不被看好的葡萄品種

文|Tersina Shieh 編、譯|張恬熙

勃艮第葡萄酒協會（簡稱：BIVB）會定期在城中舉辦大師班，但他們大部分時候都在主推霞多麗和黑皮諾這兩個有名的葡萄品種。正因如此，當得知今年首個BIVB大師班以“深度解析阿里高特葡萄”為主題時，才會讓人如此驚喜。說實話，這真的太棒了！

Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) organises regular masterclasses in town but most of them are focused on their famed grape varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.Therefore, the fact that the first BIVB masterclass this year was‘An in-depth analysis of the Aligoté grape’came as a surprise-in fact, a very nice surprise.

我敢肯定，并不是所有的勃艮第愛好者都聽說過阿里高特。自17世紀以來，這個葡萄品種就在勃艮第安家落戶，但直到1937年它才獲得了屬于自己的AOC—勃艮第阿里高特AOC。1997年，布澤宏（譯者按：唯一允許使用阿里高特釀酒的村莊級法定產區，且產區內也只允許種植該葡萄品種）成為村莊級法定產區。盡管勃艮第的種植面積很大，自北部的夏布利延伸至南部的馬貢產區，但阿里高特的種植面積僅占6%。這個葡萄品種曾經和霞多麗有同樣的地位，但令人遺憾的是，在經歷根瘤蚜蟲災害后，果農們放棄了阿里高特，選擇了（在短期內）更容易釀出好品質葡萄酒的霞多麗。

用阿里高特釀出的葡萄酒很微妙，有活潑的酸度和礦物氣息，這種葡萄酒能升華食物的美味而非蠻橫地爭當“主角”。它的酒體結構和細膩感讓我聯想到獵人谷的賽美蓉。許多人一開始或許會因為它們不像霞多麗或長相思那么“嫵媚”而將其拒之門外，但如果你愿意花時間去等待的話，就一定會得到回報。艾薇（Ivy）就很樂意與人們分享一款18歲高齡的阿里高特葡萄酒，這款酒帶有層層的異國香料的氣息，可口而輕盈。

如今有不少葡萄品種名聲欠佳，尤其是中性葡萄，這并不是因為它們不像其同品系兄弟姐妹那般奪目，而是由于葡萄農和釀酒師把它們視作“老黃?！?，將產量最大化，用來蒸餾或釀造毫無特色的葡萄酒。如果給予它們得當的葡萄園管理，這些葡萄品種的質感與配餐的靈活度則可以彌補它們缺乏誘人香氣的缺點。以阿里高特為例，它主要用于釀造基爾酒和勃艮第起泡酒，并在今年的大師班上脫穎而出。這些葡萄酒是由少數用心、嚴肅對待這種葡萄的釀酒師釀造而成。

在眾多的釀酒葡萄中仍有不少弱勢群體，特別是愛倫、白皮諾和米勒-土高。愛倫是西班牙種植最廣泛的葡萄，主要用于蒸餾或釀造平庸的葡萄酒，但我喝過一些表現不錯、挑戰這條準則的酒款，比如來自拉曼恰產區馬斯特維諾酒莊（Más Que Vinos）的愛倫葡萄酒。白皮諾基本上是一種百搭的餐酒，德國正以威斯堡格德（德國的白皮諾）的名義領導其復興之路。復興者之中就包括巴登產區的施蒂格勒酒莊（Weingut Stigler），酒莊釀造的依瑞恩溫克樂堡特級葡萄園白皮諾干白葡萄酒來自其最古老的地塊，這款葡萄酒適合各式各樣的粵菜，從蝦餃到烤乳豬都可以完美搭配。

至于米勒-土高（在德國叫做黎凡納），它主要生長在涼爽的產區，比如德國、英國和意大利北部。這個葡萄品種在1882年由雷司令和古德爾雜交而成，目的是為了培育出比雷司令更早熟，產量更大的葡萄。如你所料，釀出來的葡萄酒通?？诟泄训?。但我相信，這只丑小鴨總有一天會實現華麗的變身。我釀造的第一款酒就是米勒-土高，使用了4種不同的酵母進行發酵，這也是我在普蘭頓酒莊的最后一個項目。現在，我仍然保留著其中的2瓶酒，等時機成熟時就會開瓶享用。

I’m pretty sure that not all Burgundy fans heard of Aligoté.The grape has been grown in the region since 17th century and was granted its own AOC, Bourgogne Aligoté, in 1937.In 1997, Bouzeron was recognised as its village appellation.Despite its large growing area in Burgundy from Chablis in the north to Maconnais in the south, it only has 6% of the planting.It used to have equal footing with Chardonnay but sadly after phylloxera,vinegrowers ditched Aligoté for the more accessible Chardonnay.

Aligoté is subtle with lively acidity and a mineral note, a wine in the background that supports food rather than taking the centre stage.Its texture and subtlety reminded me of Semillon from Hunter Valley.Most people may dismiss them at first sip because they are not as pretty as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, but you will be rewarded especially if you have the patience to wait.Ivy was very kind to share an18 years old Aligoté which has layers of exotic spices and a savoury yet light palate.A lot of grapes, especially those neutral ones, suffer from poor reputation not because they don’t shine like their more glamorous siblings but because vinegrowers and winemakers treat them like work horse grapes, maximising their yield for distillation or making characterless wine.However, given proper management in the vineyards, the lack the attractive aromas of these varieties is often more than compensated by its texture and flexibility to match with food.Take Aligoté for example, mainly used for Kir and Cremant de Bourgogne, spoke out in this masterclass.The wines presented were made by the few dedicated winemakers who take the variety seriously.

There are still many underdogs in the wine world, notably Airén, Pinot Bianco (or Pinot Blanc) and Müller Thurgau.Airén is the most widely planted grapes in Spain mainly destined for distillation or mediocre wine, but I did try a couple including Más Que Vinos in La Mancha that defy the norm.Pinot Bianco is pretty much an inoffensive house wine but Germany is leading the way to revive it under the name of Wiessburgunder (Pinot Blanc in German).Weingut Stigler in Baden, amongst others, produces a Weissburgunder Trocken, Ihringen Winklerberg "GG'' from its oldest Weissburgunder plot.The wine was wonderful with a wide spectrum of Cantonese dishes from shrimp dumpling to roasted suckling pig.As for Müller Thurgau (also known as Rivaner in Germany) mainly grown in cooler regions such as Germany, England and Northern Italy, is a cross between Riesling and Gutedel created in 1882 to produce earlier ripening and bigger crop than Riesling.As you can imagine, the wine is often light and unassuming.But I have faith that this ugly duckling will one day be transformed.The first wine I made was Müller Thurgau fermented in four different yeasts for my final project at Plumpton.I still have two bottles with me and am waiting for a suitable occasion to open them.