美的置业有限公司:什么时候葡萄酒需要醒酒？

When should wine be decanted?

什么时候葡萄酒需要醒酒？

醒酒是有实际用途的，但却经常被认为是装B。你醒酒么？如果是，如何？

Decanting wine has a practical purpose but is frequently regarded as mere affectation. Do you decant, and if so, what?

Debrah Clarke of Phillips auctioneers, Edinburgh, examines a large decanter reputedly owned by Queen Victoria. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

菲利普斯拍卖行的黛博拉克拉克在检查一个相传曾属于的维多利亚女皇的大醒酒器，爱丁堡。摄影：David Cheskin/PA

As if the stress of getting Christmas lunch on the table were not enough, there's also that last minute panic of wondering whether anything needs to be decanted. If you do, you're not alone. Few aspects of wine service are more misunderstood. Decanting is probably as often performed unnecessarily on wines that don't need it as omitted (possibly for reasons of embarrassment) for wines that do.

    犹如弄一顿圣诞大餐的压力还够大，总还会有那样的恐慌，临了临了犹豫是不是所有的东西都需要倒出来醒一下。如果你真这样，你不是一个人在战斗。侍酒的一些相关的内容总是被误解。醒酒就经常被施于根本不需要醒的酒，而没有施于需要醒的酒（也许是出于尴尬）。

The most obvious reason to decant is that the wine has thrown a deposit, and that's really only likely with vintage or crusted ports and aged unfiltered reds. For the process to work effectively the bottle needs to have been upright for several hours, then be carefully poured into the decanter in front of a light (traditionally a candle) so you can see as the sediment inches towards the neck. You need to do this in a single movement so that it doesn't fall back and get mixed up with the wine again.

    进行醒酒的最显而易见的原因是因为葡萄酒中的沉淀。沉淀只会发生在陈年或是结皮波特酒（译者：crusted port我不是很清楚中文对应的名称应该是什么，只知道是一种因为酿造和勾兑工艺而天然就又沉淀的波特酒）和陈年的没经过过滤的红葡萄酒中。为了醒酒的过程能有效，酒瓶需要直立放置数小时，然后小心地将酒在灯光下（传统操作是在烛光下）导入醒酒器，这样你就能看清瓶颈处的沉淀了。这个过程你需要一招搞定，不能把酒瓶倒回去而造成就和沉淀的再次混合。

You may also want to get some air into a wine that smells slightly stinky - there are more of these around given the growing popularity of natural wines made with no or very little sulphur - or full-bodied young reds that need a bit of aeration to mellow over-aggressive tannins. You might even want to decant a full-bodied white if you feel it's tasting a bit funky or not showing at its best. When deprived of oxygen wines can develop strange aromas. If they get worse after decanting the wine is probably corked.

    你也许想让空气进入到闻起来有屑微发臭的葡萄酒中--虽然酿造过程中不添加或添加极少量的硫的葡萄酒在日益普及-或是进入到有强烈的单宁的酒体丰满的年轻的红葡萄酒中，一些氧能使其更加醇厚。你甚至想醒一些大酒体的白葡萄酒，如果这些酒品起来有些霉味或者是没有表现出最佳状态。在缺乏氧的情况下葡萄酒会产生一些诡异的香气。如果在醒酒之后状况变得更糟了，这支酒很可能是有瓶塞味儿了。

How far ahead to decant depends on the wine. it may simply be a question of getting a bit of air into it, in which case simply decanting before you pour will do the trick (much more effective than pulling the cork and leaving the bottle open for an hour or so).

    提前多长时间进行醒酒要根据酒本身。这可能只是让酒里进一些空气这样的小问题，在这种情况下，在你倒酒之前简单地醒一下就可以（比拔出瓶塞把酒搁那儿一个多小时要有效得多）。

Wines you don't want to decant too far ahead - or at all - are fragile old reds which might fall apart once exposed to air, most ports (you don't need to decant a late bottled vintage or a tawny, for example) or crisp dry fino or manzanilla sherries, which should be served chilled from the fridge - however much that may horrify elderly relatives.

    有些酒你不想提前很早醒酒--或者根本就不想醒--比如那些可能一接触空气就毁掉的脆弱的陈年红葡萄酒，大多数的波特酒（比如你不需要醒新的波特酒或者是褐波特酒）、干菲诺酒或者需要直接从冰箱里拿出来喝的曼扎尼拉雪利酒。当然，很多陈年酒还是需要的。

Decanters don't need to be expensive cut glass crystal heirlooms. We've picked most of ours up from . You can even use a jug. If you're embarrassed by the whole process you can simply double decant: pour the wine into a jug and from the jug back into the bottle (rinsed if the wine has thrown a deposit).

    醒酒器不一定非得要是昂贵的水晶制得传家宝。我们的大多数是从二手慈善商店中买到的。你甚至可以用坛子。如果你对整个醒酒的程序感到尴尬，你可以干脆进行一个二次倒酒：把葡萄酒从瓶子里倒进坛子里然后再从坛子里倒回到瓶子里(如果酒瓶里有沉淀，需要冲一下）。

The ideal shape, if you're looking for presents, is one with a wide base like this which gives you plenty of room to swirl the wine - gently - around. And which actually looks quite stylish on the table.

    理想状态下啊，如果你想耍一下的话，是需要有足够的地方让你轻柔地去摇酒的。而这的确在餐桌上看起来很有范儿。

Which, if any, wines might you decant, or would you feel self-conscious about doing it in front of family and friends?

    如果你有机会醒酒的话，会不会觉得在家人和朋友面前有面子了一些？