加州的釀酒師打破加州葡萄酒的刻板形象

Snow was comingdown outside Charlie Bird, the wine-centric bistro in SoHo that's become a tribal hub for New York City's oenophiles. On this particular night, though, the place was crawling with winemakers from California.

在Charlie Bird酒吧的外面，天空正飄着雪花。這家位於紐約SoHo區、以葡萄酒爲主的酒吧已經成爲了紐約葡萄酒愛好者們的聚集地。不過在這個特別的夜晚，這裏擠滿了來自加州的釀酒師。

Seated at a table beside the window, former New Yorker Jamie Kutch and his wife, Kristen Green, who now run Kutch Wines on the Sonoma Coast, complimented Rajat Parr, the influential San Francisco sommelier-turned-winemaker, on his pink cashmere sweater and offered him a glass of 1978 La Pousse d'Or Clos l'Audignac Volnay. Hirsch Vineyards' Jasmine Hirsch, who had been wearing a torn and faded flannel shirt when I last saw her at her family vineyard, was dressed in a little black dress and kissing cheeks, including those of Ehren Jordan of Failla Wines in St. Helena, Calif. and Wells Guthrie of Copain Wines in Healdsburg, Calif.

曾住在紐約的傑米・庫奇(Jamie Kutch)和妻子克里絲滕・格林(Kristen Green)坐在靠窗的一張桌子旁，他們目前在索諾瑪海岸(Sonoma Coast)經營庫奇葡萄酒莊(Kutch Wines)。從侍酒師轉行做釀酒師、在舊金山頗具影響力的拉雅・帕爾(Rajat Parr)穿了件粉色羊絨衫。庫奇夫婦對這件羊絨衫表示了稱讚，並遞給了他一杯1978年的La Pousse d'Or Clos l'Audignac Volnay。赫希葡萄園(Hirsch Vineyards)的賈絲明・赫希(Jasmine Hirsch)穿着一條小黑裙，在跟人們親吻臉頰打招呼，包括加州 海倫娜(St. Helena)Failla Wines酒莊的埃倫・喬丹(Ehren Jordan)和加州希爾茲堡(Healdsburg) Copain Wines酒莊的韋爾斯・格思裏(Wells Guthrie)。上次我在赫希的家族葡萄園裏見到她時，她穿的是一件破破爛爛而且已經褪色的法蘭絨襯衫。

The Californians, members of a group called In Pursuit of Balance (I.P.O.B.), founded in 2008 by Mr. Parr and Ms. Hirsch, were converging on New York to share with the city a new style of California wine. The following day, they would hold one of their buzzy, increasingly influential tastings at an event space in TriBeCa.

這羣加州的釀酒師聚集在紐約和人們分享令人耳目一新的加州葡萄酒。第二天，他們將會在翠貝卡區(TriBeCa)的一處活動場地舉辦一場品酒會。這些人都是一個名叫In Pursuit of Balance(I.P.O.B.，意爲“追求平衡”)的組織的成員，該組織由帕爾和赫希建於2011年。他們舉辦的品酒會都很熱鬧，而且越來越有影響力。

Ms. Hirsch and company are seeking to dismantle the stereotype of California wines as fruity, oaky and high in alcohol. The group was founded, in Ms. Hirsch's words, 'to support wineries who are striving to produce elegant, site-specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.' These are the signature grapes of Burgundy, and I.P.O.B. takes much of its inspiration from that region of France, which is dominated by independent growers who make some of the most sought-after wines on the planet.

赫希及其公司正致力於打破加州葡萄酒果味濃、橡木味濃和酒精度高的刻板形象。用赫希的話說，這個組織的建立是“爲了支持致力於生產優雅的、特定產區黑皮諾(Pinot Noir)和霞多麗(Chardonnay)的釀酒廠”。這兩種葡萄是法國勃艮第(Burgundy)的標誌性品種，I.P.O.B.也從勃艮第獲得了很多靈感，這個地區以獨立的葡萄種植者爲主，全球最受追捧的一些葡萄酒就是由他們生產的。

These Californians are making wines for people who wouldn't be caught dead drinking California wines, winning over tastemakers like the young Manhattan and Brooklyn sommeliers who would flock to their tasting the day after the snowstorm.

這些加州釀酒師爲那些不會喝加州葡萄酒喝得爛醉如泥的人生產葡萄酒，他們爭取到了像年輕的曼哈頓和布魯克林侍酒師這樣的時尚引領者。這些侍酒師在暴風雪過後的那天都蜂擁而至參加了他們的品酒會。

The impression that the cool kids had formed a wine club was reinforced when, around 1 a.m., the group at Charlie Bird moved on to Pearl & Ash, downtown New York's other hip wine mecca, where they were greeted by managing partner and wine director Patrick Cappiello, wearing a black Misfits T-shirt. The winemakers downed multiple bottles of Savart, the cult grower Champagne of the moment. Sometimes, it seems, in pursuit of balance you have to get a little wobbly.

