What do the wine professionals drink for fun?
Terry Theise is an unusually passionate and articulate importer of fine German and Austrian wine, and grower champagnes (those produced by the vine growers, rather than those who buy in grapes), into the US. After prolonged e-mail communication, I finally had the pleasure of meeting him in Washington, DC, recently and I owe him for the inspiration for this article. "What do you drink for fun?" he asked (meaning wine of course). "When I come back from a long buying trip what I want most is Alsace Muscat."
It's not desperately easy to come across Muscat d'Alsace in the UK, I have found, but once I'd tracked down Gustave Lorentz's 2005 I could see exactly what he meant. This particular one was just so exuberantly, almost cheekily, full of life and fruit - yet so delightfully simple, like a bunch of grapes bursting in your mouth, that it was utterly undemanding. Just the thing to relax with, and no need to have the tasting notebook handy to record any of the finer nuances.
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I thought I'd ask a range of wine professionals what they choose to drink for fun and started with my colleague Hugh Johnson, whose beautifully written memoir, Wine - A Life Uncorked, shows that he is a true lover of wine for drinking's sake rather than pontificating's sake. "For fun? You're kidding," he began. "Champagne first, I'm afraid, and a pression very often." I have never seen him in the same room as a beer so I obviously know him much less well than I thought. He continued: "I rather like the light, bitter north-eastern Italians (Lagrein etc) for thirst-quenching - at arm's length, as it were, from serious wines."
I know just what he means. I also love the super-digestible bitterness of Italy's lighter reds but I digress. On to some more wine luminaries. Still in the upper echelons of UK wine society, I wrote to my old friend Michael Broadbent, MW, author of Vintage Wine, the world's most comprehensive record of tasting the fine and the rare, to ask him what he drank for fun. Not much, seems to be the answer.
He rang me back to say that he was too busy updating his tasting notes for a new edition of Vintage Wine to answer my question and couldn't wait to get off the phone. I'm sure his publisher, if not his wife, is delighted. This, incidentally, is the man who complained because the superlative, cobweb-festooned bottle of rioja that was opened for him at some Spanish bodega did not have a vintage on it so he couldn't add it to his book.
I thought it would be interesting to know what notable sommeliers drink for fun. After all, the good ones are exposed to a wide range of the finest wines constantly in their work. So what do they choose to relax with? I was not disappointed by the enthusiasm with which leaders in the field in three different countries replied.
The current "Best Sommelier in the World", Enrico Bernardo of Le Cinq restaurant in the Hotel George V in Paris, surprised me with his choice of white wine. "I like very much two sorts of wine for pleasure, for drinking with friends, both of which are uncomplicated but have lots of character. I like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for its freshness, its green fruits aroma reminiscent of kiwi, lime and green apple but with its minty, exotic notes that also remind me of passion fruit. It's a very immediate wine, summery with lots of colour and life. Kim Crawford's 2005 is a good example."
His red wine choice is perhaps more predictable. "I like northern Rh?ne Syrah for its depth, richness and its capacity to deliver complexity and length. I like it in its youth for its black, spicy character, like wild blackberries, olives and black pepper, and also as it ages towards notes of game, black truffles, leather and jam. It's a wine with deep roots and strong personality, a charming autumn wine."
His counterpart from the 1998 world wine-waiting championships, Markus Del Monego of Germany, was, perhaps predictably, even more precise, specifying Ziereisen's outré but sappy 2005 Chasselas from Baden ("I am sipping a glass whilst writing these lines"), a 2005 Riesling from Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau, a 1999 Chateau Cissac from Bordeaux and 2000 San Leonardo from the far north of Italy.
Well-known New York sommelier and wine importer Daniel Johnnes, now based at the restaurant Daniel, is a Francophile through and through: "My fun wines are usually forward, fruity, food-friendly and what I call 'wines to drink by the bucketful'. I love Loire Valley reds and whites. Few wines excite my palate like a good Vouvray sec or demi-sec from Gaston Huet or Philippe Foreau. A bit less serious would be a good Saumur Blanc such as L'Insolite from Thierry Germain. For quaffable drinking I love Muscadet. Also irresistible and stimulating is a good Chablis or Petit Chablis.
"For red, I find the juicy, light and refreshing flavours of Cru Beaujolais, Chinon, Anjou Rouge or top notch Bourgogne the most satisfying and versatile. Then there are more esoteric wines such as Puffeney Trousseau C?tes du Jura. I also love the warm wines of the south, such as southern Rh?nes, Collioure, Roussillon and Languedoc. Because of the alcohol levels those wines are more demanding."
But what about those who produce some of the finest wines in the world? I asked the chatelaine of Bordeaux first growth Chateau Margaux, Corinne Mentzelopoulos, first and she replied immediately: "Easy: in Chamonix when I am skiing there is nothing like a little Savoie Crépy and in Greece - hang on there - a well done Retsina is marvellous. Even my Greek friends think it's horrendous - in view of the heat and the food!" These simple tastes were revealed, I might add, on the day that she released her 2005 vintage at the jaw-dropping record price of �350 a bottle - to the trade.
