Lost in English

喝葡萄酒是件簡單又麻煩的事，但是其中的諸多樂趣也在這些煩人龜毛的枝枝節節裡，我的意思是，你可以酒拿來，開了，倒了，乾了，一如梁山好漢。但如果真講究一切細節，完美的飲酒準備幾乎是一件吹毛求疵的任務。

   

首先什麼場合什麼人喝什麼酒。人多嘴雜的場合，慶生婚宴，品酒絕不是重點，弄一支需要花時間並搖頭晃腦細斟細酌的頂級好酒，那是糟蹋，也是可惜，遠不如一款簡單豐富均衡的酒，可以豪飲，可以品酩。如果幾個愛酒的好友聚一起，喝酒聊酒是人生一大樂事，這時候就不妨找出一兩支珍藏的。人生難得，不是?

Drinking wine is something both simple and complicated at the same time. But the many delights in the process are meant to be found precisely in those irritating, demanding, tiny details. What I mean is that you can get a bottle of wine. Open it. Pour it. Finish it. Just as the brotherhood in the Chinese classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh always do. But if every detail is to be taken seriously, then making all necessary preparations for drinking wine is almost an undertaking for which being picky is a necessity itself.

First of all, the choice of wine is determined by the occasion and people it is meant for. Enjoying good wine is never a priority in birthday parties or wedding banquets where a good crowd always keeps talking. For such occasions, getting a bottle of fine wine that you’re supposed to take time to sip bit by bit while wagging your head from time to time is both a waste and a pity. A much better choice is a bottle of wine that strikes a balance between simplicity and sophistication. You can drink it like an ox. You can take time to enjoy it slowly. If several wine-loving friends get together, drinking and talking about wine is indeed a great pleasure. At such moments, you may as well fetch a couple of the finest bottles from your collection. Life does not have many such moments, does it?