Mark Pygott MW 的紹興酒心得
酉孚評分
是由上海麥香文化發展有限公司推出的、以消費市場為導向的黃酒評分體系。
酉孚評分組建了專業且多元化的評委團，邀請世界葡萄酒大師(MW)、中國黃酒專家擔任評委；融合了國際評分指標與黃酒傳統特色，建立全新的黃酒消費品鑒標準，致力於發掘精品黃酒。
第一期我們邀請了葡萄酒大師 Mark Pygott MW擔任主評委，以下是Mark在考察紹興酒廠、品鑒酒款時的心得體會（轉載自Mark Pygott MW"s Blog）：
紹興之旅：中國黃酒之鄉
釀酒人、酒農、葡萄酒營銷、葡萄酒採購、顧問、記者、作家、自營業者、教育家、活動策劃人、葡萄酒評審、經銷商、大盤商等等，這些都是葡萄酒大師（Master of Wine）工作範圍內的一部分。但如果要解釋葡萄酒大師在做什麼，已經不是一件易事，那麼試圖定義這頭銜到底為何，可能還更加困難。對我而言，從事葡萄酒相關工作是出自於個人喜好。我對於風味和香氣的熱衷和欣賞，源自於從小受到外婆影響。做為專業廚師，她總是會準備豐盛、多樣化，且令人心滿意足的各色佳肴，這也讓她家成了孩提時代的我，最愛在周末假日造訪的地方，至於倫敦的阿姨與姨丈家，則成了另一個可以讓我能夠繼續鑒賞各種風味的落腳之處。他們帶我造訪城裡各家餐廳，讓我在年紀輕輕之時，就得以體驗世界各地多元的美食。早在約摸三十五年前，我就已經品嘗到了人生第一隻光亮可口的北京烤鴨。
If it is not easy to describe what a Master of Wine 『does』 (winemaker, viticulturist, marketer, wine buyer, consultant, journalist, writer, business owner, educator, event organiser, wine-judge, retailer, wholesaler etc. being just some of the areas in which MW』s work) then defining what a Master of Wine 『is』, presents even more of a challenge. For me working in wine was really a choice based on my love of taste. That fundamental appreciation of flavour and aroma stems from having grown up with a grandmother, a professional cook, whose preparation of plentiful, varied and deeply satisfying food made her house my favourite place in which to spend holidays or weekends. I was also fortunate to have a London based aunt and uncle who both shared and fostered my fascination with flavour. They would take me to restaurants throughout the capital that exposed me at a tender age to the deliciousness and diversity of global gastronomy including my first Peking Duck, in all its burnished succulence, some 35 years ago.
相比我們所吃的東西，葡萄酒既不優也不劣，純粹是食物的延伸，是液態的食物。葡萄酒之所以非凡，是因為有種類多元的釀酒品種，其種植的氣候條件與釀酒師可依循的釀酒方法，更是相當廣泛，這使得釀成的葡萄酒無論就香氣、風味，或質地而言，都展現出了相當程度的多樣化與知性。而既然是葡萄酒大師，我對於葡萄酒當然有所了解，即我知道葡萄酒是很複雜的，不多也不少。不過，擁有這個頭銜，卻不代表我就能夠理解其它釀造酒的知識，也不代表我能夠輕而易舉地形容或談論它類酒款。因此，當我受邀參訪中國紹興市，並品鑒該產區的黃酒時，你可以想見我既興奮又驚恐的心情；畢竟，沒人想被當成笨蛋耍。
Wine is neither inferior or superior to the stuff that we eat, it is simply an extension of food in liquid form. What makes wine remarkable is that the wide range of varieties cultivated, the differences in the climatic conditions in which those varieties are grown and the scope of methods employed by winemakers in its production, ensures that wine has a breadth of aroma, flavour and texture that is intellectual in scale. Being a Master of Wine indicates that those who hold this title have a certain understanding of exactly this, i.e. that wine is complicated. Having earned this particular status does not mean however that I have the language or experience necessary to comfortably describe or assess the wines made from something other than grapes. This was why I received an invitation asking me to visit and then review the rice wines of Shaoxing with excitement but also a little trepidation; after all, none of us wants to look like a fool.
