飲酒的世界 The World of Drink

CHU PO WHISKY 筑波威士忌

2012-01-23T01:28:00.000-08:00

在謝老師處喝到CHU PO WHISKY 筑波威士忌不過竟然找不到資料不知怎一回事

SUNTORY WHISKY

2012-01-22T05:13:00.001-08:00

Suntory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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In December 1924, Yamazaki Distillery, the first Japanese whisky distillery, began its production of malt whisky. Five years later Suntory Whisky Sirofuda (White ...

SUNTORY THE ART OF JAPANESE WHISKY

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SUNTORY THE ART OF JAPANESE WHISKY.Introducing the information on the Suntory's Japanese Whisky and its distilleries.

	三得利「響21年」威士忌獲「WHISKY 100品飲精選」最高評分
	芳香醇厚、層次豐富的和諧口感，讓人享盡日本威士忌的東方風采獲「WHISKY 100品飲精選」高度評價，首度於「7-ELEVEN」超商限量預購

	由台灣威士忌權威共同執筆，全台唯一有評分的威士忌專書「WHISKY100品飲精選」正式發表上市，並於7-ELEVEN開放新書預購。其中三得利「響21年」威士忌榮獲「WHISKY100品飲精選」調和威士忌最高評分，為讓「WHISKY100品飲精選」讀者一嚐「響21年」芳醇風采，三得利首度開放「響21年」於 7-ELEVEN超商進行限量預購。三得利「響」系列威士忌，近年來以其芳香醇厚、層次豐富與和諧的口感，頻頻在國際烈酒賽事中掄元，其東方風采更讓歐美品酩家為之瘋狂。三得利「響21年」醇厚風味，讓人一享日本威士忌迷人風采三得利「響21年」是由山崎酒廠精選貯藏22年以上雪莉桶麥芽原酒精心調配而成，富有迷人的花果香及醇厚滑順的口感。「響21年」為三得利首席調酒師稻富孝一精心調配的佳釀，由於稻富孝一熱衷古典音樂，其迷人香氣是稻富孝一聆聽布拉姆斯第一號交響曲第四樂章的美妙旋律時創造而生。三得利「響21年」不但內含果香馥郁的佳釀，瓶身更擁有代表24節氣的水晶玻璃切面，品嚐時能感受到日本多彩的四季表現。首度於「7-ELEVEN」開放限量預購，訂購即贈限量響21年水晶3D鑰匙圈由台灣威士忌權威，包含擁有The Keepers of Quaich(蘇格蘭雙耳小酒杯執持者協會)註一榮譽的姚和成及林一峰及酒訊雜誌編輯莊雲斌所共同執筆而成的「WHISKY100品飲精選」，精選日本、蘇格蘭、愛爾蘭、美國、加拿大五大威士忌產區中的106支威士忌，以盲飲的方式針對各威士忌進行評分。其中，三得利「響21年」獲得調和威士忌最高評分，為此三得利首度開放「響21年」於7-ELEVEN超商限量預購活動，每瓶零售價格為34,00元。活動期間為2008年12月17日起至2009年2月8日。此外，於7-ELEVEN超商預購「響21年」即贈送「響21年水晶3D鎖匙圈」，讓人體驗日本威士忌的迷人丰采。

ROMAINE du PARC/Monsieur William Rouge

2012-01-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

Monsieur William Rouge 威廉紅酒. 酒款編號：ASW-901J. 產區： France. 品種：Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Carignon. 酒精濃度：11%

.ROMAINE 羅曼尼法國羅曼尼葡萄酒,• 國別: 法國France• 年份: 2010• 酒精度: 14.5 %• 容量: ... ROMAINE du PARC 2010

新式幸福風：時尚酩品美學

2012-01-16T21:21:00.001-08:00

主辦單位:高雄市立美術館

展覽名稱:新式幸福風：時尚酩品美學

展覽日期: 100.10.22- 101.02.19

展覽地點:三樓301-304展覽室

酒的歷史與人類文明與時俱進，更是美術、舞蹈與文學的靈感泉源，充滿了意義、魔法與魅力。這是一項全新觀念的展覽，結合動態影像影片、時尚服裝、酒瓶標籤設計的多元形式，從視覺的象徵到迷人的莊園故事，呈現設計與創意運用在當代文化生活、飲食產業品牌行銷與視覺傳達的重要性。本館也藉此平台，特別推出台灣酒標籤的發展歷程，並邀請在地藝術家參與創意藝術酒標的創作。

瀏覽人數：6332

公告時間： 100.10.22- 101.02.19

圖片：Inspired by versace

圖片：Inspired by adidas

Indomita

2012-01-06T02:57:00.000-08:00

葡萄酒智利智利INDOMITA酒廠www.P9.com.tw :::品酒網:::
www.p9.com.tw › 美酒廣場 › 葡萄酒 › 智利 - 頁庫存檔
INDOMITA GRAN RESERVE 2002 · 酒色呈深紅色，在橡 ... INDOMITA RESERVA C. SAUVIGNON 2007 ... INDOMITA VARIETAL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 ...
Indomita
www.indomita.cl/ - 頁庫存檔 - 翻譯這個網頁 - 略過簡介
封鎖 www.indomita.cl 的所有結果
LOADING. 000. %. SKIP INTRO. musica. Viña Indomita is a young and dynamic wine. exporting company. SKIP INTRO. musica. In our state of the art winery we ...

感謝有您邁向2012

2011-12-29T17:39:00.001-08:00

感謝有您 邁向2012

hc的”剪貼簿”在2011年約有25萬人次造訪

戴明圈: A Taiwanese Deming Circle

"交情千千" 電子連絡簿(日報)

胡適的世界 The World of Hu Shih

管理學新生

 Books Birdviews 書海

 People 人物

 品質世界 quality world

教育人

 英文人行道 et cetera, et cetera .

漢語人行道：演變風貌

 譯藝

 英國風

 日本心得帖

 亞洲

 SHE健康一生

Scottish Leader Whisky -

2011-11-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Leader Whisky威士忌蘇格蘭仕高利達Scottish Leader

仕高利達威士忌Scottish Leader Whisky - YouTube

馬馬夫夫
阿慶的廠長哥哥的"庫存品"

金蘭酒

2011-08-29T00:17:00.001-07:00

吳新榮日記 (戰後) 1945/8/16...自今日起吾人要開新生命啦啦隊....撈魚抓蝦而後煮鹽酥蝦飯 ....開攜來之金蘭酒而飲.....

　金蘭

注音一式　ㄐ｜ㄣ　ㄌㄢˊ

漢語拼音　ｊｎ　ｌｎ

注音二式　ｊｎ　ｌｎ

	語本易經˙繫辭上：「子曰：『君子之道，或出或處，或默或語。二人同心，其利斷金；同心之言，其臭如蘭。』」形容友情深厚，相交契合。南朝宋˙劉義慶˙世說新語˙賢媛：「山公與嵇、阮一面，契若金蘭。山妻韓氏覺公與二人異於常交，問公。公曰：『我當年可以為友者，唯此二生耳。』」
	引申為結拜兄弟之詞。如：「義結金蘭」。
	一種酒。宋˙范成大˙桂海虞衡志˙志酒：「使金至燕山，得其宮中酒，號金蘭者，乃大佳。燕西有金蘭山，汲其泉以釀。」

Courage & Co Ltd

2011-08-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

英文勇氣為courage，更是重要。所以戴名博士在倫敦喝到牌子為Courage 的啤酒，不禁說笑話，參考《戴明修煉 II》。

其實該啤酒公司的創始人之姓為 Courage

Courage & Co Ltd was started by John Courage at the Anchor Brewhouse in Horsleydown, Bermondsey in 1787.

Courage

Industry	Alcoholic beverage
Founded	1787
Founder(s)	John Courage
Products	Beer
Owner(s)	Wells & Youngs

Courage Brewery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Is Bordeaux a good pairing for mooncake?

2011-08-15T01:07:00.001-07:00

Overheard

Is Bordeaux a good pairing for mooncake? Collectors, particularly in Asia, have paid record-breaking sums for fine wines over the past couple of years. But market turmoil threatens to put a cork in soaring prices for all sorts of alternative investments.

The next clue on the future of wine prices could come with an Asian festival in early September, according to Gary Boom, founder of wine merchant and investment tracker Bordeaux Index. The celebration is marked by the consumption of round pastry mooncakes filled with lotus-seed paste and a salted duck egg, as well as the exchange of generous gifts, including, in recent years, expensive bottles of Bordeaux.

For the wine-investment industry, "the festival will, as usual, be the most illuminating indicator of [second-half 2011] activity," notes Mr. Boom. And if the prices don't pick up, investors can always wash down their duck eggs with a decent red.

Tohoku brewer eyes global market

2011-07-30T19:33:00.001-07:00

BY MASAFUMI TATEMATSU STAFF WRITER

2011/07/31

Hideharu Ohta, president of Daishichi Sake Brewery Co., says his sake "grows from a bud into a large flower" when it is matured for more than a year. (Eiji Hori)Hideharu Ohta stands in rice paddies where his employees are trained to farm in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Surface soil has been removed due to radioactive contamination. (Eiji Hori)

It seemed fitting for Hideharu Ohta to have a presence at a dinner party that the Dutch royal family hosted at Paleis Het Loo on Dec. 14.

Ohta, 51, is Japan's unofficial ambassador of sake, the 10th chief of the brewery his ancestors founded 260 years ago.

On the table at the Dutch royal family dinner were bottles of Minowamon, a "daiginjo-shu" (very special brew) from Ohta's Daishichi Sake Brewery Co., based in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.

The palace stands in Apeldoorn, a little more than an hour's drive from Amsterdam. It is extremely rare for sake to be served at a dinner party of a foreign royal family.

Ohta has long undertaken a mission of spreading the message of sake abroad.

He has set his sights on global markets by appealing to taste buds with the "kimoto method," said to be the most orthodox sake brewing method.

Ohta lives by the words told to him by his mother-in-law, "Rakutenmei," which means "enjoying the mandate of heaven."

"I think the mandate of heaven for me is to pass the kimoto method, the treasure I took over, down to future generations and make its wonders better known in Japan and around the world," Ohta said.

In the kimoto method, naturally occurring lactic acids and bacteria are utiled to brew sake, without using additives.

But few brewers have used this method since World War II because the maturation process requires much more time and effort than other methods and controls are more difficult.

Ohta, who studied law at the University of Tokyo, once dreamed of becoming a political scientist but decided to take over the family business at his grandfather's request.

When he visited a French winery in 1992, Ohta was impressed because the midsize operation has a worldwide reputation.

"If wine sells this much around the world, sake is worth the same level of appraisal," Ohta thought.

Fifteen years ago, Ohta set up an organization with 12 breweries to promote exports.

While sake was already being exported, quality control was less than satisfactory in the distribution stage.

Even sake that turned yellow was being sold for prices several times higher than in Japan, so it was not necessarily enjoying a good reputation abroad.

Ohta's organization asked retailers and other businesses to maintain low-temperature distribution from breweries to storefronts.

It cut intermediate margins to hold prices down to levels 50 percent higher than those in Japan and provided information by holding seminars for sommeliers and restaurateurs.

Distribution of sake in good condition and at reasonable prices led to a sake boom in the United States.

It also became common for sake to be listed on menus at exclusive restaurants in the Netherlands and France.

In 1999, Daishichi, a midsize brewey with annual sales of 1 billion yen ($12.66 million), began taking part in Vinexpo, a major alcohol trade fair, ahead of larger competitors.

When Japan hosted the Group of Eight summit at Lake Toyako, Hokkaido, in 2008, Daishichi's sake was chosen for a toast at a dinner party for the wives of G-8 leaders.

The same year, Gault Millau, a French restaurant guide that rivals the Michelin Guide, asked Daishichi to become one of its official sponsors, the only one from Japan.

Excerpts from the interview with Ohta follow:

* * *

Question: Your brewery here in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, is only about 60 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was crippled by the Great East Japan Earthquake. What have you done to prevent radioactive contamination?

Answer: Fortunately, buildings were not destroyed, or stored sake bottles were not broken. Upon learning of the accident at the nuclear power plant, our master brewer closed all the windows of the brewery and covered ventilation fans with vinyl sheets. With quick initial responses, the inside of the brewery was kept clean, and we have tried to maintain that condition. Vinyl sheets are hung like curtains at locations where people come and leave, and wet towels are on hand so that people who come from the outside can wipe away dust. But these are emergency measures. I am considering attaching high-performance filters to air intake ducts and installing air curtain devices along routes where materials are brought in.

Q: How has the nuclear plant accident affected your business?

A: I had been resigned to suffering damage from rumors. But many people encouraged us, saying, "Hang in there, Tohoku" and "Hang in there, Fukushima." The support we received has turned out to be far stronger than the negative impact. In April and May, we saw more sales than in average years. Officials in the distribution industry have also held a campaign to support us after confirming the safety (of our products). We appreciated that they came out in our support.

Q: You have been exporting sake aggressively since you became president in 1997.

A: Seventy percent of our exports goes to the United States. The remaining 30 percent goes to Asia--Hong Kong and Singapore--and European countries--Britain, the Netherlands and France. Exports have been gradually increasing, but they still account for less than 5 percent of our overall sales. We are focusing on establishing our brand, not increasing export volumes. We are exporting high-value added sake, such as "ginjo-shu" (special brew). If that becomes popular, we want to expand the lineup.

Q: Does the appreciation of sake differ from country to country?

A: In the United States, the sake market has expanded since around 2000. The words such as "junmai-shu" (pure rice sake) and "ginjo-shu" (special brew), are understood, and consumers drink expensive sake after understanding their value. We have seen more bloggers on sake and more operators of specialty sake stores. The market has been expanding quietly, rather than experiencing a boom.

In France, sake was wrongly associated with strong distilled spirits, such as those found in China and Vietnam. When we took part in Vinexpo for the first time in 1999, many people asked about alcohol content, believing that it must be extremely high. They looked puzzled when we told them it is 15 percent. Visitors stayed away from our booth in the morning. Today, no one asks what the alcohol content is anymore.

Q: What are the attractions of sake for people in other countries?

A: Refinement, harmony and fullness. These are the qualities inherent to sake. It is a sophisticated taste into which complex elements have blended. No particular taste, such as sourness and astringency, stands out. The Japanese word of "umami" (pleasant savory taste) has been established internationally. I think sake is an alcoholic beverage that contains "umami" most in the world.

The taste of wine depends greatly on grape harvests of that year, but the taste of sake is not necessarily determined by rice. We can produce sake reminiscent of freshly cooked rice or sake with a rich, fruity taste. In that sense, sake is an alcoholic beverage created with free will, not one governed by fate.

Q: Daishichi's sake has good body, not a light and dry taste. What are the secrets?

A: Our kimoto method can produce a flavor of complexity and harmony and a smooth texture, the characteristics that cannot be expected from simpler methods. Our sake contains elaborate ingredients, which can be brought into harmony only through maturation. Daishichi's motto is, "Leap to the farthest possible." We received the grand prize at the National New Sake Awards competition, but we decided to work for higher goals, instead of taking part in the competition. The competition is held in May, when sake has just been brewed, and I'm afraid that Daishichi's sake is not appreciated fairly at that time. When we sample just-brewed sake, we may conclude that we cannot drink it for two to three years, but that may eventually turn out to be a great brew. We are most happy when we produce such sake.

Q: Do you think your sake is appreciated globally because it is brewed with the kimoto method?

A: All ethnic groups around the world have brewed beverages, using fruits and grains found in their regions. Rice was one of the ingredients used in Japan. The kimoto method is close to where sake brewing started and to the way brewed beverages are universally around the world. I think the kimoto method shares the set of values for the world's brewed beverages, such as "a more complex and strong taste" or "growing into good sake through maturation."

Three hundred years ago, no other biotechnology as complicated and delicate as (the kimoto method) existed in the world. In a sense, I think the kimoto method is as valuable as "Genji Monogatari" (The Tale of Genji). When Murasaki Shikibu wrote the novel more than 1,000 years ago, no comparable literature existed in the world.

The cost of coke

2011-06-24T04:54:00.001-07:00

he UN's world drug report

The cost of coke

Jun 23rd 2011, 16:59 by The Economist online

The price of cocaine varies greatly between rich countries

EVERY year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime publishes a report with lots of fascinating data on the production and consumption of illegal drugs around the world. This year's report highlights a few interesting trends: despite all the effort put into the war on drugs, the street price of cocaine in Europe has dropped relentlessly over the past two decades (even adjusting for inflation and impurity). This may explain why Europe is now almost as big a market for cocaine producers as America. The numbers we have picked out below show the variations in price between a selection of different countries, as well as consumption per person in those places.

FW: 我的咖啡奇緣（謝金河）

2011-06-10T02:48:00.000-07:00

我不是咖啡迷，不常在辦公室，經常是助理從7-11帶回一杯熱拿

鐵，平時品嚐咖啡也
是隨遇而安。遇到喝咖啡的場合，我都是加入一些牛奶，但不加糖，但這些喝咖啡的
習慣，最近卻被顛覆了。

大約一個多月前，一個周日中午，剛爬完七星山，吃過中飯，朋友提議去喝咖啡，於
是，他就帶領著我到菁山路，靠近仰德大道的一家看起來並不起眼的「吉佳咖啡」。
吉佳的陳老闆一眼就看出我是誰，就因為這個因緣際會，我上了一課很重要的咖啡
課。

在咖啡廳坐定，陳老闆就教我如何喝咖啡，他說咖啡不在價格高低，在咖啡豆是否新
鮮。他說喝到新鮮咖啡就跟喝果汁一般，一入口會有一些果酸，但入口後會產生回
甘，再由甘變甜，口感會愈來愈棒，因此，喝到新鮮的咖啡就跟喝果汁一般，什麼都
不必加，喝黑咖啡最好，這個觀念與昌吉街賣豬血湯附近一家一個小夥子開的「黑湯
咖啡」很相近。

陳老闆說，一般人喝咖啡會加糖，加奶精，那是因為咖啡豆已不新鮮，已經氧化了，
因此，會愈喝愈苦，只好用糖、奶精來蓋掉這個苦味。我問他說，為什麼他賣上等的
牙買加藍山大杯350元，小杯250元，一般咖啡連鎖店卻賣一杯卅元，差別在那裏，他
不假思索地就說這是已過了新鮮品味期的咖啡豆。

經過這個指點，我終於了解，喝咖啡貴在咖啡豆經過烘焙出來後是不是在兩周內喝
完，我在陳老闆店內買了半磅牙買加藍山，也買了半磅綜合咖啡，回家試了一下，確
有很大差別，當然兩者價格相差近10倍。這時我才知道我們在外頭喝的咖啡價差差別
那麼大，原來是咖啡豆的差別。

我的喝咖啡奇緣第一課就從此開始，另一個顛覆過去習慣的新觀念是，喝新鮮咖啡對
身體幫助很大，喝不新鮮的咖啡對身體傷害很大，最令我震驚的是，陳老闆告訴我
說，喝到新鮮咖啡，不但不會睡不著覺，反而更好睡。過去，我在晚飯後從不喝咖
啡，上周四、五，我在餐廳請朋友吃飯，飯後我請廳房用吉佳的咖啡豆沖煮出來的咖
啡跟朋友共享，為了證明陳老闆的觀點，我連續在十點鐘左右各喝了一大杯黑咖啡，
回到家仍然很好睡，證明了陳老闆此言不差。

從喝咖啡，我有了一個新體驗，那就是喝咖啡、喝茶、喝紅酒最後的道理都一樣。另
一個是吃最重材，像一般平價牛排館，可能賣一客100元，或150元的牛排，但是上等
牛排如神戶牛排，可能一客要3000元以上，價格拉很大。一般到自助餐店買一條魚，
也許50元，但是到上等日本料理煎一尾「紅喉」可能要1千多。同樣是魚，價格大不相
同，喝咖啡也是一樣，吃東西，食材最重要。

最近我看到一則外電報導說，每天一杯咖啡長壽機率高，這項研究是調查希臘愛琴海
以東的伊卡里西島，調查島上65到100歲的老年人，他們每天喝4到5杯咖啡，結果有3
分之1以上的人可以活到90歲，這個島上癌症患者比西方國家平均人數少20％，比西方
國家患心臟病的人少50％，而且從不存在老人癡呆的問題。結論是：希臘長壽島百歲
老人秘笈：每天一杯濃咖啡，看起來喝咖啡好處不少。

現在我慢慢學會品嚐咖啡，每天早上帶一壼新鮮咖啡，什麼都不加，除了咖啡香，還
有神清氣爽的感覺。

The Singapore Sling

2011-06-09T11:20:00.001-07:00

The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that was developed sometime before 1915^[1] by Ngiam Tong Boon (嚴崇文), a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore. The original recipe used gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from Sarawak pineapples which enhance the flavour and create a foamy top.

Most recipes substitute bottled pineapple juice for fresh juice; soda water has to be added for foam. The hotel's recipe was recreated based on the memories of former bartenders and written notes that they were able to discover regarding the original recipe. One of the scribbled recipes is still on display at the Raffles Hotel Museum.

Recipes published in articles about Raffles Hotel prior to the 1970s are significantly different from current recipes, and "Singapore Slings" drunk elsewhere in Singapore differ from the recipe used at Raffles Hotel.

The current Raffles Hotel recipe is a heavily modified version of the original, most likely changed sometime in the 1970s by Ngiam Tong Boon's nephew. Today, many of the "Singapore Slings" served at Raffles Hotel have been pre-mixed and are dispensed using an automatic dispenser that combines both alcohol and pineapple juice to pre-set volumes. They are then blended instead of shaken to create a nice foamy top as well as to save time because of the large number of orders. However, it is still possible to request a shaken version from bartenders.

By the 1980’s the Singapore Sling was often little more than gin, bottled sweet and sour, and grenadine. With the move towards fresh juices and the re-emergence of quality products like Cherry Heering the cocktail has again become a semblance of its former self.^[2]

Notes

^ Campbell, Colin (12 December 1982). "Singapore Journal; Back to Somerset Maugham and Life's Seamy Side". The New York Times (Singapore).
^ Burkhart, Jeff (10 April 2011). "Sometimes a bartender needs to sling whatever works". mercurynews.com. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2011-04-14.

External links

SingaporeSling recipe at DrinkBoy
Jason Wilson (February 2011). "For a better Singapore Sling, the answer is clear (not red)". Washington Post.

地酒

2011-05-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

地酒

じ‐ざけ〔ヂ‐〕【地酒】

その地方でつくられる清酒。特に、灘(なだ)や伏見(ふしみ)を除いた地方のものをさす。

local [a local brand of] sake

日本人用「一滴入魂」形容釀酒精神，如果酒有靈魂，也能在杯中與知音相遇。

日本地酒協同組合 - 阿德札記-喝:

所謂的「地酒」理論上是指用當地的原料(米、水)由當地的釀酒師(杜氏)釀造的酒，原先是用以區分大廠牌和在地小廠的說法，但是在物流發達的今天這個定義並不是那麼明確，因為一些酒廠也有可能從別處買米(像現在大家都想買兵庫縣的山田錦來釀好酒)，產品也銷售到日本全國；不過我想要稱為地酒的話，至少是要能表現出當地特色才行。原先在日本地酒並不被認為是好酒，在江戶時代伊丹、池田、灘等地區(大致是今日的大阪、神戶之間)的酒才被認為是上品，當時其他地區的酒被視為是下品；這個情況一直要到二十世紀才漸漸改變，大約二十年前地酒則開始變得受歡迎，地酒熱潮(地酒boom)蔓延到各地，甚至還被介紹到歐美。

日本地酒協同組合是一個日本酒的同業組織，在日本這種日本酒同業組織有很多個，最大的應該是「日本名門酒會」。從今年台灣因WTO開放日本酒進口以來，已然有許多品牌的日本酒陸續引進台灣，有的代理商更直接和這類同業組織合作，引進該組織所屬會員酒廠的產品。本次試酒會就是日本地酒協同組合進入台灣市場的發表會，總共有九家會員酒廠參與這次活動，其中有知名度很高的，也有甚少聽聞到的酒廠。各家酒廠在會場的攤位是依照酒廠所在地由北到南的順序，從左向右一字排開，因此我也依照這個順序喝過去。這次來的酒廠都各有特色，且水準頗高。以下介紹本次試酒會中各酒廠和試飲的產品：

Moët Hennessy heads to China to produce bubbly

2011-05-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

法國酒商去寧夏
Moët Hennessy heads to China to produce bubbly
英國《金融時報》斯坦利•皮尼亞爾巴黎報導

Champagne production is confined to 80,000 acres of terroir about 100 miles east of Paris, but Moët Hennessy will soon be producing upmarket bubbly from a brand-new winery in north-west China.