到凌晨一點左右，Charlie Bird的這羣人轉移到了紐約市中心另外一個時尚葡萄酒 地Pearl & Ash餐廳，讓人更加覺得這些酷酷的年輕人是成立了一個葡萄酒俱樂部。身穿黑色Misfits T恤的Pearl & Ash管理合夥人及葡萄酒總監帕特里克・卡皮耶洛(Patrick Cappiello)迎接了他們。釀酒師們喝下了好幾瓶Savart，這是一款當下受到熱捧的獨立酒莊香檳酒。有時，爲了追求平衡，似乎需要讓自己稍微有點搖晃。

The idea for the group was cooked up in 2011 at RN74, the San Francisco restaurant where Mr. Parr, who was born in India and trained at the Culinary Institute of America, served as sommelier and mentor to a generation of young sommeliers. After several years at J.P. Morgan in New York, Ms. Hirsch had recently moved back to the West Coast to join the family business. Her father, David, owns one of the most celebrated vineyards on California's Sonoma Coast, and was starting to produce his own wine. Ms. Hirsch had first met Mr. Parr when her father brought her as a young woman to New York for the celebration of the wines of Burgundy, known as La Paulee. She sought him out again when she moved West in 2008, and a romance developed. 'Why don't we have wines like this in California?' she asked him one night over a glass of Burgundy at RN74. 'We do,' he said. He introduced her to some of the California Pinots that he believed shared a Burgundian aesthetic, like Littorai and Au Bon Climat. Mr. Parr had just started making wine in Santa Barbara county (his brands are called Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote), and the pair decided to stage a tasting of their favorite California Pinots as a learning experience for a small group.

成立這個組織的想法是2011年在舊金山餐廳RN74形成的。帕爾當時在這家餐廳擔任侍酒師，並且帶着幾個年輕的侍酒師。帕爾出生於印度，在美國烹飪學院(Culinary Institute of America)接受過培訓。赫希在紐約摩根大通(J.P. Morgan)工作過幾年，後來搬回了西海岸，加入了家族企業。他的父親戴維(David)擁有加州索諾瑪海岸上最知名的一座葡萄園，並且剛開始生產自己的葡萄酒。赫希第一次見到帕爾是在少女時代她跟父親去紐約參加的一次La Paulee勃艮第葡萄酒慶祝會上。2008年她搬到西部時又找到了他，接着兩人萌生了一段戀情。一天晚上在RN74時，她喝着一杯勃艮第酒問帕爾：“爲什麼我們在加州沒有這樣的葡萄酒？”帕爾說：“我們有的。”他給赫希介紹了Littorai和Au Bon Climat等幾種他覺得有着勃艮第風味的加州黑皮諾。當時帕爾剛開始在 巴巴拉縣釀酒（他的品牌名爲Sandhi和Domaine de la Cote），二人決定給他們最喜歡的加州黑皮諾組織一次小範圍的品酒會，讓大家品鑑學習。

'I wrote down a list of 10 or 12 I liked on the back of a cocktail napkin,' Mr. Parr told me as we shared a 1996 Dujac Gevrey Combottes at Charlie Bird. 'The plan was to invite some friends, some somms, some people in the trade. It was packed. The next day there were lots of articles about the tasting and a lot of the discussion became heated. There was a feeling that I was creating division. I got hate mail.'

在Charlie Bird分享一瓶1996年的Dujac Gevrey Combottes時，帕爾告訴我：“當時我在一張餐巾紙的背面寫下了10種還是12種我喜歡的酒。計劃是邀請一些朋友、一些侍酒師，還有一些業內人士。品酒會上來了很多人。第二天有很多關於品酒會的報道，很多討論都成了熱門話題。有一種我在製造分裂的感覺。我收到了恐嚇信。”

Boys and girls, please. How had a Pinot Noir tasting gotten so nasty? And how could the group that emerged with such a sensible sounding name generate such controversy? Balance seems like a fairly reasonable goal. And Mr. Parr is a courtly and gentle fellow. Part of the problem had to do with his long-standing advocacy, at RN74, of a certain style of wine: He refused to stock Pinots or Chardonnays that clocked in at more than 14% alcohol, a relatively low threshold in sunny California.

