) 2008-03-08

「品酒瘋‧網誌」的品酒哲學與方式/The Dedicated Wino's wine tasting philosophy and methodology:

一般來說，我們介紹的每款酒至少會有一名酒鬼品嚐並寫下日誌：通常會是Venus與Darren，但如果我們的酒伴朋友也同意的話，我們也願意把酒伴的品酒日誌貼上來，並且解釋他們的飲酒年資。我們引用不同品酒人(啊，不是，是酒鬼^^)的原因是為了反映每個人對同一種酒的看法或接受度。既然我們常常與酒伴們爭論酒的好壞，我們希望能捕捉這些熱烈的片段，傳達給讀者們。

一般坊間品酒，是依據一口酒的味道與品質來判定它的好壞。在「品酒瘋‧網誌」中，更包括了整瓶酒的適飲度：最後一杯是不是跟第一杯一樣好？ 大部分出版的品酒評分，是由專業的品酒師打的分數。這些品酒師可能一次得要試數十瓶以上的酒，所以他們評分的程序是：聞一聞、啜一口、含在口中轉一轉、吐掉、下一瓶。在這樣的情形之下，具有濃厚香味與口感的酒就會得到很高的分數。您如果依照評分花大錢買高分酒回家，不幸的話，可能根本連一杯都無法下肚，那真的會很冤枉。當然，這不表示我們不能相信一般的評分，大部分的高分酒還是品質很高的酒。身為「品酒瘋‧網誌」的資深酒鬼，我們願意犧牲我們卑微的肝臟，為您把整瓶酒喝下肚，絕不做“含在口中、吐掉“ 這種不尊重葡萄酒的奢侈行為。我們會整瓶喝完並誠實告知您一瓶酒的適飲度。


我們選擇部落格的形式發表我們的評分，這是因為這種方式讓我們能夠以比較經濟的方式發表。 您會發現我們的酒評比較深入也比一般坊間的品酒雜誌要長，這是個利用網路讓讀者多一個選酒依據的方式。

我們借用Decanter雜誌的評分標準：

20 – Outstanding (傑出)
19 – Excellent (極佳)
18 – Very Good + (非常好+)
17 – Very Good (非常好)
16 – Good + (好+)
15 – Good (好)
14 – Fair (還不錯)
13 – Adequate (一般)
12 – Mediocre (平庸)
11 – Poor (不好)
10 – Bad (糟)
<10 – Abysmal (很糟)

一般來說我們的酒是跟台灣的零售商買的，因此，我們喝到的酒跟大家一樣，是經過同樣的運送跟儲藏來到我們手中的 — 如果這些過程可能對酒造成的影響的話。

Each wine that is tasted will generally include reviews by more than one taster. If possible, the tasting notes of both Venus and Darren, will be included, plus any friends confident enough to allow us to post their notes. If their tasting notes are included, their level of experience will be briefly introduced. The policy of trying to include multiple reviews reflects the fact that people perceive tastes differently. We have spent many wonderful hours bickering amongst ourselves or with friends over a wine’s merits. We hope to capture some of that energy for our readers.



Each wine will be reviewed on the standard elements of taste and quality. But, here at The Dedicated Wino we go a step beyond and include a section on how the bottle drinks. Does the last glass taste as good as the first glass? Most published wine tastings are done by professionals tasting possibly a dozen or more wines in a single sitting – sniff, slurp, roll around in the mouth, spit and repeat. Typically wines with aggressive smells and flavors receive disproportionately high reviews because they stand out. That is fine for swirling and spitting, but when you take these highly rated wines home, it is an unpleasant surprise to realize the wine is so overbearing you’ll be lucky just to finish a glass. Of course this is not universal, many highly rated wines are very subtle. Here at The Dedicated Wino we are sacrificing our livers for you, none of that hoity-toity wine spitting for us. We will drink the entire bottle and inform you of the wine’s real drinkability.

The weblog format allows us to publish our reviews cheaply, so we are making our reviews longer and more in-depth than what you might normally find in a magazine. A good use of bandwidth that should help our readers make informed wine purchases.