香檳生產局限在巴黎以東大約100英里處的8萬英畝土地上，但酩悅軒尼詩(Moët Hennessy)不久將在中國西北地區創辦一家新酒廠，生產高檔起泡酒。

Moët, which owns historic champagne brands Dom Pérignon, Veuve Cliquot and Krug, has joined forces with a Chinese state-owned agricultural group to develop a sparkling wine in the remote Ningxia Hui region.

擁有唐培裡儂香檳王(Dom Pérignon)、凱歌(Veuve Cliquot)和庫克(Krug)等老字號香檳品牌的酩悅軒尼詩，已與中國一家國有農業集團聯手，將在偏遠的寧夏回族自治區生產一種起泡葡萄酒。

The wine will not be sold as champagne – a moniker that is still reserved for wines from the eponymous region – but it will aim to satiate Asia's booming demand for bubbly.

這種葡萄酒不會作為香檳銷售——香檳之名仍只用於產自法國香檳地區的葡萄酒——但將力求滿足亞洲對起泡酒不斷增長的需求。

Just south of Inner Mongolia and 900km west of Beijing, Ningxia's climactic conditions are not far removed from those of Champagne, with the Yellow River substituting for the placid Marne.

寧夏位於內蒙古以南、北京以西900公里處，氣候條件與法國香檳產區相近，在這裡，黃河取代了溫和的馬恩河。

The joint venture will include 163 acres of land holdings, with Moët – part of Bernard Arnault's LVMH luxury empire – in control of a new winery on site.

該合資項目佔地163英畝，將在當地成立一家新酒廠，由酩悅軒尼詩控制。酩悅軒尼詩隸屬於伯納德•阿爾諾(Bernard Arnault)旗下的奢侈品帝國——酩悅軒尼詩•路易威登集團(LVMH)。

No financial details were disclosed.

雙方沒有對外披露詳細財務信息。

The end-product will be sold under the Chandon label, a secondary brand that currently markets wines from non-French domains in California, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

最終產品將貼上Chandon標籤銷售。 Chandon是一個二線品牌，銷售美國加州、巴西、阿根廷和澳大利亞等法國以外地區生產的葡萄酒。

China has become a buoyant market for top-end alcohol brands, overtaking the UK as the top export market for Bordeaux wines in value for the first time in 2010, according to France's Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux.

中國如今已是一個紅火的高檔酒市場。根據法國波爾多葡萄酒行業協會(Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)的數據，按價值計算，2010年中國已經超過英國、成為波爾多葡萄酒最大的出口市場。

Between 2005 and 2009, annual wine consumption in China more than doubled to 867m litres, equivalent to more than 1bn bottles, claims Vinexpo, a wine exhibition group.

國際葡萄酒及烈酒展覽會集團(Vinexpo)表示，從2005年到2009年，中國年葡萄酒消費量增長了一倍以上，達到8.67億公升，相當於10億瓶以上。

The increase in drinking has been echoed by an increasing interest in production.

隨著葡萄酒消費量的增長，企業生產的興趣也不斷升溫。

International vintners have been driven to try growing grapes in more exotic locales, including China, India and Mongolia.

跨國酒業集團紛紛在中國、印度和蒙古等異國他鄉種植葡萄。

As well as affordable land – a fraction of the price of established domains in Europe – they are attracted by the growing appetite for wine in emerging markets, in contrast to steadily falling sales in developed countries.

除了地價遠比歐洲成熟產區便宜以外，葡萄酒在新興市場越來越吃香這一點也吸引著他們，相比之下，發達國家的葡萄酒銷量則每況愈下。

In 2009, Château Lafite-Rothschild, one of winemaking's most august names, partnered with CITIC, China's largest state-owned investment company, on a 60-acre project on China's eastern coast.

2009年，羅斯柴爾德拉菲堡(Château Lafite- Rothschild)——葡萄酒行業最讓人敬畏的名字之一——與中國最大的國有投資公司中信集團(CITIC)攜手，在中國東部沿海地區合作經營一個佔地60英畝的項目。

France's Pernod Ricard group already grows in the Ningxia region which Moët is now targeting.

在酩悅軒尼詩看中的寧夏地區，法國保樂力加集團(Pernod Ricard)已經在種植葡萄。

It is not LVMH's first foray into Chinese drinks production.

LVMH並非初次進軍中國釀酒業。

In 2007, it bought a 55 per cent stake in Wenjun, a brand of baiju – a clear grain spirit popular in China – in an attempt to transform the image of the drink away from cut-price firewater to a luxury brand.

該集團在2007年就購入了中國白酒生產公司文君55%的股權，意圖改變該品牌“低價烈酒”的形象，把它打造成一個高端品牌。白酒是一種穀物酒，在中國極其流行。

譯者/何黎

the world's thirst for whisky

2011-04-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Inside Europe | 16.04.2011 | 07:05

Rural Scotland is profiting from the world's thirst for whisky

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

While wine-growing may transcend borders, the opposite is true for Scotch whisky. In fact, in order for the spirit to be called Scotch whisky, it must be made in Scotland. And when consumers think of whisky, they are clearly associating it with Scotland more and more as the country's whisky industry is in the middle of a boom.

While sales in traditional markets are still strong, emerging markets in Asia and Latin America are providing sustainable growth and encouraging tremendous investment by industry players. Laura Schweiger travelled to Scotland to find out why, when it comes to Scotch whisky, the world is thirsting for more.

Rural Scotland is profiting from the world's thirst for whisky

critter wines/new-world-wine

2011-02-28T04:28:00.000-08:00

critter wines/ duke it out

Look-Alike Wines Featuring Look-Alike Marsupials Duke It Out

Two big makers of so-called critter wines lately aren't looking so warm and fuzzy. The producer of Yellow Tail has filed a lawsuit in a New York federal court accusing the maker of Little Roo of trademark infringement.

duke it out: fight, esp. with fists; do battle

Being less dependent on geography, New World wines have placed more emphasis on branding as a marketing tool, following the example set by Germany's Blue Nun and Portugal's Mateus Rosé, brands created in 1927 and in 1942 respectively. One particular style of branding has been the 'critter wines' that use animals on their labels. Without the partible inheritance of the Napoleonic code to worry about, New World vineyards tend to be very much bigger than those in say Burgundy, which has allowed economies of scale and a better ability to negotiate with mass market retailers. With supermarkets selling an increasing proportion of wine in many markets, New World producers are better positioned to take advantage of this trend towards high volumes and low margins.

new-world-wine

A reference to non-European wine-producing countries such as argentina, australia, chile, new zealand, south africa and the united states. New World wine techniques are modern, science-based viticulture and viniculture methods, although the differences are rapidly disappearing. See also old world wine.

critter
(krĭt'ər)
n. Informal

A living creature.
A domestic animal, especially a cow, horse, or mule.
A person.

[Alteration of CREATURE.]

REGIONAL NOTE Critter, a pronunciation spelling of creature, actually reflects a pronunciation that would have been very familiar to Shakespeare: 16th- and 17th-century English had not yet begun to pronounce the -ture suffix with its modern (ch) sound. This archaic pronunciation still exists in American critter and in Irish creature, pronounced (krā'tŭr) and used in the same senses as the American word. The most common meaning of critter is "a living creature," whether wild or domestic; it also can mean "a child" when used as a term of sympathetic endearment, or it can mean "an unfortunate person." In old-fashioned speech, critter and beast denoted a large domestic animal. The more restricted senses "a cow," "a horse," or "a mule" are still characteristic of the speech in specific regions of the United States. The use of critter among younger speakers almost always carries with it a jocular or informal connotation.

In Search Of Alcoholism Genes 尋找酗酒基因

2011-02-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

2011年 02月 21日 07:28

尋找酗酒基因

數

百萬美國人都痛苦地瞭解到﹐酗酒會在家族中遺傳。

如果父母酗酒﹐他們的孩子產生酗酒問題的可能性將是普通人的四倍。如果父親酗酒﹐兒子酗酒的風險將高達普通人的九倍。研究顯示﹐酗酒者的後代即使從小就被不喝酒的家庭收養﹐其今後產生酗酒問題的可能性也很大﹐基本上同跟生物學父母一起生活差不多。

但要破解哪種基因攜帶了誘發酗酒問題的遺傳物質是極其困難的——這主要是由於酗酒過程本身非常複雜。影響肝臟代謝酒精速度的基因、影響大腦對壓力、獎勵和快樂的反應機制的基因均對酗酒有影響﹐影響焦慮和抑鬱的基因也與此有關。某些與酗酒相關的基因還與影響尼古丁癮、可卡因癮和其他成癮症的基因部分重疊。

大約十分之一的美國人在某些時間點﹐符合酒精依賴症的標準——其標準主要是無法戒酒。這其中環境影響和社會壓力也起到了複雜的作用。

印第安那大學（Indiana University）醫學院的生物化學與分子生物學教授霍華德•J•埃登貝里（Howard J. Edenberg）說﹐你經常會看到有文章說他們找到了與這有關的基因或與那有關的基因﹐但事情很少會這麼簡單。我們並不指望為每種症狀找到一個相應的基因。埃登貝里博士是美國政府資助的酗酒遺傳學合作研究專案（Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism﹐COGA）的四位首席研究員之一﹐該專案從1989年起就開始跟蹤家庭中的酗酒問題。迄今為止﹐COGA的研究人員已經採訪了 14,000多人﹐並取得了262個家庭的DNA樣本。他們發現了證明幾種基因與酒精有關的證據——並越來越確信﹐不同類型的酗酒對應不同的基因變異。

這樣的進展讓我們看到了在一個領域中取得成功的希望：找出能根據個人DNA圖譜説明治療酗酒的藥物。目前﹐市場上的多數藥物都是為了幫助酗酒者戒掉酒癮﹐但並不是對每個人都管用﹐而且病人能否配合治療也是一個問題。專家稱﹐如果藥物能針對特定酗酒類型的病人﹐那麼這種情況將會改觀。

《美國精神病學雜誌》（American Journal of Psychiatry）上個月報導了最早的一項此類研究﹐這項研究發現﹐帶有兩種與神經遞質羥色胺有關的特定變異基因的酗酒者服用昂丹司瓊（onadansetron）後戒酒效果顯著。這種止吐藥也被稱為樞複寧（Zofran）﹐通常用於輔助癌症治療﹐它可以阻斷羥色胺受體﹐且似乎可以降低某些酗酒者飲酒後的興奮情緒。

相比之下﹐帶有其他羥色胺受體基因的受試者和服用安慰劑的受試者成功戒酒的幾率較小。

迄今為止﹐人們發現的與酗酒相關性最強的基因是所謂的“亞洲紅”（Asian flush）。約40%的東亞裔人都攜帶一、兩種可以將酒精迅速轉化為化學物乙醛的變異基因﹐這種物質會導致噁心、心跳加速和大紅臉﹐是一種強力抑制飲酒物﹐很像戒酒硫（disulfiram）（也稱為安塔布司（Antabuse））這種藥。美國國家防止酒精濫用與酒精中毒研究所（National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism）神經遺傳學實驗室主任大衛•戈德曼（David Goldman）說﹐你甚至不用進行基因測試就能檢測出它。如果你去赴晚宴﹐宴會上的某個人有這種變異基因﹐那麼他喝下一杯酒後就會臉紅。

北卡羅來納大學教堂山分校（University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill）的研究人員初步識別出一種類似的“醉酒基因”﹐帶有這種基因的人只要喝下一、兩杯酒就會感到醉意。10%至20%的人帶有這種變異基因﹐它也被認為能保護人們免於染上酒精依賴症。

也有些人在喝酒時感覺特別愉快——這可能是由於大腦獎勵回路中神經遞質多巴胺的變異。在許多酗酒者、吸毒者和吸煙者身上都發現了一種DRD2多巴胺受體變異基因。不過後來的研究得出的結論並不一致。

單獨地看﹐約四分之一的人身上都普遍帶有神經遞質神經肽Y受體的兩種與壓力和嚴重戒酒症狀相關的變異基因。很顯然﹐這些人並不都是嚴重的酗酒者。

由於許多情況仍不清楚﹐多數專家並不建議消費者利用基因測試瞭解他們染上酗酒等複雜病症的可能性。

戈德曼博士說﹐即使你知道自己攜帶有某種保護性基因﹐也仍然可能由於一種我們尚未發現的基因而容易酗酒。他還說﹐任何有酗酒家族史的人接觸酒類時都絕對應該謹慎。

埃登貝里博士說﹐查看家族史更簡單、更省錢﹐而且目前它能給你比基因測試更多的資訊。他還強調﹐當涉及到人類行為時﹐DNA決不是決定性因素。他說﹐你可能攜帶有各種導致酗酒的基因﹐但如果你設法推開酒杯或酒瓶﹐那麼就不會染上酗酒問題。

酗酒者的特徵

如果你有以下七條症狀中的任何三條﹐那麼你就符合酒精依賴症的標準：

——比最初設想的喝得更多或更久
——無法停止喝酒或無法戒酒
——跟他人相比﹐需要喝更多的酒才能產生相同的效果
——不喝酒時有戒酒症狀
——喝酒或恢復清醒所花的時間越來越長
——由於喝酒忽視了其他活動
——繼續喝酒而不顧負面後果

美國國家防止酒精濫用與酒精中毒研究所(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)稱﹐現在約5%的美國人符合該標準﹐超過10%的美國人在某些時間點符合該標準。

資料來源：《精神疾病診斷與統計手冊》（The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders）

Melinda Beck

In Search Of Alcoholism Genes

Millions of Americans know all too painfully that alcoholism runs in families.

Children of alcoholic parents are four times as likely to develop drinking problems as the general population. Sons of alcoholic fathers face up to nine times the usual risk. Even babies of alcoholics adopted into non-drinking homes have nearly the same risk of alcoholism as they would if they'd stayed with their biological parents, studies have shown.

But untangling just which genes pass along the predisposition for problem drinking is devilishly difficult -- largely because alcoholism itself is so complex. Genes that affect how fast the liver metabolizes alcohol and how the brain reacts to stress, reward and pleasure have all been implicated, as have genes for anxiety and depression. Some overlap with genes for nicotine, cocaine and other addictions.

About one in 10 Americans fit the criteria for alcohol dependence -- mainly the inability to cut down -- at some point in their lives. Environmental influences and social pressures also play complicated roles.

'All too often, you read that they've found a gene for this and a gene for that, and it's very rarely that simple. We don't expect to find a single gene in everyone,' says Howard J. Edenberg, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Edenberg is one of four principal investigators in the government-funded Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), which has been tracking alcoholism in families since 1989. To date, COGA researchers have interviewed more than 14,000 people and sampled the DNA of 262 families. They've found evidence for several alcohol-related genes -- and are increasingly convinced that different types of alcoholics reflect many genetic variations.

That idea is already showing promise in one area: identifying drugs that can help treat alcoholics based on their individual DNA profile. Most of the drugs currently on the market aim to cut alcohol cravings but don't work on everyone and compliance is a problem. That could change, experts say, if drugs could be targeted to patients with specific types of alcoholism.

In one of the first such studies, reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry last month, alcoholics with two specific variations of a gene related to the neurotransmitter serotonin were able to cut their alcohol consumption significantly using the drug onadansetron. The anti-nausea drug often used with cancer treatments, also known as Zofran, blocks serotonin receptors and seems to diminish the buzz some alcoholics get from drinking.

Subjects with different versions of the serotonin-receptor genes and those taking a placebo had less success cutting down.

The strongest gene associations found to date involve the so-called Asian flush. Roughly 40% of people of East Asian descent carry one or two gene variations that rapidly convert alcohol into the chemical acetaldehyde, which causes nausea, rapid heart beat and a severe flush. It's a strong deterrent to drinking, much like the drug disulfiram, or Antabuse. 'You don't even need a genetic test to detect it,' says David Goldman, chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 'If you have a dinner party and somebody has this variation, they'll turn red when they drink a glass of wine.'

Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have tentatively identified a similar 'tipsy gene' that makes carriers feel inebriated after just one or two drinks. Between 10% and 20% of the population has this variation, which is also thought to protect against becoming alcohol-dependent.

Other people feel especially euphoric when they drink -- probably due to variations in the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain's reward circuits. A variation in the DRD2 dopamine receptor gene was found in a large number of alcoholics as well as drug addicts and smokers, although later studies have been mixed.

Separately, variations in two genes for receptor to neurotransmitter neuropeptide Y, associated with stress and severe withdrawal symptoms from alcohol, are common to about one-quarter of the population. Clearly, not all those people are severe alcoholics.

So much is still unknown that most experts don't advise consumers to use genetic-testing services to try to understand their risk for complex conditions like alcoholism.

'Even if you learn you have a protective version of some gene, you could still be vulnerable due to a gene we haven't discovered yet,' says Dr. Goldman, who adds that anyone with a family history of alcoholism should definitely approach alcohol with caution.

'Looking at your family history is simpler, cheaper and at the moment, gives you more information than a genetic test,' says Dr. Edenberg. He also stresses that DNA is never destiny when human behavior is involved. 'You can carry all kinds of genes, and if you manage to push away the glass or the bottle, you won't have an alcoholism problem.'

Who Is an Alcoholic?

If you've done any three of these seven, you meet the criteria for alcohol-dependent:

-- Drunk more or longer than you intended
-- Been unable to stop or cut down
-- Needed more alcohol to get the same effect
-- Had withdrawal symptoms without it
-- Spent an increasing amount of time drinking or recovering
-- Neglected other activities due to drinking
-- Continued to drink despite negative consequences

About 5% of Americans currently meet the criteria, and more than 10% do at some time in their lives, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Source: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Melinda Beck

中粮收购波尔多酒庄法国人忧心忡忡

2011-02-04T08:19:00.001-08:00

媒体看中国 | 2011.02.04

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 葡萄种植和酿酒是一门艺术

实力雄厚的中国公司开始深入西方人引以为骄傲的传统领地，中粮集团最近收购法国波尔多的葡萄酒庄就是一例，这引起了法国人的担忧……

《南德意志报》的评论写道："葡萄酒在法国不是什么随便享用的饮料，而是国饮和文化资产。法国人自认为是具有数千年悠久历史的葡萄种植传统的继承者，有时将它维护到过分的地步。这就说明，对于一家中国的国有集团公司在波尔多（Bordeaux）地区购买一个酒庄，法国人为什么现在会如此的不快。波尔多在全球已成为法兰西酒文化的代名词。

"此外，所涉及的一块种植园叫拉蓝-德-波美侯（den Lalande-de-Pomerol），不仅名字好听，而且出产公认的好酒。……中国的中粮集团，一个年营业额超过210亿美元的综合体，收购了那里的老河城堡（Château de Viaud）。议定的售价没有公开，私下传说是1000万欧元。对这家国有康采恩来说这并不多，但对一个20公顷大小的葡萄园来说可是很多的钱了。"

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 波尔多是法国酒文化的代名词评论接着写道："于是，嗜好葡萄酒的自豪的法国人纳闷，中国人在打什么主意。从2008年以来，他们已经收购了3个葡萄酒庄。这以往一直都是超级富豪的私人消遣，现在第一次由一家国有康采恩出手，也就引起怀疑。为什么付出如此昂贵的价格？答案引起一种复杂的感觉，一方面出于满意的自我证明：即波尔多出产卓越的葡萄酒，当然有其价值。另一方面还有一种怀疑，认为中国人只想获取葡萄种植的技艺，仿佛对这种人们自公元前6000年就已开始从事的手艺还有什么秘密可言。"

对大甩卖的恐惧

评论指出："这个反应本身也体现了法国人整体上对全球化的顾虑，具体而言则表明他们对中国的影响在全球不断增长的不满。法国人还不知道应该如何应付日益强大的中国人，有时导致可笑的后果。法国年初指责中国，称其刺探汽车制造商雷诺（Renault），以获得制造电动汽车的技术，现已证实完全没有根据。"

"另一方面，有买家也就总有卖家，这个卖家是法国人。菲利普·拉乌(Pierre Raoux）有足够的理由相信，做了一笔好生意，不仅因为谣传的售价，而且也还因为购买合同规定了与中国的长期销售合作。拉乌还拥有其它葡萄酒庄园，生产能力为数万瓶，他想尽可能多地向中国供货。拉乌不得不与中国人苦苦谈了两年，直到中国人接受这个条款，现在他有良好的出口前景。"

文章最后写道："中国现在已经是除了欧洲之外波尔多葡萄酒的最大买主，尽管那里的人均消费每年还不到半升。与法国人平均每人每年喝50升相比，往上还大有余地。就这一点而言，亦可明白中国公司对法国葡萄庄园的兴趣，以及法国人对大甩卖的恐惧。要是中国人有朝一日象如今的法国人那样尽情享用的话，波尔多（葡萄酒）会出现紧缺。"

摘译：林泉

责编：叶宣

以上内容摘自或摘译自其它媒体，不代表德国之声观点

醪/清酒濁酒/日本清酒

2011-02-02T03:49:00.001-08:00

醪/清酒濁酒

日本清酒

维基百科，自由的百科全书

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日本酒酒樽

清酒是在日本以米、米麴和水發酵而成的一種的傳統酒類，在日本又稱之為日本酒（にほんしゅ）或是直稱為酒（さけ）。酒精濃度平均在15%左右。

在日本的酒稅法中，日本酒的正式名稱為「清酒」，而一般日本人在指稱日本酒時，則直接稱「酒」，而使用片假名時所指稱的則是洋酒。而日本的佛教僧侶在稱呼酒時，則將其用「般若湯」代稱。

世界上的酒類有其適合的飲用溫度，最適合飲用清酒的溫度介於攝氏五度到攝氏六十度間，是世界上飲用溫度範圍最大的酒類。而另外一方面，清酒亦可以應用在料理上。最常見的使用方法便是利用日本酒來除去魚類的腥臭味。

清酒近來在日本的銷售狀況有低落的傾向，主要是因為日本與國際接軌後洋酒大舉進入日本，在日本的酒類市場取得了不少的佔有率。而在這樣的態勢之下，反而是歐美地區逐漸出現了飲用日本酒的風潮，主因是壽司與生魚片等日式料理在流行至西方國家後，食用時常會配上同樣來自日本的清酒之故。

[编辑] 清酒的釀造

清酒釀造過程中所需的主要原料為水、米、麴，除此之外還需要酵母和乳酸菌。上述的幾種原料為清酒的主原料，在主原料之外還需使用調整酒類酸度的副原料才能產出完美的清酒。

[编辑] 水

經過科學的分析，可以得知水大約佔了清酒內容物的百分之八十。一般在釀造清酒時主要使用地下水，但在水質良好之地區亦有直接使用自來水的現象。而釀酒時所使用的水可謂左右了清酒的品質，甚至有建於都市地區的釀酒廠為了造出美味的日本酒而從水源區運水至廠房。