Just up the road in Pauillac, the man in charge of super-second Chateau Pichon Baron, and all of AXA's wine properties around Europe, Christian Seely, confessed to an innate penchant for a wine with which AXA has no professional connection, fino and manzanilla, the lightest, driest and most fragile (and refreshing) of sherries - which must be difficult to find in Bordeaux.
For one of the Napa Valley's head honchos, Bill Harlan of stratospherically priced Harlan Estate and Bond Cabernets, Campari qualifies as fun, "or something we don't usually drink - something a friend has brought, a German Riesling perhaps - a white wine or a California Pinot Noir".
I had the chance to put my question in person to Australia's best known wine writer, James Halliday. He knit his magnificent eyebrows and I sensed a Michael Broadbent moment but this former lawyer is never short of a word. "I always used to include one of Australia's top rosés in my top 100 wines - Turkey Flat or Charles Melton's - saying 'I know it won't sell' and, blow me, now everyone's drinking them."
I'm off on a four-week break but will, I can assure you, do my very best to tackle wine for fun.
行家的葡萄酒最爱
葡萄酒进口商的选择
葡萄酒进口商特里?泰泽(Terry Theise)热情洋溢，且善于表达，他的业务是将德国与奥地利的优质葡萄酒和自酿香槟酒（即葡萄种植者自酿、而并非购买葡萄酿造的香槟）进口到美国。在长期的电子邮件交流之后，最近我终于有幸在华盛顿特区和他会面，感谢他激发了我写下这篇文章的灵感。“你拿什么喝着玩？”他问道（当然是指葡萄酒）。“我结束漫长的采购之旅回来后，最想喝的是阿尔萨斯麝香葡萄酒(Alsace Muscat)。”
我发现，在英国，要想遇到阿尔萨斯麝香并非易事，但一旦找到2005年的Gustave Lorentz，就能确切知道他的意思。这种特别的红酒里充满活力和果味，馥郁芬芳――然而又单纯得令人愉快，就像一串葡萄在口中裂开，完全不醉人。它就是用来放松的东西，无须把品酒笔记放在手边，记录任何一丝精妙的细微差别。
葡萄酒作家的选择
我想我问过好多葡萄酒行家，问他们休闲时喜欢喝些什么酒，头一个是我的同事休?约翰逊(Hugh Johnson)。约翰逊精彩的回忆录《葡萄酒――拔塞的生活》(Wine - A Life Uncorked)表明，他真正是因为爱喝酒的原因热爱葡萄酒，而不是为了发表高见。“喝着玩？开玩笑，”他张口说。“先来点香槟，我想，很多时候会喝杯扎啤。”我从未在他房间里看到过啤酒，所以显然我对他的了解远比我原本以为的要少。他接着说：“我解渴时非常喜欢低度、苦味的意大利东北部葡萄酒（拉格莱因(Lagrein)等）――可以说，它们与正儿八经的葡萄酒有着一定的距离。”
我完全明白他的意思。我也喜爱意大利低度红葡萄十分易于入口的苦味，不过这有些离题了。我们继续看看另外一些葡萄酒名人的观点。也是在英国葡萄酒界的上层圈子里，我写信给老友、葡萄酒大师(MW)迈克尔?布劳德班(Michael Broadbent)，问他拿什么喝着玩。不是很多，应该是他的回答。迈克尔?布劳德班是《佳酿》(Vintage Wine)一书的作者，这本书是世界上品味优质和珍贵葡萄酒的最全面记录。
他打电话回复我说，他太忙了，正在为新版《佳酿》更新品酒笔记，无法回答我的问题，接着就匆忙挂断了电话。我确信，他的出版商（如果不是他妻子的话）会很高兴。顺便说一句，正是这个人，在西班牙一个酒窖里，由于专为他而开的一瓶网状花饰的最高级里奥哈红(rioja，一种西班牙红葡萄酒)上没有酿造年份，他就没有把这种酒加入书中。
斟酒大师的选择