與其用作飲用酒，西方國家與中國西部的一些省分更常將來自紹興的黃酒用作料理酒。即便是在香港、台北或上海的朋友們，也總是說他們最常與家中長輩一同品飲紹興，更常於秋末時分，搭配大閘蟹料理一同享用。而我想知道的則是，隨著同樣以米釀成的日本清酒逐漸受到國際矚目，並開始在家鄉以外累積粉絲群，來自紹興的黃酒，能否也展現出同樣風靡國際的魅力。這次為期三天的參訪，我很幸運地能與專家陳潔（Jennifer Chen）同行，她幫助我辨認紹興酒由質佳到優良、甚至傑出的風味樣貌分別為何。
In the West (and in some parts of western China), the rice wines of Shaoxing are used more for cooking than for drinking. Even in Hong Kong, Taipei or Shanghai, friends when questioned stated that they usually consumed the wines from this area with the older generations of their respective families or at particular times of year such as in late autumn served warm with hairy crab. What I was interested to find out was with the rice wine of Japan (Sake) enjoying an increasingly appreciative audience beyond its homeland, whether the wines of Shaoxing were also capable of international appeal. Luckily for me my journey to Shaoxing saw me accompanied by Shanghai native and expert, Jennifer Chen, who over the three days we were together helped me build a picture of what the 『good』, 『better』 and the 『best』 wines looked like.
我們造訪了三大知名酒廠（會稽山、由家族擁有並經營的陳源興紹興酒，以及塔牌），並見證了紹興的釀酒過程，這讓我對於釀酒人如何控制釀酒過程，以獲得想要的風味與香氣，感到相當好奇，並問了不少問題。要達到成功與受控的發酵過程，釀造葡萄酒的條件，是否與釀造黃酒相同；這是我企圖理解的。葡萄酒的釀酒人可以藉由選擇不同的酵母與發酵溫度，來決定釀成酒款的風格，然而，這次我造訪的酒廠中似乎普遍缺乏有效率的發酵溫控設備（沒有安裝冷藏設備），也沒有任何一家準備或願意公開自家使用的酵母菌種，只說明酒廠使用的是「當地」酵母。
We visited three famous winemaking institutions (Kuai Ji Shan, the family owned Chen Yuangxing otherwise known as the Shaoxing Wine Company and Pagoda) and having witnessed the winemaking process I began asking questions about how the flavour and aroma present in any given rice wine is controlled by the producer. What I was trying to understand was whether the criteria for successful and controlled fermentations in grape wine were the same for wine made from rice. A winemaker (grape) can most easily influence the style of any given wine they are producing through the yeast that they use to ferment the juice and by the temperature at which they allow that fermentation to take place. Most of the producers visited had no access to facilities that allowed them to effectively control the temperature (no refrigeration equipment was installed) and no one was either prepared or wished to reveal the strains of any particular yeasts that were being used other than to say that it was 『local』 yeast.