判定水質優劣的一個條件為水的硬度。一般日本所使用的硬度標準採用美制，然而在釀酒界所採用的標準卻是德國制，但近年因國際勢力消長之故，逐漸有往美制傾斜的趨勢。若單單只進行粗略地分類，使用硬水釀造的酒口感較烈，而使用軟水釀造的酒則口感較甘。原因是在硬水的環境之下，酵母的活性較使用軟水時高，酒精發酵（亦即糖分的分解）速度加快；反之在使用軟水時，酵母活性低落，發酵的程度便低於硬水。

從江戶時代開始，生產日本美酒的灘五鄉便使用被稱為「宮水」的硬水。然而在十九世紀時，廣島縣的三浦仙三郎開發出了軟水釀酒法。以往主要是以硬水做為釀酒用水，但因為軟水釀出的酒類較合現代人的胃口，因此釀酒用水有逐漸往軟水傾斜的趨勢。

從古至今，日本生產名酒之處皆離河川不遠。釀酒所用的水大多是由河川直接取得或是抽取地下水。雖然水是生產清酒的主要原料之一，但廠商並沒有標示水質及水源地的義務。然而這並不意味著廠商在這方面不需要受到監督，事實上在建廠開始生產清酒之前，廠商需將水源地的水送交地方的釀造試驗所與食品試驗所接受測試。

在此值得一提的是，與中國大陸相較之下，日本各地的水質基本上差異並不會太大。在太平洋戰爭爆發之時，居住於滿州的日本人為了釀造品質優良的日本酒，在尋找優質的水源時可說是吃足了苦頭。

另外，除了釀造酒類時所使用的原料水需要受到規範，用來清洗酒瓶及廠房設備的水亦須受到監督。因為若使用劣質水清洗酒瓶和機具，殘留下來的水滴會影響酒的純度及品質。

[编辑] 米

主条目：酒米

在優良的水質之外，釀造優良的日本酒亦需要高品質的米。米為穀類的一種，最大的特點為富含澱粉，而澱粉是酵母發酵時所需要的能量來源，故原料米的品質亦左右了酒的品質。

在發酵這一點上，東亞文化圈和西方文化最大的不同在於西方文化主要使用水果類作為發酵物；而東方文化圈如日本與中國等主要是使用米類作為發酵物。而在正式名稱的界定之上，我們將西洋文化圈的釀造方式訂為單發酵文化圈，而東亞文化圈所採用的釀造方式則稱為複發酵文化圈。值得一提的是，東亞文化圈除了酒類之外，亦利用發酵技術製造醬油、納豆等調味料與食品。

以用途而言，釀酒時所用的米有麴米和掛米。麴米通常使用釀酒專用的酒米（又稱酒造好適米）；掛米則較常使用一般的食用米。

[编辑] 酵母

在釀酒過程中另外一項值得注意的必需品為酵母。酵母在生物學上是屬於真菌類的單細胞生物。而在自然界中有超過十萬種的酵母存在，而彼此又各具有不同的特性。而酵母可謂決定酒類的口感、香氣與品質的最大關鍵，而專用來釀造日本酒的酵母稱為「清酒酵母」。

在製造日本酒的過程當中，發酵是一個相當重要的步驟。日本酒與洋酒最大的不同之處在於日本酒的原料穀類本身不含糖分，需要經過糖化的步驟才能產生糖分。因此日本酒最大的特性便是同時進行發酵與糖化的製造過程，我們將之稱為「並行複發酵」。

在尚未進入科學時代之前，古人們的釀酒方式為將米與水混合，使原本就存在於空氣之中的酵母自然增生，尤其是使用酒窖中大量存在的酵母。主因是酒窖中存在的酵母通常是以該酒窖中所存放的酒類佔多數。然而這樣缺乏科學化管理的製造技術有許多的缺點，因為製造者無法控制該次發酵會取得何種酵母。也因為如此，因此能否釀造出品質優良的酒類只能仰賴運氣，造成了酒類品質的低落與原料的浪費。

而在明治時代之後由於西學東漸，日本在引進了微生物學後，也掌握了分離菌株而後培養的技術，日本人則透過此技術欲提升釀酒成品的品質。西元1911年（明治44年），日本釀造協會進行了大規模的酵母採集，並在專家評鑑之後訂出了第一名的酵母。在評鑑之後大量培養並分散至全國，這類酵母則稱為「協會N號」（視其品種不同，N為不同的數字）。而外界則將此類酵母統稱為協會系酵母或協會酵母。

傳統的日本酒只有米類的香味，而不似洋酒有果類的香味。而使日本酒具有濃烈香氣的最大功臣乃是吟釀酒的誕生。而吟釀酒的酵母則為協會7號與協會9號。

而在1980年代時，由於吟釀酒在消費者間受到廣大的歡迎，因此在協會系酵母之外，亦研發了少酸性酵母、蘋果酵母等新一代的酵母。目前各大學及研究機構也持續進行著新酵母的研究。

然而吟釀酒濃烈的香氣也並非沒有缺點，如香水般過度濃烈的香氣事實上是有損於酒類的口感的。也因為這個原因，在存放時需要特別處理。

[编辑] 分類方式

根據原材料和製作方法，清酒可分為普通酒和特定名稱酒兩種。而根據日本國稅局公告之《清酒釀造品質的表示基準》，特定名稱酒又可分為吟釀酒、純米酒、本釀造酒三種：

本釀造酒—加入少量釀造酒精來調節香氣和味道。適合加熱後飲用。
純米酒—單用米與米麴製造的酒，完全不添加釀造酒精。飲用時冷、熱皆宜。
吟釀酒—使用特別酵母，進行長期低溫發酵的酒，有獨特的香氣與味道。一般不加熱飲用。

如果再細分，共可分為八種：

特定名稱		使用原料	精米含量	要件
吟釀酒	純米大吟釀酒	米、米麴	50%以下	吟釀製作；特有的香味、色澤極為良好。
	大吟釀酒	米、米麴、釀造酒精	50%以下	吟釀製作；特有的香味、色澤極為良好。
	純米吟釀酒	米、米麴	60%以下	吟釀製作；特有的香味、色澤極為良好。
	吟釀酒	米、米麴、釀造酒精	60%以下	吟釀製作；特有的香味、色澤極為良好。
純米酒	特別純米酒	米、米麴	60%以下	香味、色澤極為良好。
純米酒	純米酒	米、米麴	70%以下	香味、色澤極為良好。
本釀造酒	特別本釀造酒	米、米麴、釀造酒精	60%以下	香味、色澤極為良好。
本釀造酒	本釀造酒	米、米麴、釀造酒精	70%以下	香味、色澤極為良好。

[编辑] 參考文獻

貝塚英元。日本酒極品精選205。臺北：人人，2003。ISBN 986-7916-27-1
日本酒商品標籤用語詞典。東京：獨立行政法人酒類總合研究所，2007。

U.S. Starbucks to one-up Venti with new, larger size: the ‘Trenta’

2011-01-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

Reuters January 17, 2011 – 7:33 am

Glenn Baglo / Vancouver Sun

The Trenta is 7 ounces larger than Starbucks’ “Venti” (shown here) for iced drinks, which currently is its largest size on offer

LOS ANGELES — Starbucks Corp will roll out its biggest drink size yet — the 31-ounce ”Trenta” — in all of its U.S. coffee shops by May 3, the company said Sunday

The new size will be available only for iced coffee, iced tea and iced tea lemonade drinks in the United States. The Trenta is 7 ounces larger than Starbucks’ “Venti” cup for iced drinks, which currently is its largest size on offer.

Drinks in the Trenta size will cost 50 cents more than similar Venti-sized iced drinks, the company said.

Seattle-based Starbucks tested the new size in several U.S. markets last year, saying it was responding to customer demand for larger cold beverages.

The Trenta size will debut in 14 states, including Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Hawaii and Arizona, on Jan. 18 and in California on Feb. 1.

The world’s biggest coffee chain said unsweetened drinks in the new size will have fewer than 90 calories and that sweetened versions will have less than 230 calories.

Is Coffee in Paris Improving?

2011-01-20T01:11:00.001-08:00

Ristretto | Is Coffee in Paris Improving?

Food, Travel

By OLIVER STRAND

| January 7, 2011, 10:30 am

Zoe KinganFrog Fight is a monthly throwdown for baristas in Paris.

Last year, I wrote a column that wondered why Paris doesn’t have better coffee. Or, to quote Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, “Why does the coffee in Paris suck so bad?”

The flurry of comments that followed was split between agreement and outrage. (“Is this article a bit of cultural imperialism?” asked one. “A better question is why America sucks so bad,” wrote another.) Since then, I’ve been back to Paris and I can report that the coffee is improving. Little by little.

To be clear, most of the coffee in Paris is still rote. The beans are still old and over-roasted, the machines are still second-rate and poorly maintained, and the person behind the bar is still more concerned with continuing his or her conversation than pulling a good shot. Robusta is still popular, as is ultra-pasteurized milk.

But there are some new developments changing things for the better.

Last spring, Café Lomi, a small-batch roaster, opened in the 17th Arrondissement. Then in August it hosted the first Frog Fight, a throwdown that, in its own words, is “organisé par des baristas pour des baristas.” The winner competes for the right to baby-sit the trophy, pictured above, until the following Frog Fight. (The next one will be held at Café Lomi on Thursday, Jan. 13.) The throwdowns are lively, good-natured, a breath of indie air in a city where massive corporations dominate the coffee industry.

Frog Fight is organized by Thomas Lehoux and David Flynn, who met when working at le Cafeotheque (52, rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, 011-33-1-53-01-83-84), an artisanal roaster and cafe in the Cité des Arts. Lehoux is currently training for the French Barista Championship, to be held in Lyon later this month, while Flynn works at Le Bal (6 Impasse de la Défense, 011-33-1-44-70-75-51; www.le-bal.fr), a casual, spare restaurant in the front of a converted 1920s dance hall just off the Place de Clichy. After going on a few coffee crawls in Paris, it became clear that le Bal stands apart. In fact, in my opinion, Le Bal has the best coffee in Paris.

Le Bal is actually an arts institute. There are cavernous exhibition spaces and an excellent bookstore, with a cinema right around the corner. The building is tucked away on a dead-end cobblestone street in what was once a working-class area.

The restaurant opened in the fall with Alice Quillet and Anna Trattles in the kitchen. The two chefs spent time at Rose Bakery (on the nearby rue des Martyrs) and St. John (in London), and the food they cook is confident, flavorful — whole lamb kidneys with toast, meaty hunks of oxtail in rich broth. Lunch and dinner are popular, while weekend brunches are a madhouse. Go early, or prepare to stand in line.

The restaurant doesn’t open until 10 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday (it’s closed Monday and Tuesday), which is a little late for the morning’s first coffee. But it’s worth the wait. Flynn once worked at Murky Coffee, the almost-legendary Washington, D.C. coffee shop that closed in 2009, and he has the poise and authority of an expert barista. The espresso, made with Café Lomi coffee, is tight and bright; the cappuccino is rich and satisfying. In what might be a first for Paris, Chemex coffee is brewed to order.

Oliver Strand David Flynn of Le Bal in Paris.

Le Bal is just the most exceptional of a new crop of Paris cafes. Recently,the stalwart Le Cafeotheque was joined by Merce and the Muse (1 bis rue Dupuis; 011-33-9-53-14-53-04), which opened in the fashionable northern end of the Marais. Soon Coutume Café (47 rue de Babylone) will be roasting beans in a storefront a short, brisk walk from the Bon Marché. Until construction is completed, there’s a la Marzocco FB-80 set up on a cart in front of a tarp next to the sidewalk.

For the most part, coffee in Paris still sucks so bad, but it’s getting better, and the scene forming around the monthly Frog Fight is a peek into what might be the city’s future. Now, a handful of Paris cafes have good coffee. Depending on who’s behind the bar, the coffee can be great.

Following a Trail of Beer in Belgium

2011-01-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

這一標題總讓我想起那年 (1991?) 謝立沛老師偉強和我三人在德國超市買一小筒啤酒
帶到比利時魯汶大學的羅時瑋夫婦家當見面禮
或許那時候不知道比利時的啤酒也很有名

Journeys

Jock Fistick for The New York Times

Heading for ‘t Brugs Beertje in Bruges.

By MATT GOULDING and MATT BEAN

Published: January 14, 2011

ON a fog-dense spring afternoon in the Belgian countryside beer connoisseurs had flocked to Westvleteren, a far-flung town in the southwest corner of West Flanders, to sample what many of them consider to be the best beer in the world.

Belgium Travel Guide

Go to the Belgium Travel Guide »

Times Topic: Beer

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Jock Fistick for The New York Times

Stéphane Chabert, left, of France receives a generous pour of Kriek from Jean Van Roy, a fourth-generation owner of the Brasserie Cantillon.

The nectar in question was Westvleteren 12, a rich, brown-hued brew that has double the alcohol of most beers and a reputation to match, and that can be bought only at the In De Vrede cafe and across the street at the St. Sixtus Abbey. Cyclists in Spandex clattered about in cleats as Belgian families quietly nibbled on cheese plates and pâté. The only party missing was the monks who brewed the hallowed beer.

Nestled in this province’s verdant farmlands, the St. Sixtus Abbey houses one of six official Trappist breweries in Belgium. The monks have perfected their craft over more than 160 years, and despite closing the brewery to visitors, shunning advertising, retail outlets and even labels, their beer has taken top honors from enthusiast sites like RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com. (The only sure way to bring home the brew — save the black market — is by calling the Abbey’s “beerphone” to reserve a case for pick-up. And even then the monks will supply only one case a person, a month; no resales allowed.)

For the bona fide beer geek, the lure of this brewery and its beer might be motivation enough for a long-distance journey to Belgium. But St. Sixtus and the other Trappist temples are only part of the draw. Joining these cloistered few outposts scattered about the country in recent years are a crop of cutting-edge breweries and welcoming beer bars supplementing the old guard. There’s never been a better time for the thirsty traveler to turn a short trip to Belgium into the best beer-centric study-abroad program one could hope for, rivaling an oenophile’s romp through Bordeaux.

Brussels was once the heart of the brewing industry, with more than 100 active brewers. And while output has waned significantly — it’s now down to two brewers, and until December was down to one — it has spawned a thriving beer cafe culture, on display one recent night at the west-side outpost of the beer bar Moeder Lambic.

“They say that Belgium is the country of beers, but 99 percent of the beers people drink here are bad ones,” said Jean Hummler, one of the bar’s owners, commanding nods from a table that had grown crowded with bottles, glasses and guests, including Yvan De Bates, the founder of De La Senne brewery.

In 2007, shortly after opening the first Moeder Lambic bar south of Brussels in the St. Gilles region, Mr. Hummler and his partner, Nassim Dessicy, fought the brewing giant Duvel to void a contract signed by the previous owners stipulating that his taps include several offerings from the mega-brewer. Now the two Moeder Lambic bars (this one opened in 2009) stand as bastions of good brewing, offering one of the most unique selections in Brussels.

“We’re fighting for the small brewers,” Mr. Hummler said. “Every day, I’m fighting for Cantillon, I’m fighting for De La Senne. If we don’t do it, nobody will.”

Mr. Hummler summoned flight after flight from the bar’s 300-odd selections, proffering exotic, acidic gueuze made across town, and a pour from the most expensive beer there, the 200-euro-a-bottle crianza (about $255, at $1.31 to the euro) from Mr. De Bates’s brewery, which opened in December and specializes in blending old techniques and styles with new ingredients.

“We are at the beginning of a new era,” Mr. De Bates said. “Tradition and experimentation are equally important. Belgium is a wonderful place to appreciate that it’s not about a brewery being old or new — it’s about the brewer’s values and ideas and respect for the beer. If you visit enough breweries, you’ll see that we’re all talking the exact same language."

In other words, hit the road.

In a squat warehouse across town is Brussels’ other brewery, Brasserie Cantillon, a working museum of Belgian beer history. Not much at Cantillon has changed since it opened in 1900: giant grain movers are strung with leather belts; casks seem fit for the days of Columbus; and spider webs are left alone to help foster the ambient terroir. The beers, too, are as traditional as you’ll find, from sour, funky lambic and gueuze beers to variations aged with cherries, raspberries and apricots.

“We never manipulate our beers to make an easy product,” said Julie Van Roy, who runs the brewery with her brother Jean, removing a cheesecloth covering from a clay jar filled with Faro, a sweetened lambic so effervescent it defies bottling. “Some brewers, instead of taking three years, they do it in three weeks. Instead of using real fruit, they use juice.”

Ms. Van Roy fills a pair of glasses. The rough-hewn nectar is a refreshing, barnyard-and-candy cap on the Cantillon visit — another lesson in the diversity of brewing methods.

That lesson continues in Bruges, a two-hour train ride west of Brussels, at ’t Brugs Beertje, or the Bruges Bear. Since opening in 1983, the Bruges Bear has amassed a thick binder featuring rare brews and old standbys among the more than 300 Belgian selections. But the real draw is its owner, Daisy Claeys, a patient steward steeped in stories behind each brew she serves. Her favorite beer is Oerbier, from the De Dolle brewers. And as capable as she’d be of telling you about it, she’d rather you drive the 25 miles south to Esen, to the brewery itself.

Over at De Dolle, a 2 p.m. Sunday tour, in English, is led by Anna Hertleer, the mother of De Dolle’s two founders. One of them, Kris, is head brewer whose passion for experimentation helped fuel the revival of Belgian beers in the 1980s.

“We have only one aim: to make a completely natural product,” Ms. Hertleer said as she climbed up a steep steel staircase. “They have kidnapped Mr. Heineken, they have kidnapped Ms. Guinness, but they won’t kidnap us.”

Leading visitors through musty rooms filled with copper kettles, Ms. Hertleer peppered her description of the brewing process with strong opinions on everything from the health benefits of the whole hops used in some of the beers to the Trappist mystique.

The tour ends with a tasting: there’s the fruit-and-spice pale ale Bos Keun, the full-throttle 12 percent Stile Nacht and Oerbier, which balances a complex, raisin-like sweetness with a tart, bracing finish. In the United States, a 12-ounce bottle is $10. Here Oerbier is $2 a goblet, poured by Kris Hertleer himself.

From De Dolle, you’re close to Westvleteren and the monks of St. Sixtus, but it’s best to rest first at the Brouwershuis, a converted bed-and-breakfast owned by the St. Bernardus brewery. Rooms at the Brouwershuis, in the heart of West Belgium hops country, start at 75 euros a night. This includes breakfast and a tour of the neighboring brewery, which produced Westvleteren 12 under contract until 1992.

The hostess, Jacky Cockheyt, will leave you the key and free rein of the Brouwershuis, including the two refrigerators stocked with St. Bernardus’s beers, from the rare Grottenbier to the St. Bernardus 12. The beer is included in the price.

The next day is an opportunity for another adventure. You’ll find a fleet of bicycles behind the Brouwershuis’s residences, all tagged for road duty.

Do you take a left at the town square in Westvleteren to visit the avant-garde De Struisse brewers in Oostvleteren?

Or do you take a right, rolling toward In De Vrede for the pleasure of sampling what many consider the best beer in the world?

Perhaps you’ll make time for both.

IF YOU GO

In de Vrede (Donkerstraat 13, Westvleteren; 32-57-40-03-77; indevrede.be)

Moeder Lambic (Place Fontainas 8, Brussels; 32-25-03-60-68; moederlambic.be)

Cantillon (Rue Gheude Straat 56, Brussels; 32-25-21-49-28; cantillon.be)

’t Brugs Beerje (Kemelstraat 5, Bruges; 32-50-33-96-16; brugsbeertje.be)

De Dolle Brouwers (Roeselarestraat 12B, Esen; 32-51-50-27-81; dedollebrouwers.be)

Brouwershuis (Trappistenweg 23A, Watou; 32-57-38-88-60; brouwershuis.com)

London's Liv-Ex fine wine exchange's index

2011-01-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

wsj

Drinking fancy wine is so last decade. In today's speculative markets, produce from the world's great chateaux is leaving other "hard" assets in the dust. London's Liv-Ex fine wine exchange's index of top 50 wines rose 57% for 2010. That easily outperformed gold's 29.8% rise, converted to U.K. pounds to be on an equivalent basis with Liv-Ex's index, or oil's 15.1% increase, also converted to pounds. As for equities, the FTSE 100, for instance, was up just 9%.

Liv-Ev attributes the price surge to heavy demand from—you guessed it—China, as well as some other Asian countries. Given extreme supply constraints and a surge in the world's megarich, the fine wine 50 index is up 269% over five years.

If the market turns, investors mightn't find the asset as liquid as they would like. But, for now, the lesson seems to be that those wanting to make some greenbacks should target reds or whites.

Chardonnay

2011-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

Chardonnay

Chardonnay
also char·don·nay (shär'dn-ā', shär'dn-ā')
n.

A variety of grape used to make white wine, including champagne and white Burgundy.
A dry white table wine made from this grape.

產地法國澳洲非洲等

Chardonnay 2009 (Other, France)

Inviting citrus aromas greet you on the nose, along with delicate citrus and apple flavors on palate. Light bodied, fresh and clean wine.

具有令人愉悅的柑橘、蘋果香氣，口感清新、酸度恰到好處，容易欣賞的酒款。

喝過真正的天價茅台酒嗎

2010-12-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

茅台酒的提價狂想曲
貴州茅台近日宣布自明年1月1日起提價約20%。白酒價格的不斷上漲，漸漸增加了高端白酒的奢侈品和投資品屬性，或許可以用夢幻一點的眼光來暢想白酒股的未來。

Wine 101: Riesling

2010-12-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Wine 101: Riesling

First-time Riesling drinkers may find this wine a bit of a wild card. Your wine-drinking experience can vary greatly, depending on which bottle you pick off of the shelf.

The nose. The one thing you can be sure of is the signature Riesling perfume ─ all good Rieslings carry a strong floral bouquet.

The taste. Compared with its welcoming and upfront aroma, the way a Riesling tastes may be surprising. Rather than the big fruits and florals you were expecting, you'll find tastes that are harder to pinpoint. Think quirky metallic or flinty hints.

Sweet or dry. Rieslings can also range from bone dry to semisweet. The old-fashioned German Liebfraumilch, a heavy semisweet wine, gave sweet Rieslings a bad name, but these days there are refreshingly bright incarnations. Just make sure to read your label carefully, and confirm with wine store staff if you're unsure.

The acid. The grape grows in colder climates, and the acidity that results from that environment makes this wine a mouthwatering appetite opener, the perfect for cold starters such as salads and ceviches.

Amy Ma

葡萄酒入門：雷司令

初

次品嘗雷司令葡萄酒（Riesling）的人可能會覺得﹐這種酒有那麼一點兒難以捉摸。雷司令葡萄酒給人的感覺千變萬化﹐取決於你的具體選擇。

香味：惟一不會變化的是雷司令那種標志性的芬芳──所有的上乘雷司令都帶有一種濃鬱的百花香味。

味道：雷司令的香味濃鬱宜人﹐味道卻往往出人意表。你會發現﹐它的味道很難描述清楚﹐並沒有你預想中的那種濃烈的花果味道。大致形容起來﹐你不妨說它帶有怪異的金屬風味或是堅硬的燧石氣息。

甜度或乾度：雷司令的甜度可以在極乾（bone dry）與半甜（semisweet）之間變化。傳統的德國萊茵白葡萄酒（Liebfraumilch）是一種口味濃重的半甜酒﹐給雷司令帶來了不好的名聲。不過﹐今天的雷司令已經有了不少清爽適口的新品種。買這種酒的時候﹐記得看清楚標簽就好﹐實在拿不準的話﹐也可以去找酒舖的店員咨詢。

酸性：釀造雷司令的葡萄產自寒冷的氣候之下﹐生長環境導致的酸性使雷司令成為了一種十分開胃的葡萄酒﹐非常適合用來搭配沙拉和酸橘汁腌魚之類的頭道冷盤。

代某光通信部品與次系統台商徵高階品管主管

2010-11-23T04:17:00.001-08:00

代某光通信部品與次系統台商徵高階品管主管

本刊版主剛從中國回來一周來未更新

代某光通信部品與次系統台商徵高階品管主管
請將履歷等資訊寄
hcsimonl@gmail.com

鍾漢清
Hanching Chung (or HC/ hc)
網址：http://www.deming.com.tw
台灣戴明圈: A Taiwanese Deming Circle
http://demingcircle.blogspot.com/
地址：台北市新生南路三段88號2樓
電話：（02） 23650127

Japanese Wineries Betting on koshu

2010-10-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Japanese Wineries Betting on a Reviled Grape

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

A wine importer described the wine as light and crisp with subtle citrus flavors

By CORIE BROWN

Published: October 26, 2010

Koshu, Japan

Enlarge This Image

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

A koshu vineyard.

