文｜Tersina Shieh 編、譯｜張?zhí)裎?/p>

低醇或不含酒精的葡萄酒/啤酒/烈酒在中國香港的潮流或許還不夠明顯，但在英國和美國卻越來越受歡迎。正在提供這類產(chǎn)品的香港進口商表示：銷售狀況令人滿意。這種低酒精甚至不含酒精的“酒精飲料”究竟是有市場，還是僅僅只是一種時尚罷了？

The trend may not be obvious in Hong Kong but low-alcohol or no-alcohol wine/beer/spirits is getting popular in the UK and the US.Hong Kong importers offering these products claim sales are satisfactory.Is there a place for these low/no-alcohol'alcohol beverage' or is it just a fad?

低醇/無酒精的葡萄酒擁護者表示：他們在與朋友們社交、玩樂時，不想因為喝酒而感到有壓力。雖然我是個葡萄酒愛好者，但不得不承認，有時候我也不想喝任何葡萄酒（或是酒精飲料）?？赡芤驗槲姨哿?，感覺不舒服或就是不想喝酒。不過，我還是會和朋友們一起出去，就算喝杯起泡水（或許還是倒在葡萄酒杯里）也會很開心。如果有朋友強迫我喝酒，那在我看來，這就不是真正的朋友了。

我還記得年輕時曾在寺廟里吃過很油膩的素菜，每一道菜都有像“素魚”“素鵝”這樣的名字，這些食物的形狀做得像魚或鵝。我覺得這有點虛偽，如果我喜歡吃素食，我就會驕傲地去吃一碗沙拉而不是去吃一道油膩的、長得像魚的菜肴。在我看來，這和低醇/無酒精的葡萄酒是一個道理，如果你根本不愿意，為什么還要喝一種叫“葡萄酒”的飲品呢？

葡萄酒就是一種由葡萄汁發(fā)酵而成的天然產(chǎn)物，具有多種香氣。酒精有助于提升味覺，讓口感更加豐富。釀造低醇葡萄酒的方法之一，是在用一般的手法釀成酒后再故意去除酒精。對我來說，這種做法（一般是通過離心法或反滲透法）就像給人截肢一樣，釀造出來的“葡萄酒”是不平衡且不完整的。

另一種釀造低醇葡萄酒的方法，是在所有的糖轉(zhuǎn)化為酒精之前停止發(fā)酵。但最終葡萄酒里還是會含有大量的糖。這樣說來，酒精和糖，兩害相權(quán)該取何為輕呢？

葡萄酒最終的酒精度取決于葡萄收獲時所含的糖。在過去的20－30年里，釀酒師在葡萄成熟之后會故意將葡萄留在樹藤上一段時間（延長掛果時間），通過這種方式積累葡萄糖分，提升酒精含量。最近，釀酒師會在葡萄剛剛成熟時進行采摘，從而釀造出更有活力、更新鮮并且低度數(shù)的天然葡萄酒。根據(jù)你對低醇的理解，來自涼爽產(chǎn)區(qū)的葡萄酒會比溫暖產(chǎn)區(qū)葡萄酒的度數(shù)低很多，比如德國。那些非常在意酒精攝入量的消費者，可以選擇來自涼爽地區(qū)的葡萄酒。這些葡萄酒的度數(shù)不會過低，除非是甜型葡萄酒，但至少這些葡萄酒是自然產(chǎn)物并且是完整的。

當(dāng)然，一款酒的味道也不可忽視。在最近一次關(guān)于這個話題的辯論中，我們喝了一些非常糟糕的低醇/無酒精葡萄酒。白葡萄酒嘗起來帶有甜味，卻沒有任何酸度結(jié)構(gòu)，紅葡萄酒喝起來就像帶苦味兒的草藥。這些葡萄酒通常比較貴，因為需要進行額外的加工來去除酒精。

我一點兒也不反對無酒精飲料，但我并不認可飲用低醇/無酒精的酒款是迫于同伴的壓力而妥協(xié)，又或者是為了一樣無趣的東西而去支付它的溢價。低醇/不含酒精的酒的前提一定是味道可口。在這之前，我只會堅持喝水。

Advocates of low/no alcohol wine argue that they want to socialise with friends and have a good time but don’t want to feel pressurised to drink.I, a devoted wine lover, have to admit that there are times that I don't feel like any wine (or alcohol).It may be because I am too tired, not feeling well or just don't feel like to.However, I will still go out with friends and happily sip a sparkling water (maybe in a wine glass).If my friends pressurise me to drink, then I don't think they are my real friends.

I remember the very oily vegetarian dishes we had in temples when I was young.All the dishes served had names like 'vegetarian fish', 'vegetarian goose', and so on, and the food was shaped like a fish or goose.I think this is hypocritical; I love vegetarian food and will proudly have a nice bowl of salad rather than some kind of oily stuff in the shape of fish.I think the same applies to low/no wine, why drink something called‘wine’if you don't want it?

Going back to wine, alcohol is a natural product of grape juice fermentation along with the various aromas.Alcohol contributes to palate weight and supports the aromas.One way to make low alcohol wine is to make the wine in a normal process then deliberately remove the alcohol.To me, the process (usually by spinning cone or reverse osmosis) is just like chopping a limb off a person.The resultant‘wine’is unbalanced and incomplete.

The other way to make low alcohol wine is to stop fermentation midway before all sugar is converted to alcohol.However, the final product will also have significant sugar.So which one is a lesser evil? Alcohol or sugar?

The final alcohol in wine depends on the sugar the grapes has when harvested.In the past 20-30 years, winemakers deliberately left the grapes on vines for a period of time after the grapes were ripen (prolong hang time),resulting in high sugar accumulation in berries thus higher alcohol content.Recently, winemakers picked grapes when they are just ripen and produce livelier, fresher and lower alcohol wine naturally.Depending on your interpretation of low alcohol, a wine from a cooler region such as Germany has much lower alcohol than wine from a warmer region.Consumers who are concerning about their alcohol intake can opt wine from cooler regions.These wines will not have ultra-low alcohol unless they are sweet but they are natural and complete.

And there is the taste.At a recent debate on the topic, we tasted some pretty horrendous low/no alcohol wine.The white wine tasted sugary with no acid structure and the red wine was like the bitter herbal medicine.These wines are often relatively more expensive because of the extra process necessary to remove the alcohol.

I'm not at all against alcohol free beverage but I don't agree to drink low/no alcohol in order to appease to peer pressure, or to pay a premium for something that is not enjoyable.Low/no alcohol must taste good before they can take off.Until then, I will just stick to water.