我的下一長串問題，是關於原料──即稻米的來源。只要對葡萄酒稍有興趣的人，都知道葡萄產區的土壤或氣候等因素，會對釀成酒款的風格、品質與價格，帶來顯著的影響。原來，選擇稻米的決定性因素，是與稻米的收割時間夠接近發酵時間以及接踵而來的熟成期有關。一般認為，黃酒的發酵過程與最初的熟成期必須控制得宜，即透過冷氣候來降低發酵速度（這尤其重要，因為絕大多數的酒廠沒有溫控設備），因此，釀酒最理想的時間點應該是秋末入冬之際。這也表示，酒廠所使用的稻米最好是同時間收割的米，至於稻米本身的質量，則不是最重要的考量。釀造紹興酒，最常使用的是來自浙江與安徽的稻米。
My next set of questions centred on the provenance of the raw ingredient, the rice. Anyone with more than a passing interest in wine produced from grapes knows that the influence of a particular place with its associated soil, climate etc has a marked effect on the style, quality and price of the wines produced. What became obvious was that the determining factor in the selection of rice was about the proximity of the time of harvest of the rice to the fermentation and subsequent beginnings of the maturation period of the wine itself. The commonly held belief is that the fermentation and early part of the maturation needs to be controlled/slowed by the effects of the cool weather (especially as there is no temperature control present in the majority of the wineries), hence the best time to make wine being late Autumn and winter. This does mean that the rice used has to come from those areas that harvest their rice at this time, irrespective of whether this is the 『best』 rice. Zhejiang and Anhui are the regions from which most rice is currently sourced.
在我啟程回上海之前，有機會蒙瓶試飲了六十款來自紹興的黃酒，並發現紹興黃酒和葡萄酒相同，能夠表現出非常多樣化的層次。表現較佳的酒款多有複雜的氧化調性，主要帶有強烈的酯味，令人聯想到香菇醬油（或乾燥的牛肝菌）或帶有土壤調性的肉味。表現最傑出的酒款，則多有咸鮮調性與香氛氣息，後者多以甜美的橙皮（乾燥或燒焦的橙皮）與烘烤榛果的調性為主，近似於陳年的歐洛羅香雪莉酒（Oloroso）與品質優良的內格羅尼（Negroni）雞尾酒。
On my return to Shanghai I blind-tasted my way through sixty examples of yellow wine from Shaoxing and what was slowly revealed to me was that as with grape wine, the rice wines of Shaoxing can be just as layered. Many of the better wines have a complex oxidative character that is dominated by the strong umami characters of mushroom soy (or dried Porcini) and an earthy meatiness. The best had these savoury elements but were also perfumed. This perfume often centred on a sweet citrus peel (dried or burnt orange) and a roasted hazelnut character that channelled an aromatic profile that fell somewhere between an aged Oloroso sherry and a good Negroni.
顯而易見的是，這裡雖然已釀出了許多偉大的紹興酒，但酒款的風格仍有更現代化的空間，同時兼顧其原本誘人的特色。只消更多投資與發展，酒廠想必能有更多釀酒的彈性與風格的選擇，諸如溫控設備、研究與發展不同稻米來源與不同酵母菌株的運用，以及酒款熟成時間的長短（和溫度）──即酒款氧化陳年的程度等，這些都有助於紹興酒建立起更穩定、實際的銷售量，而非僅限於中國和日本年長一代的消費者。除此之外，如果酒款有更新穎的包裝，想必也能夠吸引較年輕的客層。
What was evident was that although there are already many great wines being produced, there exists the opportunity to modernise the style without losing the fundamental characteristics that make the best of these wines so appealing. With some investment, wineries could create a situation that would allow greater flexibility and stylistic choice. With temperature control and some research and development into producing wines with rice from alternative sources, studies into yeast strain application and maturation that varied in length (and temperature) that thus exposed the wines to a greater or lesser extent of oxidative ageing, these wines could see a slow but real growth in sales that extend beyond the older generations of eastern China and Japan. Packaging is also an area that I believe could be improved to attract and appeal to a younger consumer.
但我想最重要的是，對於重視真實性與文化傳承的中國而言，黃酒是兼具兩者的文化酒款，而如果像我這樣的外國人也能夠欣賞到其獨特、咸鮮且複雜的特性，那麼黃酒的未來肯定大有可為。（編譯／艾蜜?emily）
Perhaps most importantly, China places much importance on authenticity and cultural heritage. Yellow wine is rich in both of these attributes and if this waiguo ren can learn to appreciate the distinctive, savoury and complex nature of China』s original wines, then the future is bright, in fact the future could well be yellow.
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