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Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Shigeki Kida, left, and Koki Oyamada of Chateau Lumiere.

Enlarge This Image

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Ernest Singer a wine importer.

THE Japanese have made wine for years, it is just that no one outside Japan wanted to drink it, particularly if it was sweet swill made from a native table grape called koshu.

But Ernest Singer thinks koshu deserves a place among the world’s fine white-wine grapes.

Mr. Singer, a wine importer based in Tokyo, said koshu captured his imagination nearly a decade ago when he tasted an experimental dry white wine made from the grape. Light and crisp with subtle citrus flavors, it was a match for Japan’s cuisine, he said, and could become the first Asian wine to draw international recognition.

With grapes from local growers and expertise from France, he began making his own wine, seeking to help koshu reach its potential. Now he and a clutch of family-owned Japanese wineries working under the banner Koshu of Japan, are racing one another to be the first to produce koshu good enough to succeed in the world market.

“We have shown you can make real wine in Japan,” Mr. Singer said. The question remains, he said, whether established vintners will change their winemaking practices or “continue to sell their schlock.”

“The good newsI is that I’ve encouraged a small number of young winemakers,” he said. Even his chief rival, Shigekazu Misawa, the owner of Grace Wine and a leader of Koshu of Japan, said that without Mr. Singer, it was unlikely anyone would even think of exporting koshu.

“It was Ernie’s idea to raise quality to improve the position of koshu in the world market,” Mr. Misawa said. “He knew that koshu could become a wine that represents Japan to the world.”

Ever since Japan discovered European and California wines during the 1970s economic boom, the country’s homegrown wines have been losing ground to imports. In the mid-1990s, a few Japanese winemakers began trying to make better wine with koshu.

Japanese fine-wine drinkers, however, are haunted by what koshu has been for the past 150 years. Found almost exclusively in Yamanashi Prefecture at the base of Mount Fuji, koshu is a tart, gray grape. Growers would dispose of damaged and rotten fruit by making wine with heavy doses of sugar.

Yet, while Japan’s climate, with rainstorms common throughout the summer and fall, conspires against most wine grapes, koshu is well suited to a wet world. It resists the rot that plagues vinifera grapes in Japan. Late ripening, it retains its natural acidity.

Mr. Misawa was one of the first Japanese vintners to reject the idea of sugary koshu.

“I am the fourth-generation owner of Grace Wine,” Mr. Misawa says. “Koshu is two-thirds of all of the wine we make. And we needed to make it better.”

Yet, while he and other vintners traveled to Europe and Australia to learn modern winemaking methods, progress was slow. Viticulture methods from dry regions did not translate. And no one outside Japan had ever heard of koshu (a hybrid of vitis vinifera — the species responsible for the world’s most popular wines — and an unidentifiable wild variety, according to DNA research at the University of California, Davis).

“I learned to make wine here,” said Mr. Koki Oyamada, the winemaker at Chateau Lumiere, affiliated with Koshu of Japan. A new generation is pioneering new methods, he said. “We support each other, discuss problems, find solutions. We are improving quality.” After his first taste of dry koshu, Mr. Singer gambled big on it, flying in Denis Dubourdieu, professor of enology at the University of Bordeaux, to work on his first four vintages (2004 to 2007), which were made at Mr. Misawa’s winery with grapes he helped provide. To secure a steady supply of high-quality fruit, Mr. Singer leased land in three central Japan prefectures and now has nine koshu vineyards, a huge landholding for a nonfarmer in Japan.

Mr. Singer’s confidence in koshu is due in no small part to the wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. The two men have worked together since 1998 when Mr. Parker hired Mr. Singer to be his representative in Asia. Mr. Parker tasted Mr. Singer’s 2004 koshu at the Grace winery in December 2004 and gave it a score of 87/88 on a scale of 100 in what Mr. Parker refers to as “an educational tasting.”

That first vintage was produced with grapes grown on old-fashioned pergola trellises. The canopies of these vines can stretch 50 feet in all directions from a mother vine the size of a tree. Mr. Singer says that his new vineyards, which are planted with vines planted closely together in neat rows with new shoots trained up, a system common in Europe and America, are producing smaller grapes with more-concentrated flavors that will make even better wine.

In setting up the winemaking protocol for Mr. Singer’s koshu, Mr. Dubourdieu eliminated what was once the only thing that made koshu drinkable: sugar. The wine is bone dry with a very low alcohol content. He accomplished this by getting rid of the grape’s bitter skin early in the process.

“I tried to extract nothing from the skin,” he said. “The bitterness of the koshu skin is extreme.”

The wine is bottled in the spring to be sold fresh and young.

With such a simple wine, Mr. Dubourdieu said he was surprised that it pleased Mr. Parker, who is usually seen as a fan of full-bodied wines.

“I was afraid,” he said. “I was not sure he could like a wine with 10.5 percent alcohol. That’s not exactly the wine he ranks well. But he was enthusiastic.”

Still, Mr. Dubourdieu is skeptical that koshu will prove to be a valuable wine.

“It is simple, clean, fresh, nice,” he said. “That, and no more. It is a big mistake to think you can produce Montrachet in Japan. Koshu is more of a vinho verde.”

The Bordeaux producer Bernard Magrez is distributing a small amount of the Katsunuma Jyozo winery’s koshu in Europe and the United States. But the executive director of the winery, Youki Hirayama, said that beyond that, his company is focusing on Asian markets.

“This is Asian wine for Asian food,” he said, noting that the subtle flavors do not overwhelm delicate dishes.

Mr. Parker remains upbeat about koshu. “Up until this year, it was the best one I’ve tasted,” he wrote in an e-mail response to questions about Mr. Singer’s wine. “Now Bernard Magrez has one that is dry, crisp and very tasty, and much in the style of the Dubourdieu koshu. I think the wine, if made in these styles, has a quasi-Muscadet character — light-bodied and very refreshing.”

But there are wide variations in the new koshus, with some vintners experimenting with oak-barrel aging and each winery relying on a different level of chapitalization — adding sugar before fermentation — to increase alcohol levels along with adding weight and body to the wine. It is impossible, however, to be certain what Japanese wineries add to their wines. The country’s wine labeling regulations require that only 5 percent of the wine in a bottle be from Japanese grapes. The rest can be from anywhere.

Mr. Singer, Katsunuma Jyozo and the wineries of Koshu of Japan insist that their wines are 100 percent koshu.

But jaded Japanese wine drinkers have been slow to believe that they are worth their price tags of $20 and up.

After their first shipment to Europe this summer, the Japanese vintners involved in Koshu of Japan are hoping to gain international appreciation that would give koshu cachet in Asia.

On a recent trip to Japan, Michael Cimarusti, the chef and owner of Providence in Los Angeles, tasted a koshu produced by Katsunuma Jyozo and was so impressed that he added it to the wine pairings on his tasting menu.

But in New York, Mr. Singer’s importer, Robert Harmelin, said koshu had been a hard sell at $50 a bottle on restaurant wine lists. “No one knows the wine,” he said.

Mr. Singer asks for more time. “I’ve been in Japan for 50 years,” he said, “this movement is going to blossom.”

How to Buy

For Ernest Singer’s Cuvée Denis Dubourdieu, $16 to $18, contact Robert Harmelin at Allied Beverage: robert.harmelin@alliedbeverage.com, (856) 234-4111.

For Katsunuma Jyozo’s koshu wines, $45 to $70, contact Toshio Ueno at Mutual Trading Company, toshio,ueno@lamtc.com, (213) 626-9458.

The wines of Koshu of Japan are not now available in the United States. To find out when they will be, contact Lynne Sherriff at lynne@lynnesherriffmw.com or at 61 Albert Drive, London, England, SW19 6LB; (44-20) 87802937.

Brimming with Beer

2010-10-17T06:02:00.000-07:00


Brimming with Beer

Was there really a time when beer flowed through the streets of London? Yes. But it wasn't necessarily a good thing. In the 19th century, beer fermented for months at a time in huge vats that rested on the roof of the Horse Shoe Brewery on Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street. On October 17, 1814, the iron hoops supporting the largest vat — which held some 600,000 liters (160,000 gallons) of porter — collapsed under the weight. The vat burst and all the beer came gushing out, causing the vats nearby to explode as well. More than a million liters (265,000 gallons) of beer knocked down the 25-foot (7.6-meter) brick wall of the brewery and flooded the surrounding streets. Roofs collapsed and houses toppled. Nine people died, mostly due to drowning or from fatal injuries from passing timber. One man died of alcohol poisoning, after drinking too much of the beverage. Neighborhood residents rushed out with mugs, pots and buckets to collect the free beer. Though a lawsuit was brought against the brewery, the London Beer Flood was ruled an act of God and the brewery was not held legally responsible.

AKADAMA (Suntory )

2010-10-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

日本AKADAMA赤玉紅葡萄酒550ML

日本「美味、滋養」的甘甜紅葡萄酒－「赤玉」，由日本三得利 Suntory 生產製造，於1907年在日本上市，在台灣銷售也有50年以上歷史（原公賣局進口），廣泛受到各年齡層消費者的 ...

茅台酒瓶

2010-09-23T17:31:00.001-07:00

說句不大相關的題外話。據報道，現在在大陸，空的茅台酒瓶可以賣出上百、甚至上千元。

去處，您自己想想吧。

Cape Town bans champagne breakfasts 開普敦禁止香檳早餐

2010-09-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

《中英對照讀新聞》Cape Town bans champagne breakfasts 開普敦禁止香檳早餐

◎管淑平

Cape Town’s elite restaurateurs are in a froth over local authority plans aimed at tackling township binge drinking which will outlaw the city’s popular champagne breakfasts.

開普敦的高級餐館為了地方當局旨在對付城內狂飲酗酒情況的計畫而怨聲載道，這項計畫將禁止這座城市極受歡迎的香檳早餐。

The proposed new liquor by-law will impose total ban on the sale of alcohol after 9pm in some areas and before 11am in all areas.

這項新提出的飲酒法規規定，部分地區晚間9時以後、全市上午11時前禁止賣酒。

It was passed shortly after the World Cup in July and comes into effect in January next year.

這項法規是在7月世足賽過後通過，將於明年1月起實施。

Its aim is to tackle the growing social ills of foetal alcohol syndrome, drink driving and wife beating, as well as cracking down on illegal bars and township shebeens.

目的是解決胎兒酒精症候群、酒後駕車和毆妻等越來越嚴重的社會問題，以及打擊非法酒吧和鄉鎮地區的私酒業者。

But tourism and hospitality chiefs say it will tarnish Cape Town’s cosmopolitan image abroad by stopping people from enjoying a glass of champagne or South Africa’s premium Méthode Cap Classique （MCC） on a Sunday morning with their meal in the more salubrious areas of town.

但觀光旅遊業者認為，這將因為不讓人們在週日上午，在飲酒行為較健康的區域，搭配餐點享受一杯香檳或南非備受好評的開普敦傳統釀造氣泡酒（MCC），而有損開普敦在海外擁有的國際大都會形象。

Dirk Elzinga, chairman of the Cape region of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, said the "patronising and childish" law which would also prevent international guests arriving on late long-haul flights from enjoying a night cap.

南非聯合餐旅協會開普敦地區主席艾欽加說，這個「傲慢又幼稚的」法規，也會讓搭深夜長途班機抵達的國際賓客無法享受睡前小酌一杯。

◎新聞辭典：

be in a froth over：形容詞片語，為某事感到怨恨、苦惱的。例句：The people are in a froth over the new tax policy.（民眾對新稅制政策感到苦惱。）

cosmopolitan：名詞或形容詞，融合多元文化的、全球性的、見過世面的（人）、遊歷世界各地的（人）。例句：She enjoys her cosmopolitan life.（她很享受她的大都會生活。）

night cap：名詞，睡前酒，或結束一晚飲宴前的最後一杯酒。例句：A night cap gives me a good night’s sleep.（睡前小酌讓我一夜好睡。）

慕尼黑啤酒节

2010-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

文化人生 | 2010.09.17

慕尼黑啤酒节的迷人之处

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 啤酒节的女跑堂

举世最大的啤酒节 - 德国巴伐利亚慕尼黑10月啤酒节今年将在9月18日揭开帷幕，为期17天，于10月4日结束。人们预测，节日期间会有大约600万来自到达现场，其中约五分之一来自国外。200年来，慕尼黑啤酒节最重要的特征是什么？它经久不衰的魅力有表现在哪里？

啤酒节：美酒嘉宾，漂亮女人

他们站在长木凳上，碰撞着手中的大款啤酒杯，高声歌唱 - 这是慕尼黑啤酒节最普通的场景。意大利人喜爱啤酒节，尤其是20岁至40岁之间的意大利人开着他们的房车，穿过阿尔卑斯山，来到德国南部的慕尼黑市。说话的这些人已是第7次来这里。他们解释道： "因为我们喜欢聚会，开派对，有美酒嘉宾，漂亮女人。"

美卡诺和他的朋友们来自意大利北部。他们热爱慕尼黑啤酒节，喜欢啤酒、女人和舞蹈。啤酒节跑堂施泰因贝格（Guenther Steinberg）非常熟悉他的来自意大利的客人： "音乐已经很清楚，演奏的是威尔的的《纳布科》，当然还会演奏意大利流行音乐。我们会考虑这些。如果我们发现太过沸腾了，太吵闹了，我们便会调低音量。我们对此已做好了准备。"

啤酒是情感的润滑剂

来自纽约的恒克（John Henke）诡秘地说，这种场合很快就能交上朋友： "当然需要一些润滑剂，这就是啤酒，简直不可思议，人们是那样地和气。这完全是一个特殊的节日，而且吸引我的是，有那么多不同国籍的人聚集到了这里。"

恒克非常喜欢巴伐利亚的生活方式以及啤酒节期间的民俗风格。人们不问职业和收入，在这里，大家都一样，都以"你"而不是"您"来称呼，而悉心交流在喧闹的啤酒棚里也是不可能的。如果是交谈的话，那也是英语夹杂着德语，波兰语夹杂西班牙语，手势身体都需用上。心理学家威茨这样解释慕尼黑啤酒节的无穷魅力： "啤酒节的规模，人潮般的拥挤，鲜艳的色彩，慕尼黑啤酒节是独一无二的，它让人们进入一种特殊兴奋的状态，制造出来的也是一种不同心理挂钩的东西，即灵魂。很多人都能表现出这一特征：人们欢笑，人们也流眼泪。人们可以尽情欢爱，也可以结束恋爱历史，真是一种只有慕尼黑啤酒节才有的氛围，人类情感表现达到了及至。"

2000多个地方模仿慕尼黑啤酒节

600万游客前来参观慕尼黑啤酒节，其中20%来自海外，而意大利人则又构成最大的外国族群，其次是美国人，在依次为英国人、澳大利亚人。他们喜欢购买当地特有的毡帽，有时也将布料制作的大酒杯戴在头上。据说，世界上有大约2000个地方模仿慕尼黑啤酒节，其中包括中国、巴西以及泰国。来自阿根廷的罗德里格斯（Veronika Rodriquez）很熟悉本国的啤酒节，他来到慕尼黑，是为了亲身感受一下正宗的节日源头。她说： "消费的啤酒量还是让我很吃惊，一大杯便是一公升，我低估了他。"

所有旅游者的感受都是这样：人们端起一升制大酒杯，喝着酒精度为6%的啤酒。啤酒的价格也不菲：9欧元一升！半只烤鸡也是这个价钱。对意大利人来说，这个价钱值得。这5名来自意大利的年轻人说，他们已经喝了10升啤酒，正要去其他的啤酒帐篷看看，再喝上10升。

作者：Tanja Gronde 编译：李鱼

责编：乐然

raki rakee

2010-09-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

南歐鄉間的生活，令人驚異地寧靜。耀眼的藍天，輕柔的雲朵，村裏的房舍牆壁是白色的，橄欖樹在地中海的微風中輕搖。來自北歐的作家漫步走去，穿過美麗的峽谷到達小村。坐在木蘭花旁，喝一杯Raki（希臘酒精飲料）。

rak·i rak·ee (răk'ē, rä'kē, rä'kə)
also
n., pl., -is, also -ees.
A brandy of Turkey and the Balkans, distilled from grapes or plums and flavored with anise.

[Turkish rāqī, from Arabic 'araq, arrack. See arrack.]

喝葡萄酒需要知道的規矩 Rules to Drink By

2010-08-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

跟

其它一次性消費品相比﹐葡萄酒的規矩大概是最多的了﹐這些規矩極其複雜﹐常常會令人莫知適從。到目前為止﹐讀者對我寫的專欄最關注的是一篇講我們把葡萄酒弄得溫度過低的文章。我承認﹐在炎炎夏日﹐一杯冰鎮過的白葡萄酒是消夏解暑的上品：但我發現在很多情況下﹐葡萄酒的溫度過低﹐反而淡化了酒的芳香﹐直接影響口感。

就個人而言﹐我在喝葡萄酒的時候﹐喜歡讓其維持在窖藏溫度。也就是說﹐對於窖藏溫度在10到18攝氏度之間的紅酒﹐如果是口感厚重的紅酒﹐如澳洲莎瑞斯(Australian Shiraz)﹐上酒時的溫度要處於這個溫度區間的高位：對於清淡的紅酒﹐如薄若萊酒(Beaujolais)﹐溫度則應處於低位。白葡萄酒的適宜溫度在4到10攝氏度之間﹐不過﹐正如我先前所說﹐我個人偏好高位的溫度。香檳的上酒溫度則是低一點更佳﹐因為這樣才能更好地突出香檳清爽怡神的口感。現在有一種紅酒冷飲的趨勢﹐但我只建議在喝清淡型紅酒時這麼做﹐比如說薄若萊或盧瓦河谷(Loire)的希儂(Chinon)紅酒等﹐而即便如此﹐這些酒的飲用溫度也應當比其窖藏溫度高一些。不過﹐最好是把葡萄酒放到冰箱里快速冷凍一下﹐而不是直接放在冰桶里。

讓很多葡萄酒愛好者摸不著頭腦的還有一點﹐就是葡萄酒怎麼跟食物搭配的問題。傳統的規則說﹐白葡萄酒配海鮮﹐紅葡萄酒配紅肉。當然﹐任何規則看上去都有點陳詞濫調的意思﹐但通常而言﹐白葡萄酒更配海鮮這是毋庸置疑的事實。不過﹐還有一個更實用的基本原則﹐就是不要考慮葡萄酒的顏色﹐而是考慮葡萄酒的酒體(body)和質地(texture)。用淺顯的非技術語言來講﹐白葡萄酒通常有一定的酸度﹐與檸檬和醋等酸味食品搭配得更好﹐還能讓富含乳脂的醬汁吃起來更可口﹐因此勃艮第(Burgundy)白葡萄酒與多寶魚這類海鮮很搭。味道偏清淡的海鮮適合與蘇瓦韋(Soave)、灰皮諾(Pinot Grigio)或盧瓦河谷的慕思卡黛(Muscadet)葡萄酒搭配﹐而沙丁魚這類油脂較多的海鮮則需要一款口感綿厚、橡木味重一些的霞多麗(Chardonnay)。霞多麗同樣適合煙熏三文魚﹐但你也可以嘗試產自勃艮第區最北部的口感更清新的梅肯紅葡萄酒(Mâcon)或夏布利白葡萄酒(Chablis)。不過﹐薄若萊、盧瓦河谷希儂等口感綿軟的紅酒﹐或者清淡果味的黑皮諾(Pinot Noirs)﹐往往能很好地搭配肉質粗厚一點的魚肉﹐如劍魚或金槍魚扒等。

我喜歡用紅酒配西班牙什錦飯﹐無論里頭有沒有海鮮﹔還喜歡用菲諾幹型雪莉酒(fino sherry)配鯖魚﹐用一款精品香檳配生蠔。不過﹐為什麼白葡萄酒一定要限於配海鮮呢口難道就不能配肉類或蔬菜嗎口還有那道晚宴上必不可少的經典菜肴──奶酪拼盤(cheese board)？

現在﹐讓我們再來考慮一下葡萄酒的口感。一款丹寧豐富的幹紅往往帶有一絲苦澀的餘味﹐讓味蕾發乾﹐而經得起咀嚼的大肉能夠中和這種感覺。通常我喜歡用波爾多紅酒(Bordeaux)或教皇新古堡紅酒(Châteauneuf-du-Pape)來搭配牛肉﹐退而求其次的話﹐可以用智利的西拉幹紅(Syrah)：西班牙的里奧哈紅酒(Rioja)配羊肉很好：禽肉或野味與勃艮第紅酒和黑皮諾可謂天作之合﹐頂級博若萊(Cru Beaujolais)配起來也不錯。

在夏日時光﹐我傾向於用玫瑰紅葡萄酒(rosé)配蔬菜類的菜肴﹐尤其是普羅旺斯(Provence)產區的一種幹型玫瑰紅。在冬天﹐一款柔和、成熟、綿密、丹寧較低的紅酒是最佳的選擇﹐如加州的梅洛(Merlot)或阿根廷的馬爾貝克(Malbec)等。

用葡萄酒來配奶酪可能會遇到各種意想不到的問題﹐因為奶酪會有一些特殊味道跟紅酒中的丹寧味格格不入。成熟的高德乾酪(gouda)﹐切達乾酪(cheddar)和米摩雷特奶酪(mimolette)跟波爾多紅酒很配：另外﹐雖然有些老生常談﹐但波特葡萄酒(port)與斯提耳頓幹酪(stilton)的確堪稱絕配。在很多情況下﹐我喜歡在吃洛克福藍紋乳酪(Roquefort )的時候﹐喝上一口蘇特恩(Sauternes)這樣的白葡萄甜酒﹐真是回味無窮。

如果你拿不定主意用什麼奶酪來配葡萄酒﹐我強烈推薦孔泰奶酪(Comté)。它是一款百搭型的奶酪﹐那種果仁焦糖味與盧瓦河谷的桑榭爾(Sancerre)這樣的白葡萄酒、清淡的薄若萊紅酒、年份香檳甚至產自法國朗格多克-魯西永(Languedoc-Roussillon)地區的綿厚紅酒都很相配。事實上﹐可以說這款奶酪無酒不搭﹐徹底打破了所有的紅酒配搭規則。

Will Lyons

Wine, perhaps more than any other perishable consumer good, is hidebound by an often unfathomable set of rules. By far the largest reader response I ever received for an article was when I dared to suggest that we chill our wines too much. In the height of summer, I admit it can get stiflingly hot and one craves a chilled glass of white. But far too often I find it is served just too cold. This only serves to neutralize the nose and kill the taste.

Personally, I prefer to drink my wine at cellar temperature. That is, if it is a red wine between 10 degrees Celsius and 18 degrees Celsius, with heavier reds, such as Australian Shiraz, served toward the higher end of the temperature range and lighter reds, such as Beaujolais, served at the lower end. White wine can be served between four degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius, although, as I said, I prefer mine on the warmer side. Champagne often benefits from being served a little cooler as it accentuates its crisp, refreshing character. There is a trend toward chilling red wines. I would only really advocate this if they are lighter reds, again probably a Beaujolais or a Chinon from the Loire, and their temperature has exceeded that of the cellar. But they really need a quick burst in the fridge, as opposed to an ice bucket.

