Seeing Reds
Also in reds, close your eyes and pick up just about any American Pinot Noir, above or below $20. Considering that this grape was thought to be a loser in the U.S. for decades, we're amazed how far it has come in such a short time. Even some of the most common names in the store, like Kendall-Jackson and Beringer, make good Pinot Noir at excellent prices. Pinot also goes with all sorts of food. Another good bet among American reds is Syrah, which some American vintners are calling Shiraz now. Petite Sirah is a different grape altogether, but it will probably be in the Syrah section and also is usually a good bet. If you choose a Petite Sirah, be prepared for a wine with real ooomph.

有关红酒

仍然谈红酒。请闭上眼睛随便拿起一瓶价格在20美元上下的美国产黑比诺（Pinot Noir）。想想这种葡萄在美国的种植几十年来被认为是个失败例子，我们却惊奇地发现在如此短时间里它能有如此的进步。即使商店里最普通的牌子，像肯德尔 -杰克逊酒庄（Kendall-Jackson）和贝灵哲酒庄（Beringer），也能酿制出口味不错但价格极其划算的黑比诺酒。这种葡萄酒能与各种食物搭配。美国红葡萄酒中的另一个不错的选择是西拉（Syrah），现在一些美国酒商称其为设拉子（Shiraz）。小希拉（Petite Sirah）则是一个完全不同的葡萄品种，但它可能会摆放在西拉酒一类里，这种酒也通常是一个不错的选择。如果您选择小希拉，那就准备好品尝真正具有活力的酒。

For whites, we'd buy Sauvignon Blanc from just about anywhere because country after country right now is producing fine examples. In general, we'd focus on the French section for whites - Muscadet, Sancerre, Vouvray, anything from Alsace and even less-expensive white Burgundies such as Macon and Saint-Veran.

说到白葡萄酒，我们会买任何地方产的白苏维翁（Sauvignon Blanc），因为一个接一个国家正在酿制此类美酒。一般来说，我们会把注意力集中到法国产的白葡萄酒上：米斯卡代（Muscadet），桑塞尔（Sancerre），武弗雷（Vouvray），任何来自阿尔萨斯（Alsace）的酒都不错的，我们甚至会买更便宜的白勃艮第酒，如梅肯（Macon）和圣佛兰（Saint-Veran）。

That's a quick overview, but, if you want to get just a little bit more detailed, here are two additional pieces of advice. First, look for varietals that are new to you. Remember that Merlot was new as an American varietal in 1972, that most people hadn't heard of Shiraz in 1998 and that Malbec was obscure until wines from Argentina caught fire a couple of years ago. More vintners all over the world are experimenting with different grape types, which means a cornucopia of different varietals in shops these days. If you see a Marsanne from California or a Carmenere from Chile, you're likely to have an interesting experience.

以上是粗略的介绍。但你若想知道得更详细点，这里还有两个建议。首先，寻找对你来说是新的品种。要知道，美乐作为美国品种在1972年时是属于新面孔，而在1998年大多数人还没有听说过设拉子，而阿根廷葡萄酒在几年前开始在市场上变得火爆之前，马尔贝克（Malbec）还很少为人知晓。世界各地的酿酒商正尝试用更多不同种类的葡萄酿酒，这意味着商店里不同品种的葡萄酒琳琅满目。如果您看到来自加利福尼亚的玛珊（Marsanne）或从智利来的卡蒙（Carmenere），你很可能会有一段有趣的体验。

Second, give the little guys a chance. It's hard to be a small producer. Small wineries in the U.S. complain all the time about how difficult it is to get their wines distributed to many states and small wineries everywhere else in the world complain about how tough it is to get any wine at all into the U.S. Small producers often offer wines with special individuality and character. You probably won't have read anything about them and they might be the only wines in the store without a 90-point neck ring, but that's because these wines are rare. It wouldn't be a bad New Year's resolution to decide that, in 2006, you will only buy bottles that you've never tried before - even if you look for them in all of the aisles we said you should shun. Which actually reminds us of another good resolution: Don't let wine critics make decisions for you in 2006. It's useful to listen to advice from a variety of sources, but the only palate that's important is your own. Trust it.

第二个建议是，给小作坊们一个机会。经营小酒厂不容易。所有美国的小酒厂向来抱怨他们的酒要分销到很多州是多么难，而世界上其它地方的小酒厂也抱怨他们的酒要进入美国是多么难。小酒厂往往能酿制出具有特别个性的酒。你可能不会读到对这些酒的评论，他们可能是店里唯一的没有挂着90点评分标签的葡萄酒，但那只是因为这些酒很罕见。今年，如果你决定只买从未尝试过的酒，倒不失为一个不错的新年目标，即使那意味着你会在我们建议你该避开的柜子上搜寻。这实际上又让我们想到了另一个新年目标：今年不要让酒评家替你做决定。尽管多听听各种渠道的建议会有所裨益，但只有你自己的体会才是最重要的。信任你自己的味蕾。