晚紅蜜：聚光燈下的葡萄

文 Debra Meiburg MW 編、譯 張恬熙

格魯吉亞的本土葡萄品種正在獲得全球的支持，釀酒師們漸漸意識到本土葡萄的潛力，比如古老的紅葡萄品種晚紅蜜（Saperavi），就可以釀造出酒體復雜、香氣馥郁、擁有深紅色澤的葡萄酒。

Georgia's native grapes are gaining global support as winemakers wake up to the potential of the country's indigenous varieties such as the ancient red grape saperavi (sap-er-ah-vee), which makes complex, aromatic, inky-dark wines.

晚紅蜜是一種染色葡萄，在格魯吉亞上千年的釀酒歷史中被廣泛使用。它絕不是酒圈里的新面孔，在過去的20年里，晚紅蜜已經走進國際舞臺的聚光燈下，葡萄藤也遍布全世界，從巴羅薩山谷到新疆、手指湖、馬爾堡等產區。

麥克拉倫谷的釀酒師休伊·漢密爾頓承認自己完全被晚紅蜜迷住了，并在《澳大利亞美食旅行家》線上雜志里表示：“我喜歡這個葡萄品種……從入口那一刻起，它就抓住了我的心。”

11月11日，澳大利亞休伊·漢密爾頓酒莊的首席執行官瑪麗·漢密爾頓、中國蒲昌酒莊的首席釀酒師洛里斯·塔塔格里亞、哈薩克斯坦阿爾巴酒莊的釀酒師兼首席執行官澤努拉·卡基姆扎諾夫、格魯吉亞穆卡都酒莊的釀酒師兼莊主蘭多·烏祖納什維利等人，與《邁寧格國際葡萄酒》雜志的主編費爾西蒂·卡特等酒評家和專家一起，探討晚紅蜜的光明前景，包括現況和未來。我和我的美酒文化有限公司一起，與ProWine China合作舉辦了全球第一屆晚紅蜜研討會，將晚紅蜜與赤霞珠、西拉、梅洛這些高貴的葡萄品種作對比，探討晚紅蜜更多的可能性。

烏祖納什維利認為晚紅蜜是格魯吉亞最重要的葡萄品種，無論是質量還是數量都是如此。他說：“晚紅蜜是個幸存者，它與那些高貴的葡萄品種有許多共性。”

烏祖納什維利是酒莊的第十一代釀酒師，在尋求海外做研究的機會之前，他曾在莫斯科求學。他的逐夢之旅將他引領到了澳大利亞（他就是在澳大利亞將晚紅蜜推薦給了漢密爾頓）、法國、摩洛哥、烏克蘭、意大利和日本。現在，他每年都會往返于阿德萊德及格魯吉亞兩地。

就像其他釀酒國一樣，格魯吉亞也難免受到持續的氣候變化的影響。烏祖納什維利說：這種氣候變化主要體現在更干旱、更炎熱，以及降雨量的減少。

波爾多通過引進5個新葡萄品種的方式來應對氣候變化帶來的挑戰，而烏祖納什維利則吸取了他在澳大利亞炎熱、干燥氣候條件下種植葡萄的經驗教訓，并根據格魯吉亞的現狀做出調整。

在美酒文化有限公司為期半天的晚紅蜜研討會上，大約有70位媒體、教育和貿易代表參加，并對17款晚紅蜜葡萄酒進行了對比品鑒。這些葡萄酒既有來自傳統釀酒國家的，也有一些來自讓人意想不到的葡萄酒產國，包括澳大利亞（目前約有30家葡萄酒廠商使用晚紅蜜葡萄來釀酒）、中國、美國、新西蘭、哈薩克斯坦、摩爾多瓦，當然還有格魯吉亞。

常駐英國的葡萄酒作家兼評論家羅伯特·約瑟夫在談論晚紅蜜時說道：“我認為晚紅蜜不是那種輕易穿起西裝的酒（指比較嚴肅的葡萄酒—譯者注），它甚至都不會打領帶。它有一種野性，這種葡萄酒擁有不羈的美。”