We use a 20-point rating system based on that used by Decanter Magazine:



20 – Outstanding
19 – Excellent
18 – Very Good +
17 – Very Good
16 – Good +
15 – Good
14 – Fair
13 – Adequate
12 – Mediocre
11 – Poor
10 – Bad
<10 – Abysmal


Some of our tastings are done blind, a portion of the wine bottles in our wine cabinet have been placed into non-see-through bags and shuffled. But, we are social winos, and as you can imagine it is hard to choose a wine to compliment a meal with friends if all your wine is in opaque bags. So, the majority of our wine tastings are not done blind. We will state when it is a blind tasting.

Generally the wines have been purchased through a Taiwanese retailer. Thus, our test wines have experienced the same transportation and storage as the wines our Taiwanese readers encounter.

Darren Haughn & Venus Chen (c) 2008-03-08

Georges DuBoeuf - Vins de Pays d'Oc 2002

生產國：法國
產地：Vins de Pays d'Oc
法定產區：N/A
釀酒廠：Georges DuBoeuf
年份：2002
種類：白酒 (Chardonnay)
價格及出處：法蘭絲酒坊零售價NT450
品酒日：2008-02-23

Country: France
Region: Vins de Pays d’Oc
Appellation: N/A
Producer: Georges DuBoeuf
Vintage: 2002
Wine Style: White (Chardonnay)
Price and Point of Purchase: 450NT suggested retail from St. Finesse Inc.
Date of Tasting: Feb. 23, 2008

Georges DuBoeuf 是法國最大的葡萄酒大盤商之一，也自稱為是薄酒萊產區之王。當初因為貪小便宜就選了這款特價315元的酒。但也許便宜無好貨 – 有時候即使有免費的酒喝可能也不見得佔了便宜。
Georges DuBoeuf is one of France’s largest négociants and the self-proclaimed King of Beaujolais. I couldn’t resist a bargain and picked up this bottle for just 315NT. But, you get what you pay for - I am afraid sometimes even free wine is no bargain.

Darren 的品酒日記 / Darren's Tasting Notes-

色澤：像是深色蘋果汁的顏色。
Color: Resembling dark apple juice.

氣味：酵母菌的味道好重，還有酒精加上爛蘋果的味道。糖精的味道讓我想到劣質的自製酒。不舒服！
Nose: A strong smell of yeast and alcohol with slightly rotten apples in the background. A cloyingly sweet nose, reminds me of poorly produced homemade wine. Unpleasant!!!

口感：喝了第一口就確定的酒的品質。一款軟弱的酒 – 沒有Chardonnay的酸度 – 只展現了熟爛了的蘋果濃縮過的甜度，是一款既缺乏葡萄酒該有的平衡度，又讓你的口感充滿酒精濃度的劣質酒。這真的是Chardonnay嗎？
Taste: The first sip confirms it, this wine is horrendous. A very flabby wine – lacking Chardonnay's acidity – and exhibiting very sweet tastes of overripe apples. The wine is unbalanced with an unpleasant alcohol burn on the palate and throat. Is this really Chardonnay?

適飲度：無法下嚥！喝了兩口之後，我們就把酒再倒回瓶子裡，決定拿來煮菜。
Drinkability: Absolutely undrinkable! After two sips, we poured the wine back into the bottle and will try to cook with it.

評定等級：7 (很糟)。
Rating: 7 (Abysmal).

Venus 的品酒日記 / Venus's Tasting Notes-

聞了一下，像把腳伸進應該很冰的湖水裡是水溫的那種感覺，怕怕的，又很好奇。喝了一口(果然湖水是冰的)，決定拿來煮西班牙燉飯，倒再多煮來請客也不心疼。
I take a smell and put my lips to the edge of the glass, like putting my feet into the lake water. Knowing that it might be cold, but how cold - a little afraid, and a little curious. After the sip, the water is uncomfortable indeed, and the bottle goes back to the fridge – for cooking the Paella later – at least I won't worry if I've wasted money pouring too much wine in the rice.

Darren Haughn & Venus Chen (c) 2008-03-08

波爾多 vs 加州 / Bordeaux versus California

今天下午我們到大安路上一家叫做 Whisky & Wine 的小酒坊。這家店特別的地方是你可以一次試16種酒，看你的預算，你可以選擇試20ml、50ml，或是一整杯，對我們這種預算有限的酒鬼來說很划算。這家店有lounge的陳設也有酒窖的感覺，讓你可以在這裡輕鬆地品嚐您所選定的酒。

我們決定今天要來做一個近距離的比較。我們選定了波爾多類型 (Bordeaux blend) 混合白酒與加州類型 (California blend) 的混合白酒，也順便比較一下舊世界酒和新世界的不同。

In the afternoon we went to Whisky & Wine, a lounge and wine shop in Da-An district. The shop allows you to buy up to 16 wines by either 20ml or 50 ml tastings or by the glass. The shop is great for winos like us. It is an attractive and comfortable lounge atmosphere, where you can relax and enjoy conducting your own wine tastings.