拜託！好好的黑皮諾品酒會怎麼落得這樣的下場？名字這麼理性而且好聽的組織怎麼會引發如此多的爭議？平衡似乎是一個比較合理的目標。帕爾是一個溫文爾雅、有紳士風度的傢伙。問題部分和他在RN74長期推介特定類型的葡萄酒有關：他拒絕儲存酒精度超過14%的黑皮諾或霞多麗，這樣的酒精濃度在陽光明媚的加州是一個相對較低的標準。

Many Golden State winemakers were outraged at his curating tactics, as were certain critics who championed big, ripe, powerful wines. 'I think Raj is an unintentional lightning rod,' said Renee Bourassa, a sommelier who trained with him before moving to New York. Ms. Bourassa, who recently worked at the restaurant Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, added, 'He doesn't criticize others but he has very particular taste.'

很多加州釀酒師都對他的選酒策略不滿，擁護大品牌、成熟、有影響力葡萄酒的一些酒評人也是如此。曾和他一起接受培訓的侍酒師勒妮・布拉薩(Renee Bourassa)說：“我覺得拉雅無意中成了一枚招來批評‘雷電’的避雷針。”布拉薩最近在紐約Brooklyn Fare的餐廳Chef's Table工作。她接着說道：“他並不批評別人，但是有非常獨特的品味。”

What Mr. Parr likes, in his own words, are 'freshness, vibrancy, acidity and crunchiness.' (That last word, I think, is best understood as the opposite of 'syrupy.') What he doesn't go for so much is what wine writer Jon Bonne, in his excellent new book 'The New California Wine,' calls 'Big Flavor' (i.e., super-ripe, jammy, alcoholic wines). Especially when it comes to Pinot Noir, which, in its Burgundian incarnation, tends to be more savory than sweet.

用帕爾自己的話說，他喜歡的是“新鮮、活力、酸度和脆爽度”。（我覺得最後一個詞最好的理解是“粘稠”的反義詞。）他不大喜歡的是葡萄酒作家喬恩・邦內(Jon Bonne)在其精彩的新書《新加州葡萄酒》(The New California Wine)中所稱的“大味道”(Big Flavor)，也就是極其成熟、果醬味、酒精度較濃的葡萄酒。特別是黑皮諾，產自勃艮第的黑皮諾往往辛辣多過甜味。

Mr. Parr insists there are no technical parameters, no strict cutoffs or exclusionary rules governing admission to I.P.O.B., which currently has 33 members. In fact, some of the members do make wines that clock in above 14% alcohol. The definition of balance is an ongoing project, Mr. Parr said. Each year a five-person committee blind tastes the wines of potential members and judges them. The wines that make the cut tend to be more restrained, less fruity, brighter and more acidic than the typical Cali Pinots and Chards. (Chardonnay was added to the program in 2012.)

帕爾堅稱I.P.O.B.的入會管理並沒有技術參數，也沒有嚴格的標準或排除規定。目前該組織有33名成員。事實上，有些成員會釀造酒精度超過14%的葡萄酒。帕爾說，平衡的定義是一個持續不斷的工程。每年都有一個由五人組成的委員會盲品欲入會成員的葡萄酒然後做出評判。入圍的葡萄酒往往都比較內斂，果味沒那麼濃，比普通加州黑皮諾和霞多麗更透亮、更酸。（霞多麗在2012年被列爲品評對象。）

Most member labels are too small to devote much money to marketing. They benefit from the exposure provided by semiannual tastings in California and New York, increasingly popular with industry professionals. Perhaps equally important is the growing cachet of being admitted to the I.P.O.B., whose members, in Mr. Parr's words, 'make wines that don't tend to get huge scores in the Wine Spectator or the Wine Advocate.'

大多數會員的品牌都太小了，不值得花很多錢來做營銷。他們都得益於在加州和紐約半年一次的品酒會帶來的曝光，日益受到業內專業人士的歡迎。也許還有很重要的一點是被准許加入I.P.O.B.對品牌品質的證明越來越有力。用帕爾的話來說，該組織的成員“釀造的酒一般並不會在《葡萄酒觀察家》(The Wine Spectator)雜誌或《葡萄酒倡導家》(Wine Advocate)雜誌得高分”。

Personally, I think the group represents some of California's most exciting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers. But I'm a Burgundy nut; if your palate skews toward ripe, intense fruit flavors, you may want to shop elsewhere.

我個人認爲這個組織代表了加州最令人驚喜的一些黑皮諾和霞多麗生產商。但我並不是一個勃艮第迷，如果你的味覺偏向於成熟的濃郁果味，就應該去別的地方買酒。

California is no longer a punch line among New York's wine cognoscenti, who generally reserve their praise for earthy Burgundies and high-acidity Mosel Rieslings.

