姚明和他的葡萄酒莊

Yao Ming makes wine， but he doesn’t really fit in the cellar. This probably isn’t a surprise to those who know him best as the 7.6 feet Houston Rockets basketball player. In fact， during his final season he was the tallest player in the NBA. Retirement has kept him busy pursuing an economics degree in his native China and making wine in Napa. Ming credits Texan steaks for inspiring his wine passion， explaining that， “In Texas， they are famous for their steaks， which are usually paired with great wine. I tried some excellent Napa Valley wines at dinners with teammates and friends， charity events， and other get-togethers. This is when my passion for wine first started.”

Ming took his passion and ran with it， setting up a wine-making team， led by wine-maker Tom Hinde， in Napa and starting Yao Family Wines. It’s tempting to label this wine as just another celebrity bottling—and on the face of it， that’s true. But the real truth is always， always in the bottle. Mr Ming is also Chinese and hence enjoys a deep-rooted cultural appreciation for the importance of balance in all things， even wine. Balance is indeed at the core of Yao Ming’s wines.

Yao Ming said， “When I realized that I might not be able to play basketball much longer， I began to think about things I would enjoy when I was done playing. China was also discovering fine wine at that time， but mostly French wine like Bordeaux. I knew about Napa Valley wine because of my time in the US， so I felt I could help introduce people to something new. When I was presented the opportunity to have my own wine， it was very exciting. I was introduced to a lot of great people， including my current team and our wine-maker Tom Hinde， and I felt it would be an interesting opportunity.”

Yao Ming said that the Chinese people are developing their taste for fine wine， and while French wines have made quite an impression already， people are starting to discover California wines. Chinese wine lovers are eager to learn about wine， they are knowledge hungry. To be given the opportunity to help people in China learn more about Napa Valley is very exciting for him.

姚明釀造葡萄酒，但是他的體形并不適合待在酒窖里。對于那些深知他的人來說，這可能并不會讓他們感到驚訝，因為這位休斯頓火箭隊的籃球明星身高7英尺6英寸。實際上，在姚明為球隊效力的最后一個賽季里，他依然是NBA最高的球員。退役后他過上了忙碌的生活，在祖國攻讀經濟學學位，同時在納帕谷釀造葡萄酒。姚明認為德克薩斯牛排激發了他對葡萄酒的熱情，他解釋說：“在德克薩斯州，人們以喜愛牛排而聞名，牛排通常要搭配美味的葡萄酒。我品嘗過幾種優質的納帕谷葡萄酒，有時是和隊友和朋友共進晚餐，有時是參加慈善活動和其他聚會。對葡萄酒的熱愛就是從那時萌發的。”

姚明帶著他的熱情投入了葡萄酒行業，在納帕谷成立了以釀酒師湯姆·辛德為首的釀酒團隊，創辦了姚氏葡萄酒公司。我們很容易就會將其視作那種只貼上名人標簽的裝瓶廠——從表面上來看，還真是如此。不過真相永遠藏在葡萄酒瓶里。姚明作為中國人，因其根深蒂固的文化背景，深諳世間萬物平衡之理。就連對待葡萄酒也是如此。“平衡”的確是姚明葡萄酒的核心要素。

姚明說：“當我意識到我可能無法再打籃球的時候，我開始思考我退役后會喜歡的事情。那個時候，中國市場也在尋求好酒，不過大家知道最多的還是波爾多（Bordeaux）等法國葡萄酒。我在美國的時候，對納帕谷葡萄酒很了解，所以我覺得我可以向大家介紹一些新的東西。當我有機會生產自己的葡萄酒時，我感到非常興奮。我被引薦給很多重要人士，包括我目前的團隊和我們的釀酒師湯姆·辛德，我覺得這將是個有趣的機會。”

姚明說中國人正在形成對優質葡萄酒的鑒賞品位，目前人們對法國葡萄酒的印象相當深刻，又開始探索加利福尼亞的好葡萄酒了。中國的葡萄酒愛好者非常渴望了解葡萄酒，他們對葡萄酒知識求知若渴。有機會幫助國人更深入地了解納帕谷葡萄酒，這對姚明來說是件非常興奮的事情。