One area where a lot of us get into an awful muddle is with food, in particular, the old rule that dictates white wine with fish, red wine with meat. Of course, all rules are a little bit of a cliché but generally it cannot be denied that white wine more often than not pairs best with fish. But a good rule of thumb is to think not of the color of the wine, but of its body and texture. Without getting too involved in the technicalities, white wine usually has a fair amount of acidity that works well with tart flavors such as lemon and vinegar. It also cuts through creamy sauces so it makes sense to pair a white Burgundy with a dish such as turbot. Lighter flavored seafood pairs well with Soave,Pinot Grigio or Muscadet from the Loire Valley, while oilier fish such as sardines may need a heavy, oaked Chardonnay. This can also work well with smoked salmon or you may prefer something a little fresher from farther north in Burgundy such as a Mâcon or Chablis. But delicate red wines such as Beaujolais, Chinon from the Loire or light, fruity Pinot Noirs can often match very well with tougher fish such as swordfish or tuna steaks.

I prefer red wine with paella, whether it has fish or not. I also like a dry fino sherry with mackerel and for a very special treat champagne with oysters. But why limit the rule to just fish? What about meat or vegetables? And of course that perennial dinner party course-the cheese board?

Again, it's best to think of how the wine leaves your mouth feeling. A dry, tannic red wine often leaves one's mouth bitter and the tastebuds dry. Heavy meat with a chewy texture can soften that sensation. As a rule of thumb, I prefer to serve red Bordeaux or Châteauneuf-du-Pape with beef, second choice would be a Chilean Syrah. With lamb, generally Rioja. Any sort of poultry or game goes very well with red Burgundy and Pinot Noir. Cru Beaujolais is also a good match.

In the summer months, I would not hesitate to match vegetable dishes with rosé wine, preferably a dry example from Provence. In the winter, a soft, ripe, smooth red wine low in tannin is the order of the day such as Californian Merlot or Argentinean Malbec.

Matching wine with cheese can pose all sorts of pitfalls as certain flavors associated with cheese can react badly with the tannin in red wine. Aged gouda, cheddar and mimolette cheese go very well with red Bordeaux. It may be a cliché but port and stilton work very well together. But in many cases, I prefer to serve a sweet white wine such as Sauternes, which goes superbly with Roquefort cheese.

If you are in any way unsure pairing cheese with wine, I would strongly recommend just opting for Comté. It's hugely versatile and its nutty, caramelized flavor matches superbly with white wines from the Loire such as Sancerre, light red Beaujolais, vintage Champagne and even heavy reds from the Languedoc-Roussillon. In fact, you could say it breaks all the rulebooks.

Will Lyons

Consumers pushing beyond sake to Japanese whiskies

2010-08-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

前月看到一名老外買葛瑪蘭威士忌 2000多說還有一3000多的

Map

Consumers pushing beyond sake to Japanese whiskies

By MICHELLE LOCKE (AP) – 16 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — It wasn't too long ago that Owen Westman's customers at Rickhouse Bar didn't even know there were Japanese whiskies available, let alone ask for them by name.

"They certainly do now," he says.

Although best known for sake, Japan has a whisky tradition stretching back more than a century. It's not widely available in the U.S., but that's changing as companies like major producer Suntory work to boost overseas sales.

And maybe Bill Murray had something to do with it. His character in the 2003 movie "Lost in Translation" goes to Japan to shoot a whisky commercial.

Suntory exports a number of products, including Yamazaki single malt whiskies and Hibiki, a blend. Like Scotch, the Japanese product is spelled without the extra "e." In fact, the origins of the Japanese whisky industry have ties to Scotland. Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii hired Masataka Taketsuru, who studied distilling in Scotland. Taketsuru went on to found Nikka, also a major producer.

Despite that history, Suntory whisky is "not Scotch made in Japan," points out Eric Ariyoshi, a Suntory brand manager based in San Francisco.

One of Torii's goals was "to really create a Japanese whisky that catered to a more subtle palate," says Ariyoshi. "If you think about Japanese food it tends to be on the lighter side, very subtle flavors. One of his specific goals was to create a whisky that fits into that palate."

Overall, Japanese whisky is a fraction of total U.S. sales. Suntory launched the Hibiki brand in Europe and the U.S. last year with sales of 6,000 cases. This year, they hope to sell 8,000 cases of Hibiki overseas and 31,000 cases of Yamazaki. To put that into perspective, 2009 total whiskey sales in the United States amounted to 46.5 million cases, according to the U.S. Distilled Spirits Council.

But with interest in spirits rising, there's more attention being paid to all types of whiskies, says council spokesman Frank Coleman.

"There clearly has been a whiskey revival over the last decade and consumer interest is at an all-time high," he said. "You have the explosion in the number of small craft distillers getting into the whiskey game. Consumers have become more and more interested in trying these new and different products and there's no doubt some very good whiskies being made in Japan."

Barrel aging is key to how a whisky tastes and Suntory uses three kinds, American and Spanish oak as well as Japanese mizunara oak. American white oak contributes a dry flavor with hints of vanilla, the Spanish oak has flavors of raisins, chocolate and caramel and the mizunara gives subtle sweetness and spiciness, reminiscent of incense.

The Hibiki is a blend of more than 30 individual whiskies, with the final blend topped off with a whisky aged more than 30 years. Elegant and smooth, Hibiki uses old plum liqueur casks for aging some components and a bamboo charcoal filter that "just mellows out the flavor. Gives it a very sweet and gentle flavor," Ariyoshi says.

In a nod to tradition, the Hibiki packaging has 24 facets to represent the ancient Japanese calendar that divided the year into 24 "seasons."

At Rickhouse, bartenders pour the Yamazaki 12-year-old and 18-year-old single malts as well as the Hibiki blend. Most customers ask for it neat, although the bar has some interesting cocktails, including one involving cherry preserves.

You can get the 18-year-old Yamazaki at the Father's Office bar in Los Angeles, too. But you have to know what to ask for.

Chef and owner Sang Yoon, who also has a Father's Office in Santa Monica, couldn't find a way to mesh the whisky with his menu, but since he likes it, he kept a bottle at his LA location for friends. Those in the know ask for "Relaxing Times," a tagline from a Suntory advertising campaign that was also in "Lost in Translation."

If Murray happens to stroll in, bartenders have been advised he can just ask for "a me," Yoon says.

___

Online:

Suntory: http://bit.ly/9oOuqt

Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew

2010-06-01T04:38:00.001-07:00

When we set out to create Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew, we wanted an outstanding cup of coffee that we could enjoy anywhere, at any moment.

That’s even more true with new Starbucks VIA® Decaf Italian Roast, because now “anytime” includes those occasions that call for the rich, bold taste of coffee – but not the caffeine. An after-dinner dessert? A late, late study break? A nightcap on the town? You’ll find all of these situations (and a thousand more) are perfect for our high-quality, 100% arabica, naturally decaffeinated instant coffee.

Cointreau

2010-03-04T03:37:00.000-08:00

吳老師
恭喜"生"教授不過
一杯美味的Cointreau on ice 似乎太便宜啦

Cointreau

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Cointreau

Type	Liqueur
Manufacturer	Rémy Cointreau
Country of origin	Angers, France
Introduced	1849
Alcohol by volume	40%
Proof	80
Colour	colourless
Flavor	Orange

Cointreau (pronounced [kwan'-tro]) is a brand of triple sec liqueur, and is produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, a suburb of Angers, France. Cointreau sources its bitter oranges from all over the world, usually Spain, Brazil and Saint-Raphaël, Haiti.^[1]^[2]

In addition to being imbibed as an apéritif, Cointreau is sometimes used as a digestif. Cointreau is considered to be either a premium brand triple sec or a unique category of liqueur. With a 40% alcohol content, Cointreau is strong for a triple sec which usually have an alcohol content between 15 and 40 percent.^[1]

[hide]

[edit] Production

Cointreau Distillery was set up in 1849 by Adolphe Cointreau, a confectioner, and his brother Edouard-Jean Cointreau from Angers. Their first success was with the cherry liqueur, guignolet, but it was when they concocted a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels and pure alcohol from sugar beets that the success of the enterprise was definitively confirmed.^[1] In 1875, the first bottles of Cointreau were sold. It is now estimated that thirteen million bottles are sold each year, in more than 150 countries. Ninety-five percent of production is exported.^[1] The company is still owned and run by the Cointreau family, although a notable descendant, André J. Cointreau, left the company to run the famed Paris-based Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in the 1980s.

The production methods and recipe are a family secret, but tours of the distillery are open to the public. Photography is restricted in many areas to protect the production process from being copied.

Ex Avirex LTD., nowadays Cockpit USA, issued in the 1990s an A-2 limited edition leather flight jacket featuring Cointreau Original Margarita noseart on the back of the jacket. In early 2008, burlesque entertainer Dita Von Teese became the new face of Cointreau's "Be Cointreauversial" advertising and marketing campaign, an arrangement slated to continue through 2010.^[3]

[edit] Cocktails

In addition to being consumed neat (or often on ice), Cointreau is used in cocktails including the Sangria, Margarita, Cosmopolitan, White Lady and Sidecar.^[4]

[edit] Liquor reviews

Cointreau has performed consistently well at international spirit ratings competitions. For instance, it received double gold ratings at the 2007 and 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It received gold medals at the prior two years' competitions.^[5]

香槟酒自己发明了自己

2010-01-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

社会 | 2009.12.31

喜庆、气氛与奢侈的象征：香槟

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

还有比香槟更适合于烛光晚宴的酒了吗？在新船下水仪式及一级方程式赛车的颁奖仪式都少不了香槟酒。这种世界上最著名的带气泡的葡萄酒是喜庆、气氛及奢侈的象征。但香槟酒是怎么来的呢？

法国有一个叫作香槟的地区。这个地区的葡萄种植面积并不大，只有33000公顷。这不大的面积上却集中了15000家葡萄园。尽管有5000种牌子的香槟酒，但仅少数几种创出了世界品牌。以家庭为单位的大型酿酒厂只剩不多的几家了。香槟地区的葡萄只允许手工采摘。机械化在香槟地区是被禁止的。

但香槟酒是怎么以及什么时候出现的呢？实际上我们今天喝的香槟酒并没有多少年的历史。大约150前才有了现在这种倒在杯子里冒泡的，清澈的香槟酒。

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

香槟酒的酿造是随着高卢被罗马人占领开始的。罗马人将葡萄酒带入香槟地区。而地窖是罗马人建造城市过程中的副产品。泰迪格香槟酒厂老板雷东解释说："公元4世纪，罗马人在建造罗马帝国比利时省的省会城市杜罗克托鲁姆时需要大量的石料。而整个地区的地底下都是白垩纪岩石。"

这样就挖出了大地窖。杜罗克托鲁姆就是现在的法国城市兰斯。罗马人将白垩纪岩石挖得千疮百孔，就象瑞士奶酪。但将这些岩洞当作酒窖使用还是在此之后700年的事情。雷东讲述道："是中世纪的那些修道士将这些岩洞利用起来。他们改建了这些采石场，在岩洞之间造了通道。"

在 16至17世纪之间，法国贵族开始享用香槟产的葡萄酒。但当时的这种酒象其它葡萄酒一样，还不起泡。根据传说，豪特维利修道院修道士佩里尼翁是香槟酒的发明者。他自1668年之后当了酿酒师。但导游米雷认为这种说法并不完全对："佩里尼翁只是个传说而已，我们根本就没有文字来证明佩里尼翁是香槟酒的发明者。我们所能确定的是，佩里尼翁是第一个使用混合技术酿酒的人。香槟酒没有真正的起源，也没有发明者。香槟酒自己发明了自己。"

佩里尼翁将不同酒桶里的酒混合成新的品种。新品种比原酒要香醇，但仍旧没有汽泡。佩里尼翁还发现了用红葡萄酿造白葡萄酒的方法：在榨汁时，尽快捞出葡萄皮。

香槟地区北部在秋季降温很快。天气太冷就会阻止发酵的进程。这样，葡萄汁里的糖份不能完全转化成酒精。当第二年天气转暖后，发酵过程才能继续，发酵形成的碳酸使酒里面出现汽泡。但人们在十八世纪前没有发现这种现象，因为当时的酒存放在木桶里，碳酸都漏了出去。之后出现了瓶装酒。

1728年，法国国王路易15允许用玻璃瓶来运输香槟酒。但用当时的瓶子装碳酸含量很高的香槟酒给酒商带来很大的麻烦。因为那时的瓶子不结实，在高压下很容易爆炸。几乎两瓶香槟酒里就有一瓶会爆炸。这种现象一直持续到19世纪中叶。

英国人在18世纪就非常喜欢无泡的香槟酒了。而带汽泡的香槟酒在英国一上市便成为抢手货。Clicquot夫人在1810年创立了Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin香槟酒厂。1813年，该酒厂的德国籍酿酒师米勒发明了在香槟酒酿造史上具有革命性的去渣转瓶法，去除了香槟酒发酵过程中产生的沉淀，使VCP香槟酒泡沫丰富，质感晶莹，毫无渣滓，成为世界畅销的品质高贵的顶尖名酒。1785年的香槟酒销量仅为几十万瓶，而1845年便飚升到650万瓶。而21世纪的今天，香槟酒的销量又翻了好几番。大部分香槟酒是在送旧迎新之际被喝掉的："在圣诞节与新年之间，香槟酒的消耗量要占到全年的65％。 2008年，香槟地区共生产了三亿瓶香槟酒，其中三分之二便是在一年最后的这个星期喝掉的。"

作者：Cornelia Rabitz / 王雪丁

责编：乐然

Last call for German schnaps?

2009-12-19T16:55:00.001-08:00

Inside Europe | 19.12.2009 | 22:05

Last call for German schnaps?

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: There is a large variety of schnaps

One of the preferred methods of washing down a belly full of food in Germany is a small glass of schnapps.

Farmers in south-west Germany have a long and rich tradition of making schnapps from fruit grown in their orchards. However, many of these small-scale fruit growers can only survive thanks to a government subsidy for agricultural alcohol - a subsidy the EU has ruled is illegal and has to be phased out. Germany has decided to fight the ruling, arguing that the end of subsidies will not only spell the end for one the country's cultural practices, it will also further endanger traditional orchards tended by the farmers.

Report: Kate Hairsine, Karlsruhe

熱紅酒

2009-12-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

酒國大使王靈安特調的「熱紅酒」

甜蜜熱紅酒- Daju's hut - udn部落格

熱紅酒在奧地利和德國一帶是滑雪聖地的最佳飲品,滑完雪後來杯溫暖的熱紅酒坐在火爐邊是最好的享受,還記得這是好多年前一位漂亮的奧地利交換學生就在火爐邊教我煮的, ...

testing the best German red wine

2009-10-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

Audios and videos on the topic

Audio: Listen to: Tasting Germany's best red

Inside Europe | 31.10.2009 | 07:05

The trials and tribulations of testing the best German red wine

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:

It was a tough assignment for a panel of jurors here in Germany. They've just tasted their way through more than a thousand wines to uncover the county's best reds.

The annual German Red Wine prize is one of the most prestigious in the country and it's awarded by the European wine magazine, Vinum. Our reporter Kate Hairsine decided to put her taste buds to the test and sent us this report.

神之雫

2009-10-05T00:06:00.001-07:00

神之雫風靡台港韓大掀紅酒熱

編譯陳成良／特譯

在法國波爾多梅多克葡萄酒區小村莊巴集的圓石廣場上，12位舉足輕重的酒莊主人身穿紅袍，準備引介兩位日本漫畫家加入他們採取嚴格會員制的葡萄酒兄弟會。這對姊弟檔漫畫家樹林優子及樹林伸，以共同筆名「亞樹直」創作「神之雫」（中文譯為「神之水滴」）系列漫畫，不但帶動日本和南韓的紅酒銷售量，其影響力甚至大到足以左右亞洲各國紅酒市場的銷售。

「神之雫」已集結出版到第21集，4年來估計在日本已狂銷600萬冊，在台灣、香港及南韓等地也大賣300萬本，如今在葡萄酒王國法國也掀起熱潮，出版9 集便暢銷35萬冊，當地漫畫迷熱切等待即將在10月出刊的第10集。出版商費朗德指出：「本書在兩個文化間建立真正的橋梁，讓漫畫迷發現葡萄酒，葡萄酒愛好者發現漫畫。」

「神之雫」故事描述日本知名葡萄酒評論家神咲豐多香過世時，在遺書中要求兒子神咲雫和養子互相競爭，誰能先找出他選出的13種酒的名字與年份，就能繼承他價值不菲的葡萄酒收藏。這13種酒分為兩部分，前12種是「使徒酒」，也是神咲豐多香眼中的偉大葡萄酒。第13種酒是集前面12種酒優點於一身的夢幻葡萄酒，就叫「神之雫」。

波爾多傳奇葡萄酒莊園主卡茲釀造的1983年份「Chateau Lynch Bages」，和他的豪華莊園出現在第5集，令他驚訝不已。他表示：「漫畫不屬於我的文化，但是我看到這部作品將葡萄酒闡釋得非常好，讓人們透過漫畫學到有關葡萄酒的知識。」

事實上，漫畫主角神咲雫一開始對紅酒涉獵不多，因此讀者是和他一起學習，一步一步深入了解紅酒，讓這部漫畫成為許多人的紅酒入門書，也讓數百萬讀者成為未來潛在顧客。

「神之雫」出版第一年，日本紅酒銷售業績就狂升130％，南韓主要紅酒商店的業績也暴增150％。

（取材自法新社）

passito

2009-07-24T05:26:00.001-07:00

Word of the Day:

passito

[pah-SEE-toh] An Italian term used both for a method of making sweet wines and for the sweet wines made this way. Passito wines begin by laying freshly picked grapes on mats (or hanging them in bunches) so that they can partially dry. This process eliminates much of the grape's water and concentrates its sugar and flavor components. Depending on the technique used, the drying time can vary from several weeks (in the hot sun) to several months (in a cool ventilated room). When the grapes are crushed and fermentation begins, the sugar content is usually high enough to take the wine to a reasonable alcohol level (see alcohol by volume) and still end up with enough residual sugar to make these wines fairly sweet.

liquoreux

2009-07-23T03:46:00.001-07:00

Word of the Day:

liquoreux

[lee-koh-REUH] A French wine descriptor meaning "rich and sweet," generally used when referring to dessert wines, such as those of sauternes.

(© Barron's Educational Series, Inc.)

Basking With Rosés

2009-06-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Basking With Rosés

By ERIC ASIMOV

Published: June 9, 2009

IT began seemingly as a brief flirtation more than five years ago, this American affection, if not passion, for rosé wines. It was something new, something different. Fashion magazines and other arbiters of cool zeroed in on rosé like a rising hemline and anointed it the “It” wine.

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The wine panel was encouraged by how many bottles in the tasting were actually dry, without the soda-pop dollop of sugar that can turn a rosé into a wine cooler.

1. Robert Oatley
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Robert Oatley, Australia Mudgee Rosé of Sangiovese, 2008 ***

$16

Bone dry with lovely texture and balanced, savory mineral flavors.

Importer: Oatley Wines, Petaluma, Calif.
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2. Jean-Paul Brun
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Jean-Paul Brun, Terres Dorées Beaujolais Rosé d’Folie, 2008 ***

$15

Rich yet delicate with restrained fruit flavors and plenty of nuances.

Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York
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3. Wild Rock
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Wild Rock, New Zealand Hawkes Bay Vin Gris Rosé, 2008 ** ½

$15

Crisp and tangy with dry, refreshing flavors.

Importer: Kobrand, New York
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4. Commanderie de Peyrassol
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Commanderie de Peyrassol, Côtes de Provence, 2008 ** ½

$15

Pink, dry and surprisingly rich with pleasing floral aromas.

Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York
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5. Domaine de la Courtade
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Domaine de la Courtade, Côtes de Provence L’Alycastre Rosé, 2008 ** ½

$14

Dry, earthy and straightforward; chill, pop, pour and drink.

Importer: Winebow, New York
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6. Château d’Oupia
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Château d’Oupia, Minervois Rosé, 2008 ** ½

$13

Floral aromas with round, peppery fruit flavors.

Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York
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7. Château du Rouët
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Château du Rouët, Côtes de Provence Coeur Estérelle, 2008 **

$13

Delicate and straightforward with dry, gentle citrus and berry flavors.

Importer: Village Wine Imports, New York
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8. Commanderie de la Bargemone
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Commanderie de la Bargemone, Coteaux d’Aix en Provence Rosé, 2008 **

$16

Dry and earthy with intriguing floral and berry flavors.

Importer: Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, Va.
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9. Ameztoi
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Ameztoi, Eetariako Txakolina Rubentis, 2008 **

$20

Dry, tangy and lightly effervescent, with crisp, almost tropical fruit flavors.

Importer: De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, N.C.
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10. Jean-Maurice Raffault
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Jean-Maurice Raffault, Chinon Rosé, 2008 **

$17

Tangy aromas and flavors of earth, herbs and almonds.

Importer: V.O.S. Selections, New York
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Tasting Coordinator: Bernard Kirsch

Best Value

Pairings | Pan Bagnat ‘Sliders’ (June 10, 2009)

But “It” wines are fleeting, like a whiff of a captivating perfume, or the beads of condensation on a cool glass in the afternoon sun.

This thing with rosé has evolved into a long-term relationship that shows no signs of fading.

It used to be that when warm weather rolled around, critics would try to talk up the virtues of rosé as a wine that deserved a place at the table, better yet a lunch table, best of all a lunch table outdoors, near the water, with pale blue skies, the smell of the sea and whitewashed walls thrown in for atmosphere.

Few Americans took rosés seriously, though, and the wines languished, except in their bastardized “blush” guises as sweetened wine confections that may have a place, yes, though rarely at the table.

But when Americans took that fashionable leap, they discovered what Mediterranean cultures knew all along: rosé is the quintessential daytime wine, perfect for outdoors, wonderful in the summer.

With few exceptions, rosés are simple wines, but that simplicity enhances their allure. As with cooking over a grill, drinking rosé emphasizes the elemental, uncomplicated appeal of the fresh, raw material, which makes them generally undemanding wines. Anything wrong with that? Of course not. Most rosés are like beach reading, but as anybody who has ever been stuck seaside with a dull book knows, a bad rosé is no picnic.

To assess this summer’s offerings, the wine panel recently sampled 25 bottles of rosé. Our only restriction was price: We wanted to spend $10 to $20 a bottle, but no more than that.

For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Mark Lugo, the sommelier at BLT Fish in New York, and Karen King, a former sommelier who is now a sales manager at Winebow, an importer and distributor.

In that price range we could have found hundreds of bottles. So just to be clear: The list of the top 10 wines in our tasting represents only those we liked in that small sample, although I think it offers an accurate cross-section of what is generally available.

For consumers, the news is good. We were encouraged by how many wines in the tasting were actually dry, without the soda-pop dollop of sugar that can turn a rosé into a wine cooler.

The wines we liked best were not overly fruity nor were they obvious. Instead, they emphasized mineral flavors, along with floral and herbal aromas. They were savory. In fact, that was the word that came to mind in describing our No. 1 wine, a counterintuitive choice in every way.

The wine, a 2008 Robert Oatley, came from the Mudgee region of Australia, which is not exactly a rosé destination, and was made from the sangiovese grape, which you don’t often see contributing to a rosé. Nonetheless, it had that savory quality we really liked, along with restrained flavors, a tangy presence and an inviting texture.

Texture — how the wine feels in the mouth — was a crucial ingredient in the bottles we liked best. As I said, these were not obvious wines, conveying powerful fruit flavors and aromas. They were more evocative, with their allure stemming from their ability to transport.

