While Yao Ming was growing up in Shanghai, wine was served with ice cubes. It wasn't until the 7-foot-6-inch Chinese basketball player spent time with National Basketball Association teammate Dikembe Mutombo, a 7-foot-2-inch Congolese player, that he began to appreciate wine.
姚明小时候在上海时，喝葡萄酒是加冰块的。这位身高2米29的中国篮球运动员直到与2米18的休斯顿火箭队队友、刚果球员穆托姆博(Dikembe Mutombo)一起在美国职业篮球联盟(NBA)打球时，才开始学会品葡萄酒。
'I always watched him at our dinners and I'd sometimes ask him 'Why are you doing that?'' said Mr. Yao, swirling an imaginary glass. 'I was just trying to copy him.'
姚明手上做着摇酒杯的动作说，我总是在吃晚饭的时候观察他，有时会问他为什么这样做，我只是在试图模仿他。
Now retired and living in his native Shanghai, Mr. Yao is an unlikely connoisseur and a trailblazer on the Chinese wine scene. The 31-year-old is launching his own Californian winery geared exclusively for the Chinese market this week called Yao Family Wines. Distributed by French beverage giant Pernod Ricard SA, bottles in the first 5,000-case run will be labeled simply Yao Ming and aimed at the top end of the market.
已经退役的姚明现在住在老家上海，他出人意料地成为品酒行家、中国葡萄酒行业的开拓者。31岁的姚明本周将推出专门面向中国市场的加州葡萄酒厂──姚家族葡萄酒酒业公司(Yao Family Wines)。其生产的葡萄酒将由法国酿酒巨头保乐力加(Pernod Ricard SA)销售，第一批5,000箱葡萄酒的标签将只是简单标为"Yao Ming"，主打高端市场。
The wine, made from cabernet sauvignon grapes harvested in 2009 from California's Napa Valley, is priced at 1,775 yuan (US$289) a bottle. (The price includes a 27% import duty and a 17% sales tax.) A second wine, called Yao Family Reserve, will be released later this year, and its small 500-case production will be even pricier.
这批葡萄酒用加州纳帕山谷(Napa Valley) 2009年产赤霞珠葡萄酿制，售价为每瓶人民币1,775元（合289美元）。（价格包括27%的进口税和17%的销售税。）第二批葡萄酒"Yao Family Reserve"将于今年晚些时候上市，数量只有500箱，这会令其更加奇货可居。
'I really like Napa Valley,' said the former center. 'California represents vacation, casual [living], sunshine
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