Fascinating Facts about Grapes

關于葡萄你不知道的事實

Grapes are popular fruit， and people also love consuming them as wine， jam， juice， various dried varieties， jelly， vinegar， grape seed extract and grape seed oil. It’s this versatile popularity， coupled with the many countries that hold good growing conditions， that makes the grape as one of the world’s most economically important crops. Here are some fascinating facts about the widespread fruit.

葡萄是很受歡迎的水果，人們還喜歡把葡萄制成葡萄酒、果醬、果汁、各種蜜餞、果凍、果醋、葡萄籽提取物和葡萄籽油享用。葡萄的用處多多，而且許多國家都擁有種植葡萄的良好條件，這讓葡萄成為世界上最重要的經濟作物之一。一起來了解一下這種隨處可見的水果吧。

Grapes are used to make artificial leather.

葡萄可以制成人造皮革。

In order to find cruelty-free and more environmentally friendly artificial leather， Vegea， an Italian company founded in 2018， has made a fully recyclable and biodegradable product from the grape waste left over from winemaking.

Grape leather is being used for a whole host of products， including vegan-friendly shoes， bags， and boxing gloves.

為了以更為環保而又不殘忍的方式制出人造皮革，創立于2018年的意大利Vegea公司用釀酒剩下的葡萄殘渣開發出了一款可以完全回收和降解的產品。

葡萄皮革被用來生產出大量產品，包括對純素食者友好的鞋子、包包，還有拳擊手套。

Grapes can be deadly to your pet.

葡萄可能會危及寵物的生命。

Grapes and their derivatives （raisins， wine and grape juice） are poisonous to dogs： They can cause kidney failure， which can ultimately be fatal. In 2021， vets at the ASPCA discovered that tartaric acid contained in the fruit is the culprit. Symptoms of grape poisoning include vomiting， diarrhea and excessive thirst.

葡萄和其衍生物（葡萄干、葡萄酒和葡萄汁）對狗有毒，會導致狗的腎臟衰竭，并可能導致狗最后喪命。2021年，美國防止虐待動物協會的獸醫發現，葡萄所含的酒石酸是令狗中毒的罪魁禍首。葡萄中毒的癥狀包括嘔吐、腹瀉和極度口渴。

The grapes you eat are different from the ones used in winemaking.

你吃的葡萄和釀酒用的葡萄不是同一種。

The qualities desired from the ones you eat fresh （table grapes） are quite different from those required for wine production （wine grapes）. The seeds and thicker skins on wine grapes lend more flavor and color to the wine， while their greater sweetness aids the fermentation process. Table grapes tend to be larger and more delicious： juicy with firmer flesh and a less concentrated flavor， with a thinner skin and fewer seeds.

食用葡萄的品質要求和釀酒葡萄的品質要求差別很大。釀酒所用葡萄的籽和厚皮給葡萄酒增添更多風味和顏色，而更高的甜度加速了發酵進程。食用葡萄通常更大更美味，果肉緊實多汁，味道不是很濃，果皮更薄，籽更少。

China leads the way in table grape production and consumption.

中國在食用葡萄的生產和消費上都遙遙領先。

Thanks to its favorable climate and growing conditions， China has been growing grapes for more than 2，000 years and it is the world’s largest consumer.

China doesn’t just consume a lot of grapes. The country’s table grape production in 2022—2023 is more than half of the world’s grape production—making it the world’s top grape producer.

多虧了有利的氣候和生長條件，中國種植葡萄已有兩千多年，并且是全世界葡萄消費量最大的國家。

中國不僅葡萄消費量大，2022至2023年的食用葡萄產量占到了全球葡萄總產量的一半還多，這讓中國成為全球葡萄產量最高的國家。

Word Bank

versatile /'v??s?ta?l/ adj. 多用途的；

多功能的

fatal /'fe?tl/ adj. 致命的

excessive /?k'ses?v/ adj. 過度的；

過分的

Excessive smoking can lead to lung cancer.