A decade ago, most Chinese wines couldn't be swallowed. Recently, I bought 10 wines in Shanghai and invited three wine experts-Andy Lau, the sales director of ASC Fine Wines, a big Shanghai-based wine importing firm, and Yang Lu and Diego Zhang, both sommelier-to taste them with me. I included three Grace wines. The other seven were from the three largest Chinese wine producers, Changyu, Dynasty and Great Wall. The tasting surprised all of us: All but one of the wines were actually drinkable, a couple even enjoyable. Here are highlights from my notes:

10 年前，大多数中国产葡萄酒是无法咽下的。最近，我在上海买了10瓶不同的葡萄酒并邀请了3位葡萄酒专家来和我一起品尝，他们是：葡萄酒进口公司上海圣皮尔大中华（ASC GREATER CHINA）精品酒业务总监Andy Lau，还有两位专业品酒师吕杨和张天佑。我选的酒包括3款怡园酒庄的葡萄酒，还有7款来自三个最大的葡萄酒商张裕、王朝和长城。品酒的结果让所有人都感到惊讶：所有的酒，除了一款之外，事实上口味都还可以，有几个甚至还不错。下面是我的品尝记录中的一些亮点 ：

Changyu nonvintage Cabernet, $5.40: The bad old times. An aroma that evoked dirty sweat socks and cleaning fluid and a foul chemical taste.

张裕不标年赤霞珠（Cabernet），售价5.40美元：这是一款差劲的老式酒， 闻起来有一种肮脏汗臭袜子和清洁剂的味道，口味则如同难闻的化学药剂。

Great Wall 'dry red wine,' $2.87: Clean and pleasant if light and simple, reminding me of the Charles Shaw 'Two Buck Chuck' wines in the U.S.

长城干红葡萄酒，售价 2.87美元：这款酒虽然味淡而简单，但倒还清新宜人。它让我们想起美国的查尔斯·肖牌（Charles Shaw）的 "两美元"酒。

Grace 2008 Cabernet, $10: Thin, with no varietal character.

怡园2008赤霞珠，售价10美元：口味单薄且没有葡萄品种的特性。

Grace 2001 Merlot, $28: An enticing smell that within a minute disappeared; the wine was too old and turning to vinegar when exposed to air.

怡园2001年梅鹿辄（Merlot），售价28美元：有种诱人的但即刻就消失的香味。酒太陈旧，暴露在空气中就变酸了。

Grace Deep Blue 2008, $42: This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc showed good balance and attractive flavors, although I wished it had more depth.

怡园2008年深蓝干红（Grace Deep Blue），售价 42美元：这种赤霞珠（Cabernet Sauvignon）、梅鹿辄（Merlot）和品丽珠（Cabernet Franc）的混合酒显示出其良好的平衡度和富有魅力的口味，尽管我希望它更具有深度。

Great Wall Cabernet 1998, $72: Real wine-deep colored, full bodied, tannic but with a lot of fruit-that could have held its own with Cabernets from other countries. The surprise consensus winner.

长城1998年赤霞珠（Cabernet），售价72美元：真正的深酒色，酒味浓郁，单宁含量高但水果味也很浓，若与其它国家的赤霞珠放在一起竞争也不会逊色。此款酒赢得了大家一致的认同，倒是事先未曾料到的。

Stan Sesser

• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中词汇)
• actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中词汇)
• chemical [´kemikəl] a.化学的 n.化学制品 (初中词汇)
• attractive [ə´træktiv] a.有吸引力；诱人的 (初中词汇)
• decade [´dekeid] n.十年(间) (高中词汇)
• dynasty [´dinəsti] n.王朝；朝代 (四级词汇)
• vinegar [´vinigə] n.醋 (四级词汇)