文 Tersina Shieh 编、译 张恬熙

克服抗拒的情绪，打开那扇大门，通往奇妙的葡萄酒吧！或许你不会每一款酒都喜欢，但如果不曾尝试，你怎么知道会错过什么呢？所以，趁着这个新年假期，与朋友们试试那些不常喝的葡萄酒吧。你一定会发现惊喜的！

We wont like them all but we dont know what we miss if we dont try.So try during this Chinese New Year holiday to share wines that you dont normally drink with your friends.You will be surprised!

中国农历的新年马上就要来啦！不少人已经开始准备与家人和朋友们的聚餐，这类型的聚会往往会持续一周甚至更长的时间。当然，对我们而言这也是一个品尝不同类型葡萄酒的好机会！

毫无疑问，许多人会被“聚餐时候该喝什么酒”的问题所困扰，但是最近几年我已经不再考虑这个问题了。快放松一下吧，去试试那些你不常喝的葡萄酒。通常来说，一个聚会有10-20个人参加，就算你不喜欢某一款酒，也总有人想法跟你不一样。所以呀，我们不仅不会浪费，还有机会在一个晚上品尝许多不同类型的葡萄酒。

假如说你最喜欢来自波尔多的红酒，那么在年夜饭上你也可以喝喝法国以外其他国家的波尔多混酿：像是来自美国、智利、阿根廷、南非、澳大利亚、新西兰、意大利、日本和中国的波尔多混酿，这些都是用同样的葡萄品种酿制而成（以赤霞珠、梅洛和品丽珠为主，小味儿多、马尔贝克、佳美娜为辅）。你还是在自己味觉的舒适区内，却能够迈出品尝其他国家的酒的一步。天知道你会发现多少可以与你心爱的波尔多媲美的好酒。

另一种做法是找个“备胎”，你可以试试除了波尔多以外的法国产区酒款，比如从香槟、勃艮第、卢瓦尔河谷到阿尔萨斯，罗讷河谷还有南法等产区。多样的葡萄酒就和百家宴一样丰富。

再或者试试冷门产区怎么样？里奥哈和托斯卡纳是西班牙和意大利最热门的产区，但你喝过托罗河谷的西班牙酒或者是马尔凯的意大利酒吗？虽然这两个产区所用的主流葡萄品种和里奥哈与托斯卡纳一样（西班牙的丹魄以及意大利的桑娇维塞），可不同产区的酒却有着微妙的差别。

如果你是个冒险家，那你可以去探索那些看起来与葡萄酒完全不相干的国家，比如印度、墨西哥、英格兰和加拿大（不是冰酒，而是白葡萄酒和红葡萄酒）。在这个世界上，有超过70个国家生产葡萄酒！为什么只关注那几个经典产国呢？

我们总是有各种原因拒绝尝试新的葡萄酒。但我不得不说：葡萄酒是用来分享的，与好朋友在一起时，任何葡萄酒都是美妙的烘托，可以让节日的气氛更加浓厚。克服抗拒的情绪，打开那扇大门，通往奇妙的葡萄酒吧！或许你不会每一款酒都喜欢，但如果不曾尝试，你怎么知道会错过些什么呢？所以，趁着这个新年假期，与朋友们试试那些不常喝的葡萄酒吧。你一定会发现惊喜的！

Chinese New Year is just round the corner and most of us will be having non-stop feasts with families and friends for at least one week if not more.This is also a good time for us to try different kinds of wine!

Some of us will no doubt think hard to match the food and wine and I did touch on this last year.However,we can also let ourselves loose and try wines that we are not familiar with.After all,there are usually 10 - 20 persons in a typical gathering.Even though you may not like a particular wine,there will be someone who thinks otherwise.Therefore,not only will wine not be wasted,we can also try a lot of different wine in one evening.

Let say you prefer wine from Bordeaux wine,you can still have Bordeaux blend wine with your Chinese New Year meals but not from France.How about from the US,Chile,Argentina,South Africa,Australia,New Zealand,Italy,Japan and China? They are made from the same grape varieties (mainly Cabernet Sauvignon,Merlot and Cabernet Franc,supported by Petit Verdot,Malbec and Carmenere).You are still within your comfort zone but youll have the chance to experience Bordeaux blends from other countries.Who knows,you may discover a few wines that can rival your beloved Bordeaux.

The other option is instead of having Bordeaux,you can have other French wine but Bordeaux: from Champagne,Burgundy,Loire to Alsace,Rhone and Southern France.The diversity of wine is as wide as the dishes.

Or how about exploring wine from lesser-known regions? Rioja and Tuscany are the most popular regions from Spain and Italy but have you tried Spanish wine from Toro or Italian wine from Marche?Both of them use the same major grape varieties as in Rioja and Tuscany (Tempranillo in Spain and Sangiovese in Italy) but there are certainly subtle differences in the wine.

If you are adventurous,you can look for wines from countries that people dont normally associate with wine,such as India,Mexico,England and Canada (not ice wine but white and red wine).Over 70 countries in the world produce wine! Why only stick with the few typical wine countries?

We are reluctant to try new wines for various reasons.But as I cant emphasize enough,wine is for sharing and with good company,any wine is a delicious backdrop that adds to the festive mood.Overcoming that intimidating feeling of wine opens the door to the amazing world of wine.We wont like them all but we dont know what we miss if we dont try.So try during this Chinese New Year holiday to share wines that you dont normally drink with your friends.You will be surprised!