In previous rosé tastings, we very much liked American, Spanish and Italian wines. But in this tasting, French rosés dominated, taking 7 of the top 10 spots. These included rosés in many different colors and styles.

Our No. 2 bottle, the 2008 Beaujolais Rosé d’Folie from Jean-Paul Brun, was made entirely from gamay. It, too, had a wonderfully delicate texture with unexpected nuances in the flavor. Our No. 4 wine, the ’08 Château de Peyrassol from the Côtes de Provence, was a more typical southern French rosé, made of grenache, cinsault and syrah. It is pure pink with floral aromas and pleasing mineral flavors.

Meanwhile, our No. 5 wine, the 2008 L’Alycastre from Domaine de la Courtade, also from the Côtes de Provence, made of grenache, mourvèdre and the obscure tibouren, was an archetype rosé — chill, pour, drink and enjoy. Our No. 6 wine, the ’08 Château d’Oupia from the Minervois, was a spicy, peppery wine. At $13 it was our best value, though in this $10 to $20 range none of our favorites were bad values.

It’s the rare rosé that benefits from age. Two that come to mind are the Rioja from Lôpez de Heredia and the Palette from Château Simone. Both are superb wines, but out of our price range. All of our favorites were from the 2008 vintage.

The most unusual in the bunch was our No. 9 wine, a 2008 Txakolina from Ameztoi in the Basque region of Spain. Dry white Txakolinas have grown highly popular in the last few years, but you don’t often see a rosé. This wine had a bit of effervescence, and surprising flavors of tropical fruit.

The Txakolina was made by blending the red hondarrabi beltza grape with white hondarrabi zuri grapes, a method that may be ancient in the Basque region but is prohibited in much of Europe. Otherwise, all of our favorites were made in the traditional manner of crushing red grapes only and allowing the juice to macerate only briefly with the pigment-bearing skins.

The European Union had proposed relaxing these rules, which would have allowed producers everywhere in Europe to blend red and white to make rosé. But after heavy lobbying from rosé producers, who feared that their more painstaking methods would give way to cheap blends of poor wines, the union on June 8 withdrew the proposal.

Good rosé may well be more than a fleeting memory.

Tasting Report: Sipping Under the Sun

Robert Oatley

$16

★★★

Mudgee Australia Rosé of Sangiovese 2008

Bone dry with lovely texture and balanced, savory mineral flavors.

(Importer: Oatley Wines, Petaluma, Calif.)

Jean-Paul Brun

$15

★★★

Terres Dorées Beaujolais Rosé d’Folie 2008

Rich yet delicate with restrained fruit flavors and plenty of nuances. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)

Wild Rock

$15

★★ ½

Hawkes Bay New Zealand Vin Gris Rosé 2008

Crisp and tangy with dry, refreshing flavors. (Kobrand, New York)

Commanderie de Peyrassol

$15

★★ ½

Côtes de Provence Château de Peyrassol 2008

Pink, dry and surprisingly rich with pleasing floral aromas.

(Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York)

Domaine de la Courtade

$14

★★ ½

Côtes de Provence L’Alycastre Rosé 2008

Dry, earthy and straightforward; chill, pop, pour and drink.

(Winebow, New York)

BEST VALUE

Château d’Oupia Minervois Rosé 2008

$13

★★ ½

Floral aromas with round, peppery fruit flavors.

(Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)

Château de Rouët

$13

★★ Côtes de Provence Coeur Estérelle 2008

Delicate and straightforward with dry, gentle citrus and berry flavors. (Village Wine Imports, New York)

Commanderie de la Bargemone

$16

★★

Coteaux d’Aix en Provence Rosé 2008

Dry and earthy with intriguing floral and berry flavors.

(Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, Va.)

Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rubentis 2008

$20

★★

Dry, tangy and lightly effervescent, with crisp, almost tropical fruit

flavors. (De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2008

$17

★★

Tangy aromas and flavors of earth, herbs and almonds.

(V.O.S. Selections, New York)

Rum

2009-06-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Appleton

By STUART ELLIOTT

Published: June 15, 2009

One of the biggest hit songs of the 1940s was a comic tune performed by the Andrews Sisters, “Rum and Coca-Cola.” Decades later, a brand of premium-priced rum is suggesting that rum drinkers forgo the Coke — or any mixer, for that matter — and also say no to garnishes and other embellishments.

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Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is urging consumers to “Sip up.”

In a print and outdoor campaign, with a budget estimated at $7 million to $8 million, Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is urging consumers to “Sip up.” The goal of the humorous campaign, by DeVito/Verdi in New York, is to woo those who typically drink so-called brown goods like pricey Scotches and whiskys by presenting two varieties of Appleton Estate brown rums as good enough to imbibe on their own.

“To all Irish whisky drinkers, today is your lucky day,” the headline of one ad declares. A second ad carries this cheeky Q & A: “Looking for a good Scotch? May we suggest a rum.”

Other ads in the campaign assert that Appleton Estate is “the rum that needs nothing.” That idea is brought to life with illustrations showing, for instance, a twin straw in a glass of rum turning into a double-barreled shotgun, blasting away at a piece of pineapple trying to join the drink.

In another such ad, tiny plastic swords inside a glass of Appleton Estate stand, points up, ready to repel a cherry that wants to get into the act.

The campaign is the first from DeVito/Verdi since the Kobrand Corporation awarded the agency the Appleton Estate account in December, for tasks that include creative development, media planning and buying, events and nontraditional advertising.

Kobrand became the United States sales and marketing agent for the Appleton Estate rums in May 2008 after reaching an agreement with the brand’s owner, the J. Wray & Nephew Group of Jamaica. The Brown-Forman Corporation had handled Appleton Estate in this country from October 2001 through April 2008.

The campaign concentrates on Appleton Estate Reserve, which is 40 proof, and Appleton Estate 12-year-old, which is 43 proof. The former sells for $25 to $29 for a 750-ml. bottle; the latter is priced in the low $40s.

The campaign is trying to do for rum what has already been done for vodka and tequila: Expand drinkers’ perceptions of the quality of certain brands of distilled spirits to the point where they are willing to pay more for liquor in those categories than ever before.

DeVito/Verdi has some experience in that realm, having created campaigns for Grey Goose vodka when it was owned by the Sidney Frank Importing Company, which sold the premium-priced brand for more than $2 billion to Bacardi Ltd.

In one of those funny ways the ball sometimes bounces when it hits the pavement on Madison Avenue, by claiming that Appleton Estate is tasty enough to never see the inside of a blender DeVito/Verdi is differentiating the brand from the Bacardi Ltd. flagship, Bacardi rum, which has built its leadership in the category on ads that pair it with mixers like Coca-Cola, orange juice, tonic water and club soda.

“Bacardi is the 800-pound gorilla” in the rum market, acknowledges John Pennacchio, director for spirits at Kobrand in Purchase, N.Y., “and with the addition of flavors its share of the category has grown.” His reference is to new flavored Bacardi varieties like lemon, vanilla and apple.

“Rum is the second largest category after vodka,” Mr. Pennacchio says, and like vodka it is “an ingredient category,” in that it is known for being part of mixed drinks and cocktails.

If you go out for a drink and “you say, ‘rum and Coke,’ you’re not going to get yelled at,” he adds.

And then there are rum drinks like daiquiris, mojitos, piña coladas and Mai Tais, just as with vodka the cocktails include martinis and bloody Marys.

But at the same time there is a counter-trend, Mr. Pennacchio says, in that many consumers “are looking for more complex tastes in their foods, in what they drink,” compared with what he calls “the liquid candy” of sweet drinks.

“The sipping and the savoring” embodied by the “Sip up” theme become a call to action” to those drinkers, Mr. Pennacchio says, adding: “We’re not against mixability. We’re saying rum is on par with the classic spirits” like single-malt Scotch, small-batch bourbons and Cognac, which can be enjoyed without accompaniments.

“Taste tests give us very good confidence there’s something there,” Mr. Pennacchio says, referring to work done before the campaign was introduced.

And “the ad that gets the most reaction,” he adds, is one for the 12-year-old variety of Appleton Estate. “It spent 12 years in a barrel,” the headline says. “The last thing it wants to see is the inside of a blender.”

Other ads express that sentiment in similar fashion. “Sorry, Coke,” one headline reads.

Another ad urges rum drinkers to realize that “the aroma of butterscotch, orange peel and vanilla should enter your nose. Not a cocktail umbrella.”

Then there are ads that seek to establish the upscale credentials of Appleton Estate in a cheeky fashion typical of ads from DeVito/Verdi.

“Considered Jamaica’s finest legal export,” one headline declares slyly. The headline of another ad pokes at a competitive brand fronted by a pirate: “A rum well beyond the rank of captain.”

A tongue-in-cheek approach is important, says Brad Emmett, creative director at DeVito/Verdi, because to so many drinkers “rum is fun.”

“We didn’t want to take it to a stuffy place, to say, ‘There’s no more fun in rum now that it’s in the world of sipping like Cognac,’ ” Mr. Emmett says.

“You look at these ads and they bring a smile to your face,” he adds, particularly the ones in which the straws and swords “are knocking out anything that doesn’t need to be in the drink.”

To underline the message, “we kept the ads clean, we kept them simple,” Mr. Emmett says, featuring only a glass and a bottle posed on plain white backgrounds.

That also serves, says Andy Brief, director for account services at DeVito/Verdi, to help the campaign in “shedding the existing conventions” of rum advertising like depicting sunny beaches.

“There’s such an ingrained image of rum,” he adds. “And because it’s consumed with various mixers, the actual flavor of the rum goes unnoticed.”

“There has always been a feeling this category could use a different direction,” Mr. Brief says, “and along comes Appleton with this aging story similar to those you’d find with other brown goods” like Scotch, bourbon and Cognac.

To someone who is “used to drinking rum with a paper umbrella sticking out of it, it may be difficult” to accept rum as something to sip, he adds, “but to those used to brown drinks, it’s a discovery process.”

The print ads in the campaign are running in magazines like Black Enterprise, Esquire, Fast Company, Golf Digest, GQ, Men’s Journal, Out, The Robb Report and Wired. The outdoor ads are appearing on buildings, bus shelters and phone kiosks.

DeVito/Verdi and Kobrand are considering ideas for commercials, which would run on television and online.

•

If you like In Advertising, be sure to read the Advertising column that runs Monday through Friday in the Business Day section of The New York Times print edition and on nytimes.com.

Mine All Malt (smooth, 5 percent ABV)

2009-06-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Taiwan: weather hot, beer cold

It was a killer flight, something like 20 hours from Baltimore to Taipei, but after some naps and several beers, I am up and about.

So far, I have sampled a Mine All Malt, a Taiwan Beer, a Tiger and an unidentified draft beer (it tasted like Bud) served by a unique machine at the Toyko airport.

Parked in the airport lounge waiting for a flight, I placed a chilled glass in the holder of this beer-dispensing machine. When I pressed the start button, the machine grasped the glass, tilted it, then filled the glass about three-quarters full with lager. Finally, a second spout topped the glass with foam.

It was terrific theater. Small children watched in amusement as their fathers got brews. The trouble was the beer was weak and watery.

So far my favorite beer is the Mine All Malt (smooth, 5 percent ABV) . Also, I tell myself after experiencing this humidity, I will temper my complaints about Baltimore weather.

decant

2009-04-05T01:43:00.000-07:00

The host remembered to decant the wine before serving it to his guests.

[dee-KANT-ing] Decanting is done either to separate the wine from any sediment deposited during the aging process or to allow a wine to breathe in order to enhance its flavor. When decanting an older wine, care should be taken not to disturb the sediment. A wine basket (also called cradle or Burgundy basket) can be used to move the bottle in a horizontal position from where it was stored to where it will be decanted. This position keeps the sediment from disseminating throughout the wine. If such a basket isn't available, stand the bottle upright for an hour so that the sediment can settle to the bottom of the bottle. Once the foil and cork are removed, gently wipe the mouth of the bottle. Then begin slowly pouring the wine into a decanter, placing a strong light (a candle is charming, but a flashlight is more practical) behind or below the neck of the bottle. The light lets you see the first signs of sediment, at which point you stop pouring. See also opening and serving wine at Home, page 593.

v. tr. - 輕輕倒出, 移入其他容器

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 静かに注ぐ, 別の容器に移す

Burgundy wine

2009-04-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

Burgundy can refer to:

Places

Present-day regions

Burgundy (region), historical region and cultural area in France
Bourgogne, modern-day French administrative région of Bourgogne
Franche-Comté, French province and modern-day région

Other

Burgundy wine
Burgundy (color)
Burgundy Records, a record label
Burgundy (Stock market) an alternative stock exchange
Ron Burgundy, a fictional newscaster in the film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

日本威士忌封王

2009-03-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

這我兩三年前的另外一blog就報導過ㄅ

日本威士忌封王打敗蘇格蘭

2009-03-24
中國時報
【林家群／綜合報導】

　▲觀光客在英國蘇格蘭的威士忌酒廠參觀並品酒，日本的威士忌近年異軍突起。（美聯社）

　日本酒類產業發達，清酒與啤酒早已遠近馳名，據《彭博通訊社》報導，如今日本威士忌的製酒技術更迎頭趕上威士忌酒鄉英國蘇格蘭，去年一項酒類評鑑中，日本兩大酒廠生產的威士忌打敗了蘇格蘭品牌，震撼全球酒界，如今這場西洋與東洋的威士忌大戰已經開打了。

　在英國《威士忌雜誌》（Whisky Magazine）評鑑中，最佳單一純麥（single malt）品項由朝日啤酒集團旗下的Nikka公司生產的「余市」（Yoichi）廿年威士忌，打敗蘇格蘭群雄奪冠；在調和式威士忌（blended whisky）品項，日本三得利（Suntory）公司生產的「響」（Hibiki）獲全球第一。

　名酒品評賽東洋凌駕西洋

　日本威士忌經銷商「威士忌Ｅ」執行長克羅爾（David Kroll）說：「這是蘇格蘭酒廠的警訊，日本公司正開始出口更多威士忌到各國。」

　由於九○年代稅制改革，讓日本威士忌極為昂貴，原本喝威士忌的人改喝紅酒或其他酒類，威士忌銷售量大跌，因此產量佔日本威士忌酒市場九成的Nikka與三得利，希望藉出口來彌補國內市場的衰退。

　日本威士忌為何能打敗蘇格蘭同業，很值得探討。

　「余市」純麥創造出口商機

　Nikka位於北海道余市的酒廠廠長荒谷幸雄說：「公司創辦人竹鶴政孝選擇余市蓋廠，是因這裡的氣候與蘇格蘭類似，日夜溫濕度差距大以及靠近海洋，每個因素都影響酒的品質」。

　Nikka自九○年代起全力生產單一純麥威士忌，使用蘇格蘭的大麥、日本的酵母及來自余市鄰近山區的乾淨水源蒸餾，再用美國白樺木做成的酒桶裝酒熟成，讓它的威士忌聞起來有少許堅果、松露、香草的味道，嚐起來又有燻木或淡煙燻味。

　找到特色三得利「響」叮噹

　三得利位於京都南方的山崎酒廠有八十六年歷史，是「響」威士忌產地，首席調酒師輿水精一說：「我們過去被視為正牌威士忌模仿者，現在狀況不同了」。調和式威士忌品牌如「約翰走路」或「Cutty Sark」，因其口味一致性，較單一純麥威士忌更受喜愛。

　山崎酒廠在二次大戰時以亞洲橡木桶來裝桶熟成，讓酒有濃郁特殊的古廟風味。《日本威士忌：事實、數據與風味》一書的作者巴克斯魯德（Ulf Buxrud）說：「日本酒廠如想在海外多搶些威士忌市場，必須強調其特色，這些特色讓威士忌的香味光譜更開闊。老實說，日本人已不再只會模仿而已」。

In Lean Times, a Stout Dream

2009-03-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

In Lean Times, a Stout Dream

By DAVID KESMODEL

The economic crisis has stifled entrepreneurial activity in many industries. But it's done little to dent the ambitions of those who dream of brewing their own beer and offering it to the world.

Surprisingly large numbers of entrepreneurs -- some let go from corporate jobs in recent years -- have been starting microbreweries or brewpubs. Schools that teach brewing are being showered with applications from people interested in getting into the business. At the same time, enthusiasm for interesting new beers remains strong; BeerAdvocate.com, a Web site for beer enthusiasts, says its traffic has reached one million unique visitors a month, and is rising as much as 12% each month.

Despite the economic slump, the demand for micro-brews is on the rise. Matt Rivera reports from Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Last year, even as a recession gripped the country, 114 microbreweries and brewpubs -- restaurants that make their own beer -- opened in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo., trade group. That marked the highest number since 1999. Openings are expected to decline this year, but start-up activity remains robust, says Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. The group estimates 200 microbreweries and brewpubs already are on the drawing board for the next few years.

For some of the new entrepreneurs, the desire to make beer predated the recession. "I got into it because my wife said I could, and it just seemed it would be a heck of a lot of fun," says Steve Klotz, a 46-year-old former Dow Chemical Co. engineer who took a voluntary buyout in 2006 and plans this summer to open a microbrewery in Midland, Mich.

Beer entrepreneurs have also been emboldened by a long list of recent success stories in the small-batch, or "craft," beer arena, as well as statistics showing that Americans are consuming craft beer in increasing numbers. "It's the consumer that's creating the demand," Mr. Gatza says.

Beer has long proved more resilient in recessions than other industries. Total U.S. beer sales increased last year -- though just under 0.5% by volume, estimates industry newsletter Beer Marketer's Insights. Sales of craft beer, the industry's fastest-growing segment, rose 6% by volume, and dollar sales jumped 10.5% to $6.3 billion, according to the Brewers Association.

Beer is taking market share away from distilled spirits, and craft beer in particular is looking like an affordable luxury. "I'm finding that people who are used to drinking $15 martinis think a $5 pint of decent craft beer is pretty reasonable," says Tracy Hurst, who with her husband Doug founded the Chicago microbrewery Metropolitan Brewing LLC.

Craft brewers produce beer in tiny quantities, and they're known for an ever-increasing array of exotic ingredients, such as chocolate, coffee or berries. Craft brewing, led by companies such as California's Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Oregon's Deschutes Brewery Inc., accounts for only 4% of total industry volume, but the beers provide distributors and retailers with high profit margins. At least part of the growing consumer demand stems from drinkers willing to pay a few dollars extra for beer that's often made close to home.

Starting a microbrewery or brewpub is by no means without risk. It costs roughly $450,000 to $800,000 to start a small brewery, say entrepreneurs, and finding distributors willing to take on unproven brands can be onerous. Brewpubs can cost a few million dollars, depending on their size.

Last year, 42 brewpubs closed in the U.S., the most since 2005, the Brewers Association reports. But only nine microbreweries shuttered, the lowest figure since 1995. Today, with the nation's restaurant sector mired in a steep decline, "it's very difficult" to launch a successful brewpub, says Darren Tristano, executive vice president of food-consulting firm Technomic Inc.

Anne Ryan for The Wall Street Journal

Chicago's Metropolitan Brewing, founded by Tracy and Doug Hurst, began selling its lagers this winter.

Even in good times, many brewing start-ups encounter difficulty raising money for the property, brewing equipment and other assets needed to start their business. And some are finding the challenge greater now as banks tighten lending terms.

Mr. Klotz, the former Dow Chemical engineer, sought private investors for his microbrewery, Artful Dodger Brewing Co., after banks expressed reluctance to provide loans. Bankers cited Michigan's deteriorating economy and some recent local restaurant failures, he says.

Mr. Klotz, who began home-brewing a few years ago, says he is "certainly" worried about the economy. In January, Michigan's unemployment rate climbed to 11.6%, the highest in the U.S. But he is hopeful that the microbrewery, which will offer food and beer on tap, will attract customers with fresh, high-quality beer and a smoke-free atmosphere. To draw community support, he plans to invite local artists to name the brewery's beers. "To be successful, I think you need to push and do some creative things," he says.

Joey Redner, 36, recently started Cigar City Brewing, a microbrewery in Tampa, Fla., but only after receiving financial support from his father, a longtime local businessman. The younger Mr. Redner says he has spent $585,000 to start the brewery, which is creating such beers as Jai Alai India Pale Ale and Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout. Most of the money came from bank loans for which his father put up business property as collateral. "He has stood back and sort of let us run and fall down as we may," Mr. Redner says of his father, Joe Redner.

Mr. Redner says he was able to quickly sign up with two local distributors in part because he is known for writing a beer column in the St. Petersburg Times and has worked in the industry.

To minimize his costs, Mr. Redner is initially relying on dozens of volunteers to help move beer, wash kegs and haul boxes. Free beer is the tangible reward. "It's the only industry I know where you can pretty much count on voluntary labor," Mr. Redner says.

In Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Hurst are also relying on volunteers for Metropolitan Brewing, which began selling its German-style lagers to a few dozen bars and retailers this winter. The couple raised about $600,000, including money from private investors and a small-business loan.

"This is a lot of work," Ms. Hurst, 36, said on a recent afternoon while standing next to a row of stainless-steel fermentation tanks, each named for a secondary character on the original "Star Trek" television series. "It's 12-, 13-hour days."

Ms. Hurst previously ran a portrait studio. Her husband, 40, who wears a bushy goatee, earned a brewing diploma at the Siebel Institute of Technology & World Brewing Academy several years ago and left a career running audiovisual systems for corporate events. Now, the couple helps teach a class on starting a brewery at the school, which is based in Chicago and Munich.

The Siebel Institute, the University of California, Davis, and other providers of brewing training in the U.S. say they're seeing increasing numbers of applications from students who want to run a microbrewery or brewpub.

Adam Karaway, 31, who was laid off in late 2007 from his job selling corrugated steel to construction firms, is working as a bartender in Kenosha, Wis., and trying to scrape together enough money to enroll next year in the 27-week craft-brewing apprenticeship program offered by the American Brewers Guild in Salisbury, Vt. He recently took an organic chemistry class at a local college to qualify for the program. "I got to a point in my life where I kind of realized I should be going for something I am passionate about," says Mr. Karaway.

In Lean Times, a Stout Dream

The economic crisis has done little to dent the ambitions of those who dream of brewing and selling their own beer.

• Video: Craft Beer Rises

mojito

2009-03-13T20:07:00.001-07:00

林世煜：「 Hemingway 住古巴時最愛的雞尾酒─ mojito

我們請到王大師靈安先生蒞場調製

mojito 是西班牙文，請讀成mo[hi]to」
---{Mojito之夜 ─《在異鄉發現台灣》後記 } 的報告
該報告（豐富圖文；你還可能垂涎）請參閱：

Mojito 之夜─ 《在異鄉發現台灣》後記

不過，這只是起點。

Buying Wine On a Dime

2009-02-19T00:08:00.000-08:00

By DAVID KESMODEL

A year ago, Rick Jelovsek regularly paid $20 or more for a bottle of wine at retailers near his Johnson City, Tenn., home. But after stock-market declines shaved 20% off the value of his retirement accounts, he began choosing bottles in the $12 range.

Reuters

A variety of wines are available in the $10-to-$20 range, but thrifty consumers must be selective.

"I'm making sure I'm going down in price, and I'm double-checking that it's either [rated] a good wine or I've gotten a recommendation," says the 64-year-old retired physician, who recently enjoyed a bottle of Spanish wine, Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha, for less than $12.

In Denver, customers "are drinking a little bit less, a little less quality, a little less expensive," says Clif Louis, owner of the Vineyard Wine Shop, which mostly sells boutique wines. His sales have been down about 9% in the past seven months.

As recession grips the country, drinkers are discovering fine wines on a beer budget. The wine industry is less vulnerable to the downturn than other sectors, but total U.S. wine sales rose less than 1% by volume last year, the slowest rate this decade, according to Jon Fredrikson, an industry consultant with Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates in Woodside, Calif. The downturn is most acute in restaurants, where total wine sales fell 10% to 12% last year as Americans dined out less, Mr. Fredrikson says. "Consumers have reined in their spending and are looking for value," he says.