在品鑒的過程中，專家組和觀眾們都感受到了晚紅蜜的多樣風格，2017年份的美國康斯坦丁·弗蘭克酒莊葡萄酒風格新鮮，約瑟夫形容它是介于“紅白葡萄酒之間”。來自澳大利亞比利·巴頓酒莊的章魚葡萄酒擁有水果為主導的平衡風格。葡萄酒大師卡斯狄·達爾特完美地捕捉到了這個葡萄品種的變化，將2008年份克瓦雷利酒莊晚紅蜜葡萄酒描述為“是一款可愛的葡萄酒，就像一款老年份黑皮諾”，而穆卡都酒莊2017年份晚紅蜜和沙烏卡比多混釀則描繪為“顏色深邃，粗糙、帶有泥土氣息且富有野性”。

品鑒已經落下了尾聲，這是一場很普通的由國際知名人士和葡萄酒專家共同參與的活動。隨著晚紅蜜的種植以及釀造的酒款逐漸滲透到全球市場，與其說是“看看這里吧”，不如說是“下一個會在哪里？”

Saperavi is a teinturier grape that has been used in Georigan winemaking for thousands of years. While it's far from new, the last two decades have seen the grape step into the global spotlight as vines emerge around the globe - from the Barossa Valley to Xinjiang, Finger Lakes and Marlborough and more. McLaren Vale winemaker Hugh Hamilton confesses to being “obsessed” by saperavi, telling Gourmet Traveller online, “I love the variety … It grabbed me from the moment I tasted it.”

On November 11, winemakers—including Mary Hamilton (CEO of Hugh Hamilton Wines, Australia), Loris Tartaglia (Chief Winemaker, Pu Chang, China), Zeinulla Kakimzhanov (Winemaker & CEO, Arba Winery, Kazakhstan), Lado Uzunashvili (winemaker and owner at Mukado Wines, Georgia) and others —gathered in Shanghai, together with critics and experts like Editor-in-Chief of Meiningers Wine Business International magazine, Felcity Carter, to discuss Saperavi's bright prospects, both present and future. The world's first International Saperavi Symposium, hosted by myself and Meiburg Wine Media in partnership with ProWine China, explored this special grape in comparison to noble red varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot.

Uzunashvili believes Saperavi is Georgia's most important variety, both in quality and quantity. “Saperavi is a survivor that shares many characteristics with noble varieties,” he said.

Uzunashvili is an 11th generation winemaker who studied in Moscow before seeking research opportunities abroad. His search lead him to Australia (where he introduced Hamilton to Saperavi), France, Morocco, Ukraine, Italy and Japan (Vinepair). He now shares his time between his home in Adelaide and Georgia.

Like other winemaking countries, Georgia is far from immune to the growing issue of climate change, which Uzunashvili says presents itself in the form of a drier, hotter climate with decreased rainfall.

While Bordeaux has addressed its climate challenge by introducing Five new grape varieties, Uzunashvili has taken what he has learned in Australia's hot, dry climate conditions and is adapting it to Georgia (Vinepair).

MWM's half-day Saperavi Symposium was attended by around 70 media, education and trade delegates, and concluded with a comparative tasting of 17 global Saperavis in styles from both traditional and unexpected wine countries, including Australia (which is thiugh to have around 30 producers working with Saperavi at the moment), China, USA, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Moldova and of course, Georgia. UK-based wine writer and critic Robert Joseph said of Saperavi “I don't think saperavi wears a suit very easily； I don't think it wears a tie. It has a wildness； a wine with its hair down,” he said.

During the tasting, panellists and audience members were treated to Saperavi styles that spanned the spectrum from a “fresh” 2017 Dr. Konstantin Frank, USA that occupies the space “between white and red,” said Joseph, through to fruit-driven, balanced style ‘The Squid' from Billy Button, Australia. Cassidy Dart MW captured the variety's variations perfectly, describing Chelti Winery's 2008 Saperavi as, “A lovely wine, like an older pinot noir,” whereas Mukado's 2017 Saperavi-Shavkapito blend is, “Dark, rustic, earthy and wild.”

The tasting capped off what was an extremely ecumenical event, with an internationally renowned panel of experts and wines. Instead of ‘Watch this space,' it's more like ‘Where to next?' as Saperavi continues its gradual march across the globe, from vine to glass.