美国国家公共电台 NPR New York Vineyard Takes A Risk On Ice Wine For A Sweet Reward

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

There are few regions in the world where you can make true ice wine. If you haven't had it, it's a sweet, dessert-style vintage. It requires warm summers to grow quality grapes, but they also have to be picked and pressed when it's well below freezing. An arctic front settled on upstate New York recently for the perfect harvest conditions. And North Country Public Radio's David Sommerstein bundled up to send us this story.

DAVID SOMMERSTEIN, BYLINE¹: Coyote Moon in Clayton, N.Y., is just a few miles from the Canadian border. The family-owned vineyard grows two kinds of grapes for ice wine - Frontenac, a red, and Frontenac gris, a white. The crew recently trudged² out to harvest before sunrise. It was 3 degrees, so cold the snow was squeaking³. Christina Shanley has ice caking her eyelashes.

CHRISTINA SHANLEY: We were able to watch the sun come up through the vines. So you look through. All of our grapes are covered with netting. So you can look through the nets, and you see the grapes. And you see all your friends bundled up, shivering, (laughter) picking the clusters.

SOMMERSTEIN: Now the sun shines horizontal, bathing 30 rows of vines orange, the snow a glowing blue. Robert Heyman - burly beard, red wool hat - works fast along one row. He cracks bunches off the vine and drops them into a bucket with his bare hands. It's nothing compared to ice fishing, he says.

ROBERT HEYMAN: Don't need gloves.

SOMMERSTEIN: (Laughter) Come on. It's below zero.

HEYMAN: Yeah, but if you keep moving, you don't need them.

SOMMERSTEIN: No frostbite - people are checking you regularly to make sure.

HEYMAN: No brain, no pain.

SOMMERSTEIN: The grapes look almost black, brittle⁴ and abandoned.

TONY RANDAZZO: We're letting these grapes essentially⁵ turn into raisins⁶.

SOMMERSTEIN: Co-owner Tony Randazzo says that's the idea behind ice wine. You let the water in the grape crystallize, leaving the sugars to concentrate and mature.

T. RANDAZZO: And we're taking the best of the best of that kind of the sweet goodness that's left and turning that into wine. And that's really kind of where the magic happens - and you know, some minor⁷ frostbite, yeah (laughter).

SOMMERSTEIN: Ice wine is believed to have started in Germany in the 1700s when winemakers had to make the best of a frozen harvest. But Canada has become the world's leader, and Coyote Moon follows Canada's strict standards. You have to harvest and press the grapes below 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit⁸, and there are precise guidelines for alcohol and sugar content.

PHIL RANDAZZO: Hey.

SOMMERSTEIN: How's it going?

P. RANDAZZO: Good.

SOMMERSTEIN: Phil Randazzo, the vineyard's founder⁹ and patriarch, rumbles¹⁰ up in a tractor to haul a vat¹¹ of grapes to the outdoor press. He says there are plenty of imitators who use coolers instead of nature.

P. RANDAZZO: A lot of guys will take and freeze their grapes. And you know, that's just not the real deal. It's just - they taste different. It's just not iced wine or variations thereof. It's got to be called I-C-E, ice wine.

SOMMERSTEIN: There are big risks to leaving tons of grapes just hanging on the vine. A wind storm can blow away the whole crop. Last year's warm winter delayed the harvest until February. But Lori Randazzo says the reward is bottles that fetch $50 and up and a sweet, fruity, almost creamy taste.

LORI RANDAZZO: It's soothing¹² down your throat when you drink it. The texture¹³ in your mouth is pleasant, not syrupy, but coating, wonderful. Yeah, it sticks with you a little.

SOMMERSTEIN: But no tasting today - ice wine requires patience. After pressing, the juice will ferment¹⁴ for a year, just about when it's time to brave the cold and harvest next year's frozen crop. For NPR News, I'm David Sommerstein in Clayton, N.Y.

(SOUNDBITE OF LIGHTS AND MOTION'S "FIREFLIES")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

11 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

12 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

13 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

14 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。