Today we decided to do a side-by-side comparison of a white Bordeaux blend and a white California blend of a similar style. It was a good chance to see the Old World and New World together.
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Tasting #1



生產國：法國
產地：Graves, Bordeaux
法定產區：Pessac-Léognan AOC, Grande Cru Classé de Graves
釀酒廠：Château Carbonnieux (château bottled)
年份：2003
種類：白酒 ; Sémillon (40%) - Sauvignon Blanc (60%) blend
價格及出處：每50ml 252 元，Whiskey & Wine 試酒 (整瓶價2200)
品酒日：2008-03-01


Country: France
Region: Graves, Bordeaux
Appellation: Pessac-Léognan AOC, Grande Cru Classé de Graves
Producer: Château Carbonnieux, (château bottled)
Vintage: 2003
Wine Style: White ; Sémillon (40%) - Sauvignon Blanc (60%) blend
Price and Point of Purchase: 252NT per 50 ml. tasting at Whisky & Wine, or 2,200NT per bottle.
Date of Tasting: March 1, 2008

在1987之前，人們只知道Graves AOC這個較大的產區，一直到1987年的時候，Pessac-Léognan AOC產區才被從Graves AOC產區裡劃定出來，而在這個區域裡面有整個Grave AOC產區裡面最好的10個葡萄鄉社 (commune) 與55個最好的酒莊 (包括所有crus classés列級酒莊)。
Pessac-Léognan AOC was introduced in 1987 and encompasses the 10 best communes and 55 best estates (including all the crus classés estates) of the Graves AOC.

Darren 的品酒日記 / Darren's Tasting Notes-

色澤：淡淡的、近似茶色的黃色。這款酒在杯緣有點淚滴 (在葡萄酒的專有名詞叫做 « 腿 »，可是我覺得它比較像是眼淚) ，我想待會應該會喝到中度單寧的酒。
Color: A light yellow to slightly tawny color. The wine has slight formation of legs, I’m expecting a medium-bodied wine.

氣味：沒有特別突出的香氣，但帶點礦石的氣息。
Nose: A neutral nose with light minerality.

口感：滑順圓滿的口感。與飽滿的單寧酸完美結合，雖然是乾口酒卻也隱約帶著一抹甜味。這是一款複雜的酒，主幹的礦石味 (片岩?) 優雅地將其他所有的副口感帶出，其中包括一點橙皮味。這款酒的餘味很長，喝完之後口中會有銅的金屬味 — 像是小的時候你把硬幣放進嘴裡的感覺。
Taste: A smooth and round mouth-feel. Dry with pleasingly incorporated acidity, yet the wine contains subtle hints of sweetness underneath. A complex wine with a core of minerality (schist?), and I detect the slightest hint of orange peel. The finish is long and metallic/coppery – like when you sucked pennies as a kid.

配餐建議：我建議單獨享用這款酒，把它的複雜度都品嚐出來，或者，您可以搭配Fettucini Alfredo義大利麵或是奶油醬的義大利麵。
Food Matches: Drink alone to savor the wine's complexity, or combine with Fettucini Alfredo or likewise creamy pasta dishes.

評定等級：17.5 (Very Good+)。
Rating: 17.5 (Very Good+)

備註：為了找出這瓶酒的味道我花了不少時間。這瓶酒的並沒有很強的葡萄性格，卻有著受到風土條件 (terroir) 影響而造成的強烈性格，這是我第一次喝到因為風土條件而突出的酒，真是震撼！我以前以為風土條件只是酒廠創造出來抬高身價，讓所謂的”品酒達人”認為他們的酒比較好的行銷手法！原來風土條件不是自以為是的品酒家說出來讓自己看起來很厲害的名詞，風土條件是真的存在的！
Note: I had a very hard time figuring out the tastes of this wine. The flavors are not primarily varietal, but rather terroir derived. It was my first real experience with a complex terroir driven wine. What a revelation! Terroir is not just BS spouted by wine snobs – it exists, and makes for fascinating wine! Who would have believed it?!? I certainly never did: I was a wine iconoclast who thought the concept of terroir was just a method to – unfairly – jack-up wine prices for gullible wine “connoisseurs.”