加州不再是紐約葡萄酒行家們的談資，他們一般都會把溢美之詞留給帶泥土芳香的勃艮第酒和酸度較高的莫塞雷司令(Mosel Rieslings)。

The day after the Pearl & Ash festivities, some of the city's top somms, including Raj Vaidya of Daniel and Paul Grieco of Hearth Restaurant, were rubbing elbows at the group's tasting in TriBeCa. Tasters were trading notes, arguing favorites. Drew Family Cellars and Ceritas were getting lots of buzz, as was Steve Matthiasson's 2012 Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay. Many more people attended the raucous afterparty that followed the tasting, at Lafayette in NoHo. Aldo Sohm of Le Bernardin, who won the Best Sommelier in the World title in 2008, hugged Ms. Hirsch with one arm while holding out a glass to John Beaver Truax of Chambers Street Wines, who filled it with a rare '99 Fourrier Bourgogne Blanc. Winemaker Steve Matthiasson drank multiple glasses of 1969 Dr. Deinhard Deidesheimer Riesling. Wells Guthrie, of Copain Wines, was drinking a beer from Brooklyn Brewery.

Pearl & Ash狂歡的第二天，包括Daniel餐廳的拉傑・維迪雅(Raj Vaidya)和Hearth Restaurant餐廳的保羅・格列科(Paul Grieco)在內的紐約頂級侍酒師在該組織在翠貝卡區的品酒會上觥籌交錯。大家相互交流意見，討論自己最喜歡的葡萄酒。Drew Family Cellars和Ceritas的酒極受關注，還有史蒂夫・馬西亞森(Steve Matthiasson) 的2012年Linda Vista Vineyard霞多麗。更多的人蔘加了隨後在NoHo的Lafayette餐廳舉行的熱鬧派對。2008年獲得世界最佳侍酒師稱號、Le Bernardin餐廳的侍酒師奧爾多・索姆(Aldo Sohm)一隻手擁抱赫希，另一隻手把杯子遞給Chambers Street Wines的約翰・比弗・特魯瓦克斯(John Beaver Truax)，後者給他倒了一杯稀有的99年Fourrier Bourgogne Blanc。釀酒師史蒂夫・馬西亞森喝了好幾杯1969年的Dr. Deinhard Deidesheimer Riesling。Copain Wines的韋爾斯・格思裏喝的是Brooklyn Brewery的啤酒。

The party was still going strong when I lolloped out sometime after one, and the I.P.O.B. crowd partied on, apparently attempting to prove that excess in the pursuit of balance is no vice.

我在一點鐘以後出去晃悠時，派對依然很熱鬧。I.P.O.B.一衆人等繼續聚會，顯然是想證明，爲了追求平衡，就算過量也無大礙。

Oenofile: Five Cool California Moderates

葡萄酒入門：五款絕妙的中低度加州葡萄酒

2011 Copain Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir, $28

2011年的Copain Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir，售價28美元

Cool climate and a cool vintage make for a delicate, savory Anderson Valley Pinot with sour cherry and star anise flavors.

涼爽的氣候和涼爽的年份成就了這款柔和且極具風味的Anderson Valley Pinot，帶酸櫻桃和八角茴香味。

2012 Lioco Chardonnay,$35

2012年的Lioco Chardonnay，售價35美元

This naked (i.e., unoaked) chard from the Russian River Valley has great bone structure and plenty of curves as well. Pleasant acidity and lively pear fruit.

這款來自Russian River Valley的未經橡木桶陳釀的霞多麗有很棒的骨架，同時也有很多曲線。酸度宜人，散發着輕盈的梨香。

2012 Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast,$35

2012年的Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast，售價35美元

This bottling contains nicely balancing sweet and savory notes, with an emphasis on the latter. Intriguing sage and bay leaf notes play on top of ripe red fruit.

這款酒的甜味和香味有着巧妙的均衡，其中的香味尤其突出。有着濃郁的成熟紅色水果味，並散發出誘人的鼠尾草和月桂葉香氣。

2011 Domaine de la Cote Bloom's Field Pinot Noir,$55

2011年的Domaine de la Cote Bloom's Field Pinot Noir，售價55美元

Piercing red fruit with a mineral core, bright but not heavy. This Santa Rita Hills pinot is a titanium fist in a velvet glove. Lower alcohol than most: 12.5%.

濃郁的紅色水果味，主調是礦物香，酒體顏色明亮而不厚重。這款Santa Rita Hills的黑皮諾外柔內剛，酒精度爲12.5%，低於大多數葡萄酒。

2011 Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault Pinot Noir,$60

2011年的Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault Pinot Noir，售價60美元

This tightly coiled Pinot from one of Sonoma's finest vineyards blends tart raspberry fruit with herbal grace notes. It's still a baby; try to cellar this for a year or two if you can resist.

這款結構緊湊的黑皮諾來自索諾瑪最好的葡萄園之一，融合了酸酸的覆盆子果香和香草味。這款酒還很年輕，如果你能抵得住誘惑，不妨再存放個一兩年。