Moderately priced wines are drawing healthy sales. According to market-research firm Information Resources Inc., which tracks wine sales in food, drug and mass-merchandise outlets, sales of wines in the $11-to-$20 range increased 8% in dollar terms in the 52 weeks through Jan. 25. By contrast, sales of wines costing more than $20 rose a mere 1.6%, compared with 11% and 26% in the two previous periods, respectively.

The ample supply of quality wines for $10 to $20 has left some upscale wines, such as expensive Cabernet Sauvignon from California, collecting dust on store shelves. Still, thrifty consumers must be selective. "There are great values in the $10 to $15 range," says Lisette Sehlhorst, co-owner of the Wine Merchant, a Cincinnati retailer. "I also think there are a lot of junk wines in that range."

Howard Silverman, owner of Howard's Wine Cellar in Chicago, says his best-selling wine is the 2007 Monte Oton from Spain, a Grenache that he sells for $7.29. His top-selling white wine is 2007 Las Brisas Blanc, a Spanish blend, which he sells for $9.99.

The prices mark a trend toward less-expensive varietals, such as Malbec wines from Argentina and the red wines from the Rioja region of Spain, and away from more expensive wines from other regions, such as high-end French wines, according to wine merchants and industry analysts.

There are bargains for high-end wines as well. Richard Rey, 45, an insurance-industry employee in Franklin, Mass., recently bought some Cabernet Sauvignon from California at a local wine store for $80 that was normally priced at $100. The owner indicated the wines weren't selling much, so "he was giving me these great buys," he said.

Some drinkers are cutting back altogether. Jane Vawter, a 45-year-old wine drinker in Trenton, N.J., has slashed her spending on wine since a lucrative contract for her information-technology consulting business ended. In good times, she said, she orders wine futures -- wines that are sold several years before their release -- from Bordeaux. "At this point, I'm not purchasing much of anything," says Ms. Vawter, who is now working on a less-profitable contract. "I've stopped the mail order; I'm not ordering cases. I've also quit my wine clubs." The good news: She has a collection of about 100 wines in her home to tap into.

Pommery

2009-02-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Pommery's Winning Wintertime Champagne

Despite what seems like a marketing gimmick, Pommery's Wintertime champagne is a winner

By Nick Passmore

I am constantly amazed at the extraordinarily expensive lengths the large champagne houses go to in order to promote their product. Hugely extravagant parties for the launch of the most dreary new cuveé, and deep-pocketed sponsorship of upmarket cultural and sporting events are par for the course in the make-believe world of Champagne.

The trouble is we drink so little of the stuff compared to still wine that we really don't remember what the different brands taste like. Consequently our purchasing decisions are based as much on image as what's in the bottle, hence the multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns. (Pommery, founded in 1858, is now owned by Vranken Pommery Monopole Group (VRKP.PA), which is based in Epernay, near Reims in France.)

A Splendid Season

So it was with this cynical eye well-primed for derisive dismissal that I approached the latest offering from the excellent house of Pommery: four different cuveés, each corresponding to one of the seasons. Just another marketing gimmick, thought I, and boy, was I proved wrong.

Pleasantly wrong. Because the Wintertime edition—in a bottle with a ghastly pink label—is an absolutely delicious Blanc de Noir, an extremely unusual champagne made entirely from dark grapes, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, but no Chardonnay.

Bright gold in color, it has more weight and body than Pommery's traditional light and delicate nonvintage champagne, with a rich toastiness and subtle earthy elements that make it the perfect celebratory holiday fizz during this chilly season. It also boasts the added benefit of working extremely well with rich, festive foods.

So pop the cork on Pommery's Wintertime bubbly because for once the contents of the bottle more than justify the hype.

WOW Rating:
When to Drink: Now
Breathing/Decanting: Not necessary
Food Pairing: Almost anything but the richest, heartiest dishes
Grapes: 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier
Appellation: Champagne
Region: Champagne
Country: France
Price: $55
Availability: Good
Web Site: www.vranken.net

See more wines at www.nickonwine.com.

Nick Passmore is an independent wine writer and consultant based in New York. For five years he contributed a widely read monthly wine column to Forbes.com, in addition to which his work has appeared in such publications as Forbes, Discover, Town & Country, the Robb Report, the Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Sky, and Golf Connoisseur. He is currently Artisanal Editor for Four Seasons magazine and contributes a twice monthly column to BusinessWeek.com. He is also a judge at the widely respected annual Critics' Challenge wine competition.

<– Back to results

length (TIME) Show phonetics
noun
1 [C] the amount of time something takes:
the length of a film/speech/play
He is unable to concentrate on his work for any length of time (= for anything more than a short time).

2 [C or U] the amount of writing in a book or document:
He's written books of various lengths on the subject.
All of your essays will be about the same length.

-length Show phonetics
suffix
of the stated amount of time:
a full-length movie (= one which has not been shortened)

DREARY
adj., -ri·er, -ri·est.

Dismal; bleak.
Boring; dull: dreary tasks.

[Middle English dreri, bloody, frightened, sad, from Old English drēorig, bloody, sad, from drēor, gore.]

drearily drea'ri·ly adv.
dreariness drea'ri·ness n.

cuveé
[koo-VAY] From the French cuve ("vat"), and referring to the "contents of a vat." In the champagne region of France, the word refers to a blended batch of wines. There, the large houses create their traditional house cuvées by blending several wines before the final sparkler is produced via méthode champenoise. A deluxe version is often referred to as cuvée speciale; a vin de cuvée is the wine from the first pressing. Outside Champagne, the term cuvée is also used for still wines (see wine), and may designate wines blended from different vineyards, or even different varieties.

still wine

A descriptor for wine that contains no carbon dioxide which would make it sparkling or effervescent.

品質-木桶塑造美酒個性烘托酒質讓好酒變名酒

2009-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

如果我不喝葡萄酒，恐怕一輩子也不會關注這些橡木疙瘩，什麼Tronais、Allier、Nevers……一旦酒標上印了“Oak Aged”就好像臭豆腐瓶上有“王致和”幾個字一樣。不過，橡木桶的名聲也有狼藉的時候。比如某些釀酒師經常自豪地宣稱：“我的葡萄酒來自葡萄園，而不是橡木桶。”好像他釀酒只要摘果子就夠了。還有的品酒師強調：“這酒里橡木不是太多。”陰陽怪氣地將這話當成了褒獎。

　　我深為橡木桶不平啊！據我所知，沒有哪種高品質的紅葡萄酒是不經過橡木桶陳年的，就連白葡萄酒也不例外，除了雷司令。法語里，葡萄酒在橡木桶中陳年的歲月被稱為ｅlevage，同時有養育孩子的詞義，可見，橡木桶是塑造葡萄酒個性的關鍵，差別只是好壞罷了。

　　說得專業些，橡木桶還事關酒廠的財務狀況，一只新的高檔法國橡木桶要將近8000塊人民幣，就是美國貨也得一半的價錢。如果酒廠不善加利用，動不動就Overoaked的話，那就劃不來了。

　　加州的著名釀酒師Dave Ramey深諳此道。他曾經作了個實驗，是將5種霞多麗和設拉子葡萄酒放到Demptos制桶公司的橡木桶里熟成，而另外5種則使用Taransaud公司的產品，橡木桶的原料來自法國和美國。經過同樣時間的陳年，Ramey發現法國桶中的酒區別不大，只是Taransaud桶里的酒更具結構感。而法國桶和美國桶的區別就顯而易見了。美國桶里的酒要甜得多。盡管如此，Taransaud公司甚至都未在桶上標注木桶的產地。那為什麼釀酒師們一提到 Tronais或是Allier就眼睛發亮呢？是被賣桶的忽悠了？還是真的能讓酒出彩？

　　我到勃艮第參觀了Franois Frｅres的制桶廠，他家客戶遍布世界上種葡萄的地方，不乏Domaine Leroy 和Domaine de la Romanｅe-Conti這樣的大牌兒，所以每年都有各地的釀酒師來拜訪。Franois Frｅres自然不是浪得虛名。我在Tronais森林里遇到Fabien Henrion，他是公司唯三負責選材的人之一，這可以說是一個決定橡木桶命運的工作，木料紋理緊致通順，無疤癤，無瑕疵只是基本要求。從中再按比例選取紋理最緊密的部分，因為這樣的木材能讓酒充分與氧氣接觸，這也是Tronais橡木桶賴以成名的不二法門。Fabien一做就是十多年，每天都要來森林，現在閉著眼就能選中最好的木料。他的足跡遍布法國所有的森林，熟悉每一片林木的特點。這家伙“詭計多端”，他在相中的樹幹上留下記號，這樣在法國每年三次的木材拍賣會上總能滿載而歸。

　　Age木頭也毫不含糊，Franois Frｅres比普通的公司多用了一年時間，3年，訂制桶的酒園還可以享受多Age1年的優惠。來到制桶車間更讓我吃驚，才早上9點，工人們已經幹了兩個多小時了。因為勃艮第今年要提前收成，所以不能斷貨，即使如此，酒廠也保持每天150個桶的產量。“烤桶”是Franois Frｅres的另一絕技。不過這樣滿足不了各色的釀酒師，他們經常主動提要求，訂制烤成不同程度的桶。看來好的橡木桶和上品葡萄酒有很多相似的地方，比如都需要精心選材、降低產量，還有就是手工的精雕細琢。那些不喜歡橡木味又盼著釀出好酒的釀酒師不知道遇到這樣的橡木桶會不會又動心了？

　　走出廠房，我看到了一座足有三層樓高的園木堆，有些是酒園送來加工成桶的，比如納帕的Pine Ridge，其中還發現了Domaine de la Romanｅe-Conti的貨。這讓我聯想到和Domaine de la Romanｅe-Conti的莊主Aubert de Villaine的見面。我問他橡木桶對葡萄酒的影響到底有多大。他的回答是：“酒在葡萄園里已經有了定數，橡木桶能使好酒成為名酒，而不能使壞酒變為好酒。”

　　無論如何橡木桶都是葡萄酒的附屬品，它的作用只能是烘托葡萄酒的質量而不能喧賓奪主。它需要有睿智、經驗豐富的釀酒師靠著有良好潛質的葡萄酒來發揮其作用，否則適得其反。

酒之風月─100種雞尾酒調法：鍾秀敏

2009-02-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

酒之風月(CJ0002)──100種雞尾酒調法

類別：飲食‧休閒‧娛樂>各式飲品
叢書系列：品味事典
作者：鍾秀敏
出版社：時報文化
出版日期：1998年05月12日
定價： 300 元　售價： 255元
俱樂部會員價：234元
開本：菊12開／平裝／132頁
ISBN：9571325368

近來興起的雞尾酒，在國內亦引起一股流行的風潮，而調酒技術也在校園內傳開，因此有必要為酒增添一些藝術性、社交性與浪漫氣氛。本書即針對品酒藝術及調酒方式，將帶有西方色彩的雞尾酒，溶入台灣的本土文化，作者精心構思每一杯雞尾酒的情境故事，透過印刷精美的彩色圖片，將100種雞尾酒調法以DIY方式輕鬆呈現，你將體會不同於以往的另類享受！

米酒稅率擬分級

2009-02-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

mulled wine
*****

稅率擬分級米酒可望降價

〔記者鄭琪芳、王孟倫／台北報導〕米酒稅額過高，導致國內私劣酒猖獗，財政部研議調整蒸餾酒（米酒、白蘭地、威士忌、白酒等）稅額，初步方向包括依酒精濃度訂定分級稅率，米酒可望調降售價。

財政部官員表示，根據菸酒稅法規定，蒸餾酒每公升課稅一百八十五元，一瓶零點六公升的米酒，成本大約五、六十元，要課稅一百一十一元，但一瓶成本約二千元的白蘭地或威士忌，也是課同樣的稅，凸顯蒸餾酒的稅率結構不合理。

台灣菸酒公司董事長韋伯韜指出，米酒的酒精濃度是二十度左右，但威士忌、伏特加高達四十幾度，課同樣的稅率，實在很不公平。韋伯韜說，蒸餾酒應依照酒精濃度的高低，訂立不同稅率，使蒸餾酒從原本「單一制稅率」，改為「分級稅率」。

財政部官員指出，由於稅額太高，我國加入ＷＴＯ（世界貿易組織）之後，國內米酒價格因此大幅攀升，市售一瓶零點六公升的米酒，目前價格在一百八十元以上，但國內米酒多用於料理，米酒價格過高，導致私劣酒問題嚴重，危害國人健康。

為此，財政部昨天開會討論，研議調整蒸餾酒稅額結構，由於調整菸酒稅涉及ＷＴＯ談判問題，因此前提是必須符合ＷＴＯ國民待遇及最惠國待遇原則，而且稅收損失不能太大。

財政部官員說，若要符合ＷＴＯ相關原則，就不能單獨調降米酒稅額，必須同步調降蒸餾酒稅額，但白蘭地、威士忌等烈酒，稅額又不宜太低，因此，未來可能參考日本做法，依酒精濃度訂定蒸餾酒分級稅額。

財政部說，待初步方案敲定後，再跟經濟部國貿局等相關單位討論，若決定調降蒸餾酒稅額，還要經過修法程序。

紙筒葡萄酒

2009-01-26T17:53:00.001-08:00

紙筒葡萄酒經濟又環保

加州酒商FOUR公司推出3公升裝的卡本內蘇維翁和小西拉品種的葡萄酒，特別的是，葡萄酒是用成本較低的紙筒裝。（法新社）

編譯管淑平／特譯

許多傳統派葡萄酒愛好者聽到釀酒業者以塑膠瓶塞取代傳統軟木塞已經嗤之以鼻，對那種用旋轉式瓶蓋的葡萄酒瓶更是悻悻然無法接受。這下，他們再聽到有釀酒業者甚至連玻璃瓶都不用了，改用「紙筒」裝葡萄酒，不知會有什麼反應了。

加州酒商FOUR公司推出3公升裝的卡本內蘇維翁和小西拉品種的葡萄酒，特別的是，葡萄酒是用成本較低的紙筒裝（見圖，法新社）。紙筒裝葡萄酒已行之多年，但都以廉價酒為主，FOUR公司說，他們是第一家加州高級酒廠打破傳統，捨棄玻璃瓶裝。

品牌經理萊剛說，紙筒更環保、成本也比玻璃瓶還低，而且開「筒」後氧氣進入較少，風味能保存的時間比玻璃瓶裝還久。

萊剛在葡萄酒領域過去已有過創新作法，例如25年前推出不含酒精的高級葡萄酒。他說：「在1400年或1500年代，玻璃瓶是種創新」，「如果我們正確的來做，就能改變傳統，讓它變得更好。紙筒裝也能成為傳統。」

不過，不令人意外的，這種「創新」引起部分法國釀酒業者質疑。法國波爾多葡萄酒產區頂級的奧信酒莊（Chateau Ausone）負責人沃傑說：「我不認為這有道理……紙盒是來裝牛奶的。」他說：「一支好的葡萄酒需要深色玻璃瓶和高品質軟木塞來封裝。我也質疑紙盒的耐用度。我們廠裡儲存了自1849年保存至今的陳年葡萄酒，紙盒是不可能保存這麼久的。」

沃傑甚至說：「2、3年就喝掉的廉價酒是可以用紙筒裝，但是需要擺上10年、20年甚至30年的高檔陳年葡萄酒是不能這麼做的。」

FOUR的紙筒裝葡萄酒高28.5公分、直徑13公分，容量相當於4支傳統玻璃瓶裝葡萄酒，紙筒包裝全部都能回收，而且製造商說重量僅玻璃瓶的6分之1，製造和運送成本都較低，消耗的資源也更少，因此可以每筒40美元價格出售，經濟又環保。

該公司說，2008年10月推出首批一萬支紙筒裝葡萄酒銷售表現不錯，今年1月再推出第二批6000筒。他們正與航空公司接洽，希望飛機上提供的酒品能改用紙筒裝。不過傳統葡萄酒經銷商、餐廳和酒吧都尚未鋪貨，顯然對這種包裝的市場接受度還很有疑問。（取材自法新社）

昭仁的

2009-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

Monsieur William 法國紅酒France rouge wine 由 Sergio Valente出品
待查
2008年昭仁的喜酒

CAMUS COGNAC XO ELEGANCE

Charles Shaw known as "Two Buck Chuck."

2009-01-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

2007年底，來自芝加哥的商人Colin Wu在義烏市場租下了12,000平方米的攤位，打算出售美國華盛頓州生產的汽車潤滑劑、加拿大瓶裝礦泉水以及加州的Charles Shaw葡萄酒(俗稱兩美元葡萄酒)。

Colin Wu當時想，由於中國出現了一系列產品質量問題，會有國內客戶願意多花些錢購買更安全、更健康的進口產品。然而天不隨人願，他說自己投入的1,000萬元（約150萬美元）幾乎都賠光了。Colin Wu租下的攤位現在只有約六分之一在使用，他正在考慮今年將生意全部停掉。

Colin Wu說，中國政府在幫助進口商開拓國內市場方面也做得不夠。他說希望政府能降低進口稅，這樣他的產品就能具有價格競爭力。Colin Wu說，在加上關稅成本後，他的“兩美元葡萄酒”差不多要賣十美元了。

Charles Shaw is a brand of "extreme value" wine. All from California vineyards, Charles Shaw wines currently include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdigue in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio. These wines are sold exclusively by Trader Joe's grocery stores, and sell for $1.99 in California.

Charles Shaw wines are affectionately known as "Two Buck Chuck." Due to transportation costs and other factors, in other states the price can go up to around $4. As such, the wine is often referred to as "Three Buck Chuck" or "Four Buck Chuck" relative to the price.

[hide]

Ownership

Grapevines growing on the grounds of the Bronco Wine Company in Ceres, California, where Charles Shaw wine is produced. The winery can be seen through the tall trees in the far distance.

The Charles Shaw label is owned by the Bronco Wine Company, headed by Fred Franzia (formerly of Franzia Brothers wines). The Bronco Wine Company produces the Charles Shaw label at their Ceres, California winery, which is not open to the public.

There once was an actual, eponymous winery owned by Charles F. Shaw, which produced Beaujolais-style wines in the Napa Valley AVA. That winery went out of business, and the name was sold to Bronco.^[1]

Awards

At the 28th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition, Shaw's 2002 Shiraz received the double gold medal, besting the roughly 2,300 other wines in the competition.^[2]

Shaw's 2005 California chardonnay was judged Best Chardonnay from California at the Commercial Wine Competition of the 2007 California Exposition and State Fair. The chardonnay received 98 points, a double gold, with accolades of Best of California and Best of Class.^[3]

Labor problems

On May 16, 2008, a 17 year-old immigrant worker named Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez collapsed and later died while pruning vines at a vineyard east of Stockton, CA owned by West Coast Grape Farming, a division of Bronco Wine Company.^[4]

On June 8, 2008, an action call went out among bloggers to ask Trader Joe's in their areas to pull Charles Shaw wine until two conditions are met by Bronco Wine Companies:

"justice for Maria"
"ensured compliance with state mandated working conditions^[5] for all of Bronco Wine’s employees."^[6]

On June 23, 2008, the United Farm Workers sent a similar request to its mailing list members. The standard UFW petition asks Trader Joe's to:

"implement a corporate policy to ensure that your suppliers are not violating the law by failing to provide basic protections"^[7]

References

^ Michael Chatfield (November 8, 2004). The story behind Two Buck Chuck. Gilroy Dispatch
^ 'Two-Buck Chuck' Snags Top Wine Prize
^ The judgment of California: Charles Shaw chardonnay is state’s best
^ Wikipedia article: Bronco_Wine_Company#Labor_problems
^ California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3395 [1]
^ WOC PhD (pseudonym) Urgent Action: Worked to Death and No One Cares?! WOC PhD blog.
^ United Farm Workers (June 23, 2008). Take Action: Farm worker who died connected to 'Two-Buck Chuck'.

External links

Trader Joe's web site on Charles Shaw
Charles Shaw rumor disclosure by snopes.com
Video reviews of Charles Shaw via Winelibrary TV
Two Buck Chuck takes a bite out of Napa article on CNN.com

highball

2009-01-07T05:55:00.001-08:00

on Page 87:

"... How I envy the clarity of vision that comes to the travelling salesman in a railway buffet-car at the third highball! How simple the great problems become! ..."

Return to book

highball

high・ball

━━ n., vi. ハイボール ((ウイスキーをソーダ水で割った飲物)); （鉄道の）進めの信号; 〔俗〕全速で突っ走る.
⇒high

A cocktail served in a tall glass and consisting of liquor, such as whiskey, mixed with water or a carbonated beverage.
1. A railroad signal indicating full speed ahead.
2. A high-speed train.

intr.v. Slang., -balled, -ball·ing, -balls.

To move ahead at full speed.

A highball is the name for a family of mixed drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer. Originally, the most common highball was made with rye whiskey and ginger ale. The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests that the name originated around 1898 and probably derives from ball meaning a "drink of whiskey" and high because it is served in a tall glass.

燒酒

2009-01-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

燒酒私燒

燒酒
泛指酒精含量高的蒸餾酒。性烈味香，以高粱、米、麥等釀製而成。通常指高粱酒而言。亦稱為「白酒」。

bathtub gin 私燒錦酒

私烧锦酒

英文解釋
[ 名词 ]
1. homemade gin especially that made illegally

　　三年後，孫嘉淦被任命為直隸總督。當時京輔一帶，酒禁甚嚴，儘管如此，違法的人還是很多。但是，地方官吏都不敢向上報告。孫嘉淦上任後，根據實情，上疏提出：“禁酒原在災年，現處豐年，不宜再禁。造酒之物，本非朝夕所食，豆皮、大麥、谷糠、黍谷之類，原屬棄物，雜而成酒，可以得價，其糟可飼六畜。化無用為有用，非作無益害有益也。”他又進一步指出：“利所不在，雖賞不為。利之所在，雖禁彌甚。燒鍋禁則酒必少，酒少則價必貴，價貴而私燒之利會倍于昔。會倍之利所在，民必性命爭焉。孟子曰：‘君子不以所養人者害人’，本為民生計，而滋擾乃至此，則立法不可不慎也。”乾隆接到孫嘉淦這份邏輯性強、論證嚴密的上疏，認為他的建議對民生確為有利，決定對禁令作修改，使酒禁較前有所放鬆。

creative cocktail s

2008-12-26T01:12:00.000-08:00

Proof: Drinking Outside the Temple
Devotion to the art of the creative cocktail stretches coast to coast, writes Paul Clarke.

New York is one of the world’s great drinking cities, and I raise a glass of Red Hook Rye that it will always be so. But America grew up as a drinking country, and it was once possible to come across as talented a barkeep in St. Louis, Chicago or Denver as could be found on lower Broadway. While it sometimes seems the country has become one massive expanse of big box stores, chain restaurants and strip malls, it’s reassuring to see that these drinker’s oases are not only surviving, but thriving. New York remains the shining star in America’s mixological firmament, but the clouds are clearing and the glittering expanse of the country’s boozy Milky Way is once more coming into view.

December 25, 2008, 10:00 pm

Drinking Outside the Temple

By Paul Clarke

Everyone has something they do well, along with a place where they learned how to do it. Me, I learned how to drink in New York.

I moved to Manhattan in 1988, a month after my 21st birthday, and in the time between the first welcome-to-New-York Rolling Rock at a forgotten East Village bar, and my farewell pints of Bass at Milano’s on East Houston Street 10 years later, I learned many things about alcohol. Not much about life, of course — I hadn’t figured out how to make a lot of money, or find true happiness, or make a relationship work — but I did learn about drink: how to order it, how to hold it, how to leave it alone, how it could take an everyday occurrence and make it at once absurd and sublime, how to feign sobriety while walking home at 3 a.m., and how if you were at the right bar with the right bartender and the right friends, last call was merely a suggestion and the party could continue until dawn.