我觉得，知道著名斟酒师喝什么酒消遣，会很有意思。毕竟，出色的斟酒师在工作中不断接触一系列顶级葡萄酒。那他们选什么酒来放松自己呢？三个不同国家的该领域顶尖人物热情回复，我甚觉欣喜。
巴黎乔治五世酒店(Hotel George V)五号餐厅(Le Cinq)的恩里科?伯纳多(Enrico Bernardo)是当今“世界最佳斟酒师”，他对白葡萄酒的选择着实让我惊叹。“在闲暇或跟朋友喝酒时，我非常喜欢两种酒。它们并不复杂，但特征多样。我喜欢新西兰白苏维浓(Sauvignon Blanc)的清新。它的新鲜水果香气令人想起了猕猴桃、酸橙和青苹果，但它那带有薄荷味的异国情调又让我联想到鸡蛋果。这款酒非常适合直接饮用，而且色彩丰富，活力十足，充满夏日风情。金克劳福德(Kim Crawford)2005年酿就是很好的一款。”
他的红葡萄酒选择也许更容易预测。“我喜欢罗讷(Rh?ne)北部西拉(Syrah)的深度、浓烈，以及传递多种口感和余韵的能力。我喜欢它初酿时的深色和辛辣特质，就像野黑莓、橄榄和黑胡椒一样，也喜欢它随着酒龄逐渐增加所呈现出的野味、黑块菌、皮革和果酱的风味。这是一款有着浓厚底蕴和强烈个性的酒，一款迷人的秋日佳酿。”
他的德国同行、1998年世界斟酒冠军马库斯?戴尔?蒙那哥(Markus Del Monego)甚至比他还要精确，这也许已在意料之中。马库斯详细列出了几种酒，包括产自巴登(Baden)、口感奇特但多汁的Ziereisen2005年酿夏瑟拉(Chasselas)（写这些文字时，我正轻啜一杯）、产自莱茵高(Rheingau)地区Schloss Vollrads酒庄的2005年酿雷司令(Riesling)、产自波尔多(Bordeaux)的1999年酿斯萨堡(Ch?teau Cissac)葡萄酒，以及产自意大利最北部的2000年酿胜利侯爵堡(San Leonardo)。
现驻丹尼尔餐厅(Daniel)、大名鼎鼎的纽约斟酒师兼葡萄酒进口商丹尼尔?约翰内斯(Daniel Johnnes)是个彻头彻尾的亲法派：“我喜欢的酒一般都是早熟、有葡萄味、适合配餐，以及我称之为‘一桶桶喝’的葡萄酒。我喜欢卢瓦尔河谷(Loire Valley)的红白葡萄酒。很少有葡萄酒能像Gaston Huet和Philippe Foreau酒庄产的上等武弗雷(Vouvray)干葡萄酒或半干葡萄酒一样，刺激我的味蕾。要求放低一点的话，上等白索米尔(Saumur Blanc)也不错，例如产自Thierry Germain的L'Insolit。至于畅饮，我喜欢密斯卡得(Muscadet)。上等的莎碧(Chablis)和小莎碧(Petit Chablis)也非常刺激，令人无法抗拒。
“至于红酒，我觉得顶级薄若莱(Cru Beaujolais)、希农(Chinon)、安茹(Anjou Rouge)或顶级勃艮第(Bourgogne)那多汁、淡雅和清爽的香味最令人满意、最为全面。例如Puffeney Trousseau C?tes du Jura等享用圈子更小的酒也不错。我也喜欢南部温暖地区的葡萄酒，比如南部罗讷、古谬尔(Collioure)、鲁西永(Roussillon)和朗格多克(Languedoc)。由于酒精度的缘故，因而更容易喝醉。”
葡萄酒制造商的选择
但那些酿造世界顶级葡萄酒的人又有何偏爱呢？我首先询问了波尔多一等园玛高庄(Ch?teau Margaux)的女庄主科琳娜?门采尔普洛斯(Corinne Mentzelopoulos)。她立刻回答说；“很简单。如果我在夏蒙尼(Chamonix)滑雪，那没有什么比来点萨瓦克雷皮(Savoie Crépy)更完美的了。如果在希腊，一杯上等松香酒(Retsina)简直美妙极了。就连我的希腊朋友都认为这太可怕了――考虑到希腊的温度和食物！”我可以补充一点，在向我透露这些简单品位的那天，她以惊人的创纪录价格――每瓶350欧元向酒行推出了2005年佳酿。
再往前一点就是波亚克(Pauillac)酒庄，这里的克里斯蒂安?希利(Christian Seely)负责超二级碧尚巴雄酒庄(Ch?teau Pichon Baron)，以及安盛保险公司(AXA)位于欧洲各地所有的葡萄酒产业。他坦言，自己天生就十分喜欢一种与安盛保险公司没有任何专业联系的葡萄酒，那就是Fino和Manzanilla。这种雪利酒酒味最淡，甜味最低，最脆弱（也最爽口），在波尔多一定很难找。
比尔?贺兰(Bill Harlan)是纳帕谷(Napa Valley)的大老板之一，拥有贺兰酒园(Harlan Estate)和卡本内(Bond Cabernets)两个酒庄，它们的葡萄酒定价奇高。他认为，康帕利(Campari)可用于消遣，“或者说是我们不常饮用的酒――朋友带过来的酒，或许是德国的雷司令――或者是白葡萄酒或加州的黑皮诺(Pinot Noir)”。
我曾亲自请教澳大利亚最著名的葡萄酒作家詹姆斯?侯利第(James Halliday)。他皱起浓眉，我感觉就像到了迈克尔?布劳德班一锤定音的时刻，但律师出身的候利第从来就没有口拙过。“过去我总是把澳大利亚的一种顶级玫瑰红(rosé)列在100种顶级葡萄酒之内，要么是Turkey Flat，要么是Charles Melton，并曾说‘它不会畅销’，可真是见鬼了，现在人人都在喝这些牌子的酒。”
我要休假四周，但我可以保证，我会尽绵薄之力，聊聊葡萄酒以助雅兴。