Venus 的品酒日記 / Venus's Tasting Notes-

色澤：在陽光下呈現很淡的透明淺黃萊姆色，邊緣幾乎是全透明的顏色。
Color: It is very light lime-yellow color under the sunlight. Along the edge of the glass, the wine is almost transparent.

氣味：甜甜的水果香加上一點爆竹味 (一閃即逝)。香草椰奶味的甜點。
Nose: It is a sweet fruity smell with a splash of fireworks. Also it smells like vanilla coconut dessert.

口味：有一陣很特別的可可奶香味，不是相當乾口(dry)的乾口酒(雖然在瓶口狠狠地寫了一個 “DRY"。) 老實說，喝起來的畫面應該很優閒，很輕鬆，因為它又有香草椰奶的香味，又有可可奶香的味道，應該是一個悠閒的下午在喝著下午茶配著甜點，甚至Darren還含了根雪茄 (通常有可可的味道)的感覺。但是因為20歲的時候用過美體小舖一款蜜蠟除毛劑，這瓶酒的味道跟這個除毛劑的味道還真像！

很喜歡。不僅可以搭配香草戚風蛋糕，也可以搭配奶油白醬義大利麵。(Darren說應該不要搭配食物，才能夠好好享受這瓶酒的特殊口感，但是身為素食者，喝酒的時候我不常想到要搭配食物，這杯酒讓我想到香草戚風跟奶油白醬義大利麵。)

It has a special cocoa and milky texture. Not a very dry wine (although on the bottle it says in capital letters “DRY”). Honestly speaking, drinking this wine gives an image of afternoon tea with a piece vanilla chiffon cake, and Darren with a cigar in his mouth (cigars often have cocoa flavors). But, I used to have a jar of Body Shop amber leg wax which smelled similar, so I can't stop picturing myself suffering through the waxy pain! (Sorry for putting that image in your mind).

I like this bottle of wine a lot. I think this not only will go well with vanilla chiffon, but also cream-based pasta. (Although Darren thinks that it's almost like we shouldn't drink this wine with food lest we cover the flavor of this special wine. As a vegetarian, I don’t often think of food while drinking, but vanilla chiffon and creamy pasta just automatically jumped into my mind while drinking it! So I'm sticking with vanilla chiffon!!!)

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Tasting #2


生產國：美國
產地：加州
法定產區：21%納帕谷；13%聖塔芭芭拉聖塔瑪麗亞谷；35%蒙特利聖塔露西亞高地；31%加州其他產區
酒名: 謎(Conundrum)
釀酒廠：Caymus Vineyards; 釀酒者：Jon Bolta
年份：1997
種類：加州日常餐酒(白)
(Chardonnay, Sauv. Blanc, Sémillon, Viognier 與 Muscat 的混合)
價格及出處：每50ml 180元，整瓶價1300元
品酒日：2008-03-01

Country: USA
Region: California
Appellation: mix – 21% Napa Valley; 13% Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbera; 35% Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterery; 31% California
Name : Conundrum,
Producer: Caymus Vineyards; Jon Bolta, winemaker
Vintage: 1997
Wine Style: California White Table Wine (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Viognier and Muscat blend)
Price and Point of Purchase: 180NT per 50 ml. tasting at Whisky & Wine, or 1,300NT per bottle.
Date of Tasting: March 1, 2008

在加州，日常餐酒在不破壞酒的品質前提之下，會使用多種的葡萄釀造而成，不像法國，日常餐酒 ”vin de table”，事實上是比較低等的酒。
In California, a table wine is simply a wine which uses a mix of grape varieties and does not infer the wine is in anyway inferior, as the appellation vin de table would with a French wine.

Darren 的品酒日記 / Darren's Tasting Notes-

色澤：淺淺的稻草色，杯緣帶著一點”腿”–應該是屬於輕度到中度單寧。
Color: Pale straw color with just slight legs – should be light to medium bodied.

氣味：輕輕的綠色蔬菜味 – 嗯，應該是甜椒。
Nose: A light nose with hints of green vegetables – bell peppers.