One lesson absent from my alcohol education, however, was how to mix a decent drink. My New York drinking years revolved largely around beer, with the occasional scotch thrown in for good measure. It wasn’t until I’d been in Seattle for five years that I finally learned how to mix a proper Manhattan, and the effect was that of a whiskey-fueled satori: the skies cleared, the universe slipped into balance, and for the first time in my life I understood the concept of bibulous beauty. Overblown? Perhaps — but liquor has a tendency to do that.

After that, the pursuit of cocktail wisdom began to consume virtually all my free time. I’d spend hours prowling eBay in pursuit of bartending manuals from the cocktail’s heyday, and began allocating a part of each paycheck to building my liquor collection from a meager couple of bottles of vodka and crème de cassis into a mighty mixological machine replete with dozens of kinds of rum, bottles of obscure liqueurs and every type of bitters I could lay my hands on.

And the drinks! After mangling my first batches of Manhattans in a Pottery Barn cocktail shaker — I suspected they weren’t supposed to have a head on them — I began a more thorough exploration: from the basics of the Sazerac and the whiskey sour to the fragile gaiety of the Ramos Gin Fizz and the delicious obsolescence of the Police Gazette Cocktail, I mixed and sampled my way through the old books. Over time I began adding cocktails to my repertoire that I’d learned about in newspaper columns or online: the Red Hook, the Gansevoort Fizz, the Slope — drinks that had a character and composition that harkened back to the old days, but that had been created only weeks or months before by writers and bartenders now energizing New York’s cocktail scene.

It’s a rote part of America’s drinking history that the art of mixing a well-crafted cocktail — arguably at its prime about a century or so ago — never fully recovered from being kneecapped by Prohibition. My own spirituous experiments as a beginning drinker in the late ‘80s were with the drinks that defined the era: vodka tonics, Long Island Iced Teas, a token Fuzzy Navel and maybe a pitcher of Mudslides for the table. No wonder I usually stuck with beer.

But during that same time, unbeknownst to me, there were still a few artisan bartenders who rose above the tide (or the Mudslide, if you will). Then-Rainbow Room bartender Dale DeGroff was building a reputation for mining liquid gold from vintage bartending manuals and from his own pursuit of cocktail excellence. Dale was promptly joined by successive waves of gin-pouring artisans such as Audrey Saunders and Julie Reiner, and by adventurous bar owners such as Sasha Petraske, who together created an urban empire of classically oriented though modernly ambitious cocktail bars, built on a foundation of esoteric spirits, fresh ingredients, and perfect blocks of Kold Draft ice. This group, which has grown exponentially in the course of just a few years, may have saved the craft of the cocktail in America.

At least, that’s the way it can look when the farthest west you can see is Weehawken. As I enviously observed New York’s bibulous rebirth from afar, I drank closer to my West Coast home. While disappointed that I couldn’t just step into PDT’s phone-booth entrance in Crif Dogs whenever I wanted, I was quickly distracted by what I was finding out West, such as my local bartender, Murray Stenson, a 30-plus-year veteran of the bar now at Zig Zag Café who refuses to be swept up by the sometimes faddish aspects of the cocktail renaissance but who was practicing the principles expounded by David Embury, one of mixology’s high priests, when many of today’s top bartenders were still in diapers.

As I began trying other craft-oriented bars in Seattle and beyond, I saw how the New York cocktail culture that had become legendary among thinking drinkers was mirrored, in its own regionally styled ways, in cities across the country.

Over time I sampled — O.K, drank — cocktails such as the Averna-laced Black Manhattan at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, and the concoctions made with house-made amari and smoked ice from Portland, Ore., bartender Daniel Shoemaker, and talked inside baseball — or inside cocktail — with many, many more. As I did, and continue to do, the expanse of the country’s libational landscape began to define itself in broad, general ways.

San Francisco seems to be largely populated with vermouth-making, locavore-oriented Alice Waters-style bartenders who are not only growing in number as fast as those in New York, but are taking a shot at Gotham’s title as the country’s most exciting city for cocktails.

Bartenders in Portland are deploying improvisation and experimentation that is waking up the city’s once-sleepy cocktail culture, and in Los Angeles — where for years the quality cocktail scene was mostly as glossy and devoid of substance as, well, the rest of L.A. — a growing group of die-hards is reintroducing the city to the beauty of a well-made drink, eschewing simple visual dazzle and blatant product placement in favor of drinks made with a deeper culinary comprehension.

And as I talked to bartenders and drink geeks who lived in or had visited places I haven’t in recent years, I saw that this flood of quality drinking was not confined to the West Coast: Boston bartenders are challenging Seattle for the designation of most-vibrant-yet-underappreciated bar scene in the country; a small group of Texas bartenders are preparing to make Houston an unlikely fine-drinking destination; and craft bartenders have established a beachhead in and around Washington, D.C. And in New Orleans — which hosts a convention each year for bartenders and other cocktail geeks like me — bartenders such as Chris Hannah at Arnaud’s are proving that the city’s mixological range extends well beyond Sazeracs and Hurricanes.

mead wine

2008-12-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Arts on the Air | 24.12.2008 | 05:30

Backstage at one of Britain’s most famous Christmas traditions the Pantomime

Christmas time in Scotland - warmed mead wine, yule logs- and pantos.

Pantos - short for pantomime, are musical-comedies usually based on traditional children’s stories adapted for satirical effect. The characters are either very good or very bad. The audience- both young and old- know who they should boo and hiss and who they should cheer and warn from danger. The shows are outlandish, cheeky, and often over the top.

Report: Jodi Breisler

mead

A traditional wine made by fermentation of honey, sometimes flavoured with herbs and spices. One of the oldest alcoholic drinks.

WSJwine

2008-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

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葡萄美酒策略高手Didier

2008-12-18T07:12:00.000-08:00

葡萄美酒策略高手

2008-12-18

【明報專訊】在香港當老闆，也許都曾發夢有朝一日成為上市公司主席；正如在法國Bordeaux的釀酒人，都在競逐爭取成為倫敦葡萄酒期貨市場的一分子。只是當大部分釀酒師或老闆，都在侃侃而談，告訴我他們如何傳統、釀酒何等用心，只有這位Chateau Sérilhan的莊主，三言兩語，坦率地道出了Bordeaux葡萄酒的遊戲規則。

在法國Bordeaux的酒村中，Saint Estèphe的名氣不小，以大家熟悉的電視藝人方式來比喻，應該是一線演員，村內擁有Chateau Cos d'Estournel和Chateau Montrose等列級明星酒莊。

實而不華平房酒莊

驅車時經過Chateau Cos d'Estournel那座宏偉並滲入東方色彩的古堡後，我們來到當地一家小酒莊Chateau Sérilhan。相對剛才行注目禮的古堡，Sérilhan的平房有點「簡約」，但當酒莊主人Didier Marcelis，帶我走完由幾幢平房組成的酒莊，便明白這完全是實而不華的組合。從起居飲食、辦公室、試酒室、酒窖到釀酒室，全部都在這組建築物內，連他在內我全程只見到3部電腦加3名員工，據說股神畢菲特的總部也只有12人，所謂低成本高效率就是這個意思。

得期貨市場得天下

對比起以前見過慢條斯理的法國釀酒師，Didier簡直是個另類分子，說話高效率而有幽默感。他在英國取得MBA，曾於IBM位居歐洲市場部副總裁要職，甫見面便斬釘截鐵道出這門生意之道：「我一接手這生意時，便想着如何才能成功，第一件事，便是打入期貨市場。而這樣必須有兩個條件，首先就是地利，葡萄園必須位於六大酒村之內，而我們所在的Saint Estèphe，已擁有了這先天優勢。第二是要進入列級之內，當然如果在1855年的列級中榜上無名，那唯有靠Parker Point了。」

也許大家都知道，Bordeaux酒在倫敦有期貨（En Primeurs）市場，但全區只有約300家酒莊獲此殊榮，能吸引當地酒商買賣你的期貨，才代表有價有市。而1855年的列級酒莊，好比入選恒生指數的成分股，可惜這個評級制不如恒指般每兩年換馬，百五年來，只改動過一小次。至於Parker Point，就是指Robert Parker的評分，他比股評人陸叔更權威，能左右葡萄酒市場價格。

大刀闊斧改革家族生意

在 2003年，Didier放棄高薪厚職，從I.T.界返回家族接手這門傳統生意，即時實行他的一連串策略，大刀闊斧改革，從大事如引入比利時財團的資金，及聘請Chateau Pontet Canet的Bernard Franc作技術總監，到細節如更換酒瓶上新的標籤等。結果他在2003年即獲得傳媒及酒評家的好評，而現在他的Chateau Sérilhan已被放到倫敦的葡萄酒期貨市場去。

Didier不愧為策略高手，酒莊不但在其規劃下取得成功，就連掌握訪問時間也恰到好處，然後帶我到試酒室試其Chateau Sérilhan 2006。此酒成熟的漿果味道，富橡木的香氣而不浮誇，酒體適中優雅。我回香港後在葡萄酒商店上見到這一瓶酒的其他年份，才實惠地賣200多元，不論酒質和價錢，都如莊主Didier的為人及其酒莊的風格，一樣踏實。

文：蔡洛堅（jordanchoy@gmail.com）
協力：CIVB（波爾多葡萄酒業協會）

Anheuser-Busch Loses EU Trademark for Budweiser

2008-12-16T17:19:00.001-08:00

Competition | 16.12.2008

Anheuser-Busch Loses EU Trademark for Budweiser

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Budvar may have its complaint re-examined

The European battle of the Buds continues as a European Union court annulled an EU-wide trademark for Anheuser-Busch's Bud beer, which has been contested by Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar.

The Luxembourg-based European Court of First Instance said in its ruling on Tuesday, Dec. 16, that the bloc's trademark registry, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), made mistakes when rejecting Budvar's complaint against Anheuser-Busch's registration.

Anheuser-Busch, which was taken over by Belgium's InBev earlier this year, can appeal the verdict to the European Court of Justice.

The Czech and the US brewers have waged a worldwide legal battle over Budweiser trademark for more than a century. The disputes have blocked Anheuser-Busch's expansion in Europe.

Budvar is the last Czech beer maker owned by the state and the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek initiated steps to sell the brewer, a tricky legal exercise because of the legal disputes.

But the premier said in July that the firm will not be ready for privatization before his government's term is up in 2010.

DPA news agency (sms)

Boston Beer Company- leading independent brewer

2008-12-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Advertise on NYTimes.com

Saturday Interview

It’s All About the Beer, and Independence

By AMY CORTESE

Published: December 5, 2008

WHEN Jim Koch, a sixth-generation brewer, started Boston Beer Company in 1984 with an old family recipe, he was one of a few pioneering craft brewers in a field dominated by Miller, Budweiser and Coors.

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Jim Koch

Now, a wave of consolidation has radically altered the brewing landscape. In November, shareholders of Anheuser-Busch agreed to a $52 billion acquisition by the Belgium-based InBev, creating the world’s largest beer maker (now called Anheuser-Busch InBev). That follows the merger in July of the United States operations of SABMiller, with roots in South Africa, with Molson Coors Brewing Company (itself a merger of Molson Inc. of Canada and Adolph Coors Company of Colorado), into a new entity called MillerCoors.

With less than 1 percent of beer sales in the United States, Boston Beer is now the nation’s leading independent brewer.

In addition to its signature Sam Adams lager, Boston Beer produces more than 21 types of beer, including seasonal ales, Chocolate Bock and Utopias, a beer aged in oak barrels that sells for $140 for a 24-ounce bottle. Still, the company has struggled in recent months to manage a voluntary recall because of defects in bottles from one of its suppliers, the acquisition of a new brewery and a broadening economic slowdown.

Mr. Koch recently discussed the beer market.

Q. It’s an interesting time in the beer market, wouldn’t you say?

A. There has probably been more change in the last four months than at any time since Prohibition. Ninety-five percent of the beer made in the United States is controlled by two companies, one based in Belgium and one in South Africa. It’s stunning.

Q. How does it feel to be the country’s largest independent brewer?

A. It’s bizarre and sad. It’s a little like your kid’s Little League team winning the World Series because no one else showed up.

Q. How have things changed since the early days of the craft brew movement?

A. For years, craft beers were a largely ignored curiosity in American beer. When I started Sam Adams, beer drinkers had two choices: mass-produced domestic beer that was consistent and well made — the equiv of fast food — or imports. The mentality of beer was completely different. No one thought about beer as having quality differences.

Over time, Sam Adams and the whole craft movement began to slowly change the way Americans think about their own beer. Today, the center of creativity and quality in brewing has migrated from Europe to the United States.

Q. And now, there are 1,400 craft brewers in the United States?

A. Yes. Roughly 1,000 of those are brew pubs, while others are making some of the most interesting beer around.

Q. Does the competition worry you?

A. No. Beer is where wine was 25 years ago. We are at the beginning of an explosion in interest in beer. There’s a generation of beer drinkers who have grown up expecting to get great beer. They are really driving the market. Sam Adams is starting to become available in places that it was never was, like convenience stores. We are growing in Wal-Mart.

Q. When you’re the No. 1 brewer, and you’re in Wal-Mart, do you worry that that takes away from your pioneer craft beer image?

A. There will always be people looking for novelty and obscurity. I’m not trying to be obscure. I’m trying to change the way Americans think about beer.

Q. Boston Beer reported worse-than-expected third-quarter results and lowered the outlook for 2009. What happened?

A. Sales were actually a little better than expected. We had a number of accounting charges. One of them was some residual charges from the recall back in April. We thought we closed the books on it and then we got the last bit of beer back from our wholesalers. And we had to accelerate the shortfall fees we pay to other breweries as we ramped up our new brewery in Pennsylvania, and there were some things with the tax rate.

The thing that I’m most worried about is what we call depletions — the beer that got shipped out of wholesalers to retailers. It’s the closest proxy we have to how much beer people drink. That was up 12 percent, compared to 10 percent last quarter. But it’s really more a continuation of the trend.

Q. Consumers have been cutting back on all kinds of discretionary spending. Has that included beer?

A. We haven’t seen that happening yet. Beer as a category is recession-resistant — nothing’s recession-proof. A quality beer is a very affordable luxury. People will cut back on a lot of things before they give up on something that’s so affordable. But we don’t know. We’re looking week by week at whether the economic situation is going to affect our drinkers. I was at an account in Philadelphia the other day. He said what’s really been hurt is the high-end margarita. They’re not buying the luxury vodkas.

Q. Are people buying more beer at the store and drinking it at home?

A. You bet. And that kind of benefits Sam Adams. That’s one of the very democratic things about beer. If you are a wine connoisseur and want to experience a world-class wine, it’s going to cost you around $100.

Q. There’s a lot of experimentation in brewing lately. Tell me about your extreme beer.

A. Extreme beer was a term I coined back in 1994 to describe a beer we had invented called Triple Bock. It was the beer equivalent of extreme sports: 35 proof, 17 percent alcohol. At that level of alcohol, there’s no longer carbonation. It didn’t taste like a beer. It tastes like a tawny port, maybe with some old sherry notes, and a bit of that savory character came from the yeast. It has evolved into Utopias. The boundaries of beer are much farther out than people realize. Extreme beer is brewers’ way of pushing those boundaries.

欧洲人與酒

2008-12-05T16:43:00.001-08:00

美联社消息，差不多每5个德国人当中就有一人不饮酒。纽伦堡市场研究所GfK在欧洲和北美16个国家进行的一项调查显示，18%的德国人滴酒不沾。三分之一的欧洲人没有饮酒习惯。80%的土耳其人不饮酒，意大利人和葡萄牙人中这一比例为近50%。

40%的欧洲被调查者表示，每周最多饮酒一次；10%的被调查者表示，他们每天至少喝上一杯。欧洲人品酒喜好也大都不同。意大利人、法国人和瑞士人最喜欢喝葡萄酒，德国人更喜欢喝啤酒，而俄罗斯人最喜欢酒精含量高的烈酒。

德国葡萄酒的 "质重于量"生产策略

2008-11-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

德国风行葡萄酒

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 精心挑选一款

德国人爱喝啤酒世人皆知，但德国啤酒消费量明显下滑却是不争的事实。去年一年，德国人喝啤酒的数量已退居到1993年的最低消费水平。与此相反，爱喝葡萄酒的德国人正在大幅增加。据"德国葡萄酒研究所"的调查结果，德国每人每年平均饮用20.6升葡萄酒。更令葡萄酒爱好者感到高兴的是，劣质葡萄酒已逐渐从德国市场上消失。今天德国葡萄酒产区的酒农，致力生产国际高质量产品。本台特约记者Claudia Hennen在秋收季节走访了一趟德国山坡地上的葡萄酒产区。

本年度德国葡萄酒皇后玛丽丝说：“葡萄酒广告中的个人感情色彩浓厚，看过的人因受到感染，或多或少留下了印象。而这也是葡萄酒皇后的使命：使葡萄酒人格化，从而达到促销的目的。 ”

今年新出炉的葡萄酒皇后玛丽丝，黑发、碧眼，是德国葡萄酒的新代言人。她的脸上绽开了灿烂的笑容。22岁的玛丽丝是弗兰肯人，受过酿酒专业教育，上任后已履行了首次亲善大使的任务：造访了黑森州莱茵高地区哈滕海姆的"汉斯朗葡萄酒酿造厂"。酒厂主人约翰.马克西米里安.朗，是享誉国际的德国葡萄酒酿造商。他2005年份的特制上等雷司令葡萄酒，刚赢得全世界最著名葡萄酒大赛的金牌奖。朗先生表示：“我们经营的酒庄是家族企业，没有支付庞大广告和公关费用的财力，但却必须让外界得知我们生产高质量的葡萄酒。参加比赛可说是自我宣传的最佳途径，因为产品再好，没人知道也是白搭。”

Bildunterschrift:

"汉斯朗葡萄酒庄"在莱茵高地势最佳的山坡地上，种植了18公顷的葡萄园。他们生产的葡萄酒主要供应国内市场，现在也有1/3产品销往美国、加拿大和中国。美因茨"德国葡萄酒研究所"的新闻发言人毕舍尔表示： “我们这儿属于德国葡萄酒产区的最北方，这意味着，葡萄的成熟期很长，而成熟过程长，葡萄就有了足够酝酿果香的时间，因此我们酿造的葡萄酒富含特殊的果酸成份，成为一种芳醇、美味的淡葡萄酒。南部地区生产的葡萄酒，特别是白葡萄酒的酒精含量较高，也缺少淡淡的葡萄果香。”

高质量德国葡萄酒早已不限于白葡萄酒类，为人诟病的气候变化却为德国的红葡萄酒带来积极影响：近年来由于德国气温上升，有利于葡萄酒的酿造过程，从而产生了香醇可口的高质量产品。现在德国已有1/3的葡萄园种植红葡萄，其中大部份是晚期勃艮第品种。毕舍尔指出：“德国红葡萄酒在外国还没闯出名号，因此我们要出奇制胜，与国际知名品牌同台较量，从而使人发现，德国生产的红葡萄酒，并不比国际上的其它品牌逊色，但却物美价廉。国际市场上的知名品牌是有着相当价位的。”

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: 今年德国一家生产红葡萄酒的厂家，在英国葡萄酒专业杂志"Dekanter"举办的国际知名"世界葡萄酒大赛"中脱颖而出。获得这项荣誉的是德国阿尔河谷"麦耶尔.内克尔酒庄"生产的2005年份晚期勃艮第。

德国因葡萄种植地有限，所产的葡萄酒尚不足以满足国内市场需求，因此德国是全球最大的葡萄酒进口国，其所导致的后果是，使本国生产的葡萄酒处于强大竞争压力之下。采取"质重于量"的生产策略，应是德国葡萄酒争取市场的不二法门。

Claudia Hennen

蓝樽（上海）酒业赔偿 Johnnie Walker Black Label

2008-11-27T23:57:00.001-08:00

由于抄袭产品包装，上海一家法院日前判令一家中国公司向英国饮料集团帝亚吉欧(Diageo)支付125万元人民币（合18.3万美元）的赔偿金，显示出中国政府打击猖獗盗版行为的决心。

该法院判定，蓝樽（上海）酒业公司(Blueblood (Shanghai) Wine Co)抄袭了帝亚吉欧集团知名的尊尼获加黑牌威士忌(Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky)的酒瓶设计和包装，并且在上海政府于2006年收到帝亚吉欧集团的投诉并对其处以罚款后，仍在继续其抄袭行为。此次判决的赔偿金额异常之高，而且适逢上海政府开展打击盗版的专项行动之际。政府官员试图通过此项行动展示他们保护知识产权的决心。

专门从事知识产权案件的律师们表示，虽然帝亚吉欧案的裁决明显是宣传攻势的一部分，但也的确表明，中国政府对待假冒伪造行为的态度比前几年严厉得多。

Chateau Los Boldos

2008-11-22T23:50:00.000-08:00

2008/11/23 meeting (simon university) 陳巨擘先生攜
Chateau Los Boldos
1948 old vines...

飲酒的世界 The World of Drink

CHU PO WHISKY 筑波威士忌

SUNTORY WHISKY

ROMAINE du PARC/Monsieur William Rouge

新式幸福風：時尚酩品美學

Indomita

感謝有您 邁向2012

Scottish Leader Whisky -

金蘭酒

Courage & Co Ltd

Is Bordeaux a good pairing for mooncake?

Tohoku brewer eyes global market

The cost of coke

he UN's world drug report

The cost of coke

FW: 我的咖啡奇緣 （謝金河）

The Singapore Sling

Notes

Further reading

External links

地酒

じ‐ざけ〔ヂ‐〕【地酒】

日本地酒協同組合 - 阿德札記-喝:

Moët Hennessy heads to China to produce bubbly

the world's thirst for whisky

Inside Europe | 16.04.2011 | 07:05

Rural Scotland is profiting from the world's thirst for whisky

critter wines/new-world-wine

critter wines/ duke it out

In Search Of Alcoholism Genes 尋找酗酒基因

中粮收购波尔多酒庄 法国人忧心忡忡

媒体看中国 | 2011.02.04

实力雄厚的中国公司开始深入西方人引以为骄傲的传统领地，中粮集团最近收购法国波尔多的葡萄酒庄就是一例，这引起了法国人的担忧……

醪/清酒濁酒/日本清酒

日本清酒

目录

[编辑] 清酒的釀造

[编辑] 水

[编辑] 米

[编辑] 酵母

[编辑] 分類方式

[编辑] 參考文獻

U.S. Starbucks to one-up Venti with new, larger size: the ‘Trenta’

Is Coffee in Paris Improving?

Ristretto | Is Coffee in Paris Improving?

Food, Travel

Following a Trail of Beer in Belgium

By MATT GOULDING and MATT BEAN

Published: January 14, 2011

Related

Times Topic: Beer

Jock Fistick for The New York Times

London's Liv-Ex fine wine exchange's index

Chardonnay

Chardonnay

喝過真正的天價茅台酒嗎

Wine 101: Riesling

代某光通信部品與次系統台商徵高階品管主管

代某光通信部品與次系統台商徵高階品管主管

Japanese Wineries Betting on koshu

Japanese Wineries Betting on a Reviled Grape

By CORIE BROWN

Published: October 26, 2010

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

Brimming with Beer

AKADAMA (Suntory )

茅台酒瓶

Cape Town bans champagne breakfasts 開普敦禁止香檳早餐

慕尼黑啤酒节

文化人生 | 2010.09.17

慕尼黑啤酒节的迷人之处

raki rakee

喝葡萄酒需要知道的規矩 Rules to Drink By

Consumers pushing beyond sake to Japanese whiskies

Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew

Cointreau

Cointreau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

感謝有您邁向2012

FW: 我的咖啡奇緣（謝金河）

中粮收购波尔多酒庄法国人忧心忡忡