口味： 不錯的酒，沒什麼起伏 (Venus 譯者註: Darren 用了 “pedestrian”，我覺得很有趣，英文可能沒這樣的意思，可是中文看起來，這樣的形容就像過路人一樣，走過去就沒有了，非常貼切) 。口味很難定位，因為這款酒是從加州的4個產區中選出5種葡萄混合釀造，所以才會有”謎(Conundrum)”這個名字。這是一款有點辛辣又帶點酸度的酒。
Flavor: A pleasant if rather pedestrian blend. The taste is hard to define as it is a mix of 5 grape varieties from 4 regions of California, hence the name “Conundrum.” It is a slightly spicy white with a minimum of acidity. It manages – just barely – to avoid being flabby. A decent drinking wine to have with a meal – nothing special.

配餐建議：這樣的基本款其實蠻好搭的，任何上桌的食物都不會破壞它的口感。試試雞肉或豬肉料理。
Food marches: A utility wine that should handle most of the foods that you throw at it. Try with chicken or pork.

評定等級：14.5 (Good)。
Rating: 14.5 (Good)

Venus 的品酒日記 / Venus's Tasting Notes-

色澤：淡淡的金黃色，比先前那一支酒再深一點點的顏色。邊緣比較沒有那麼透明。但還是稍有層次。
Color: Light gold, a little darker then the previous French wine. The edge is not as transparent, but still has gradations of color in the glass.

氣味：用力吸了一大口，有一點酸酸的消毒水味道，應該是因為那口氣吸太久太長的關係。事實上，還是帶有一點椰子口味的甜點味道。
Nose: I took a deep smell, maybe far too deep, I smelt detergent like used in hospitals, and also a hint of coconut.

口味： 我想1997年份的酒不會太差。酸酸的，有點刺鼻，但沒有那麼奶，喝起來還蠻清新的。我認為喝進口裡的味道還是有一點椰奶的味道但是沒有那麼重，喝完的口感有一點竹子的味道，應該是屬於檸檬椰子塔吧。是屬於乾口的酒，跟剛剛那瓶一樣，帶的是一點甜甜的香味，但是絕不會是甜口的酒。
Taste: Theorically vintage 1997 is a good year. Because of it's acid smell, when I drink it I can feel a prickling sensation in my nose. It is not as creamy or milky as the previous wine and it's actually quite fresh tasting.
I also taste a little coconut but it’s not as heavy. If I use a dessert analogy to describe it, the California white is more like coconut lemon tart. The finish has a little bamboo texture. It is definitely a dry wine, but as with the bordeaux, it has a slight of sweetness in the nose, but is definitely not a sweet wine.
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Darren 對兩瓶酒的比較 / Darren's Comparison-

基本上沒得比。波爾多這款比加州的高出一大截，無論是在複雜度或是吸引度都把加州這款狠狠地比了下去。整體來說，加州這款白酒平庸無趣。

我其實有點擔心這樣比較下去會讓我的飲酒習慣 ”變高級” (好像你剛喝了一款好酒之後你就沒辦法盡情享受比較平庸的酒一樣。)

There was absolutely no comparison. The Bordeaux stood head-and-shoulders above the California blend. The complexity and level of interest the Bordeaux created on the palate really underlined the weaknesses of this California blend. In comparison, the California wine was bland and slightly banal.

I am a bit afraid that this side-by-side comparison may have pushed me into a whole new “wine category.” (That point where it becomes difficult to enjoy a wine of lesser quality than the new, better, level of wine that you just tasted).

Venus 對兩瓶酒的比較 / Venus's Comparison-

兩瓶比起來，這瓶比較簡單，但是沒有特色。像是剛出道的玉女，可能看起來挺舒服的，但不會讓人留下深刻的印象。我同意Darren的說法，就好像你穿了一雙Jimmy Choo的鞋之後沒辦法再覺得Ninewest的鞋一樣（雖然 Ninewest的鞋設計感也不錯，也不會太難穿），Volvo的車子很好，但總不是Porsche。


If I compare the two together, the California wine is far simpler without any outstanding characteristics – like a new model just getting into show business, nice looking, but people forget her right away – not able to impress. I agree with Darren's comments about these 2 bottles – it's almost like if you experience a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes first, then you cannot appreciate Ninewest as much – although Ninewest has up-to-date designs and they are not too bad. (Volvo is a good car, but it's not a Porsche, if you know what I mean).

Darren Haughn & Venus Chen (c) 2008-03-01