味覺魔法師

有一種難以定位的事物，它非人類的情感，也不是單純的物質，然而全球的王室貴族，富豪和企業家都希望得到它的輔助，這便是品酒師的味蕾。

自1953年葡萄酒大師MW（Master of Wine）資格認證考試開設以來，截止到去年，全球共有279人獲得該稱號。這些獲得大師認證的279人有英國人，有美國人，有澳大利亞人，但直到2008年，才出現了第一位亞洲人。

出身于韓國首爾的李志延女士便是這亞洲第一葡萄酒大師，長居于香港的她攜新書《亞洲人的味蕾》來京舉辦簽書會，《私人飛機》和這位葡萄酒大師相約于“中國會”，聽她講述瑰麗的葡萄酒人生。

緣起學生時代

李志延對葡萄酒的興趣始源于在牛津大學作為交換生的一年間，此前只淺嘗過普通的葡萄酒，直到19歲在英國的一次晚宴，初次品味尚有年份的波爾多，讓李志延再難忘懷。不只是味道，讓李志延覺得十分有趣的是晚宴上配合不同食物所搭配的葡萄酒。各種奇妙的組合，賦予了每種葡萄酒自我和獨一無二的性格。她第一次認識到，原來葡萄酒也可以這樣品嘗，原來葡萄酒也有如此多的學問。

學生時期，李志延常常為了一頓美食而存上好一陣子的錢。李志延意識到，歐洲人把葡萄酒當作美食的一部分，“當你有享受美食的打算時，你總能看到葡萄酒的身影。”李志延從葡萄酒“新鮮人”做起，翻閱書籍再加上涉身的體驗，她嘗試去了解每種葡萄酒美味的原因和與其他酒種的不同之處。對于那些好酒的第一印象，李志延告訴本刊，她總能感覺出它們的與眾不同，沒有其他的酒種可以與之比擬。品嘗酒的同時是在品嘗酒的個性，和它背后隱藏的故事。“產地在哪，生產人是誰，葡萄生長時的氣候等等，有太多太多等著品酒人去揭秘。”

首次考試敗北

品葡萄酒，寫葡萄酒，在葡萄酒行業越陷越深，考取葡萄酒大師的認證資格就像是道必過的門檻。對于李志延這位哈佛畢業的高材生來說，考試更不是什么輕易被難倒的事情。正是這樣輕視的心態讓她在第一次接受葡萄酒大師認證考試時敗北。2008年的卷土重來卻又再次印證了她的決心和所具備的天生味蕾。

談起MW的考試，李志延仍津津樂道。這場總共歷經4天的考試考的不僅僅是品酒，更多的是理論，以及對葡萄酒和這個行業的認知。每天上午要品多達12種不知名的酒，下午則通過論文表述如何認為每種酒是產自該地、出于此年份、葡萄糖分、釀酒經過、所用裝酒酒瓶等。這其中甚至包括許多涉及地理、科學和化學方面的知識，或許也是為什么至今獲得MW頭銜的人數屈手可數的原因之一。

It is hard to define what it is exactly. It is not a thing， nor an emotion. But the rich and famous， the royals and the privileged all want a piece of it – it is the taste bud of a master of wine.

MW (Master of Wine) accreditation was established in 1953. Since then 279 have been awarded the title as of end of 2011. There had been Brits， Americans， Australians but not a single Asian until 2008.

Jeannie Cho Lee is the first Asian MW. She now lives in Hong Kong and just had a book-signing event (Asian Plate) in Beijing. U-Jet met her and heard her rosy life of wine.

Since the School Days

Lee became fascinated with wine in her year as an exchange student at Oxford University. She had had some wine before but never such an extraordinary Bordeaux as at the banquet in England when she was 19. She could never forget it and was even more impressed with different wines to go with different food. Magical combination highlighted the unique personality of every wine. She realized for the first time how magical and deep wine could be.

In her school days， she often saved for quite a while just to have a good meal. Wine is an integral part of nice meals to Europeans. “When you have nice food， you see wine，” said she. She started her education of wine as a “freshman”. She read extensively and tried different wines， figuring out where the nice taste came from and how one wine was different from another. Lee told us that for those truly extraordinary wine， it was always the one and only， incomparable to anything else. Wine tasting is about exploring the unique character of each wine and the stories behind. “Where is the origin， who are the growers， what is the weather like， etc， etc，” said she.

Unlucky First Time

Lee paid her dues tasting and writing about wine and became deeply immersed， until it seemed a natural step to get a MW certificate. For a Harvard graduate， exams shouldn’t be that hard， but it was her taking-it-easy mindset that led to her failure for the first time. She had another go in 2008， more determined and better prepared.

Lee still reminisced her MW exams， which lasted four days， and skewed towards theory， and a candidate’s knowledge of wine and the industry， apart from wine tasting. Each morning， a candidate tasted as many as 12 unnamed wines. In the afternoon， one had to describe in a paper where each wine is produced， in what year， its sugar content， the wine-making process， and bottling details. The exams cover geography， science and chemistry， perhaps the reason why very few people eventually pass.

Work Life Balance

Lee is now a consultant for the Singapore Airline and Macau Galaxy Resort， as well as a special contributor to various wine media outlets.

Lee said that work is relaxed and enjoyable， because she does what she is passionate about. She recommends wine to clients and tells them what will be the results of particular wine-food combination. Lee is overjoyed with their reaction.

She is a mother of four and the biggest challenge is work life balance. She flies around the world and she finds it best to go on holiday with kids to strike work-life balance， that’s why she doesn’t work for at least two months every year.

美酒心語

搭配粵菜的海鮮菜式，德國葡萄酒中干型的雷司令，或來自Pfalz或Silvaner產區的Pinot Blanc或Pinot Gris是幾個不錯的選擇。因為這些酒酸度和堅實的特點會為餐點加入清新的體驗，也比甜膩的葡萄酒更經得起強烈、刺鼻、甚至發酵的味道。而對于味道強烈的菜式，如以豆豉調味的菜肴，中等酒體的德國干紅則能與之搭配。

當然李志延也有碰壁的時候，在客人對葡萄酒的搭配持否定意見時，李志延虛心接受并將其當作實踐和磨練的一部分。

李志延經常走訪亞洲各地并對葡萄酒市場作分析。她認為中國產區的葡萄酒已有很大的進步。比起過去，酒質更清亮，更突顯了水果的特質。尤其寧夏地區的一些酒，和用產自新疆、甘肅的葡萄釀的酒，都能夠很好的將葡萄特性釀于酒中。

“中國大部分的葡萄酒在口味上更接近歐洲酒種，因為其大陸性質的地理和氣候因素，葡萄酒略帶有土地的味道，尤以河北和山東兩個產區為代表。同時也表示中國產區的不足之處依然存在，突出在葡萄種植方面。好的葡萄酒必須慎重對待葡萄的產量，絕不能使產量超標。”她認為中國種植葡萄的農民們往往因高產量等于高利潤的概念誤區而導致釀酒的葡萄不佳。而在歐洲，種植葡萄的農民自己也是葡萄酒愛好者，以飲酒人的角度來種植葡萄，他們更清楚如何種出得以釀成佳釀的葡萄。

Medium-dry Riesling from Germany， Pinot Blanc from Pfalz or Silvaner are good for Cantonese sea food. The acidity and solidity add freshness to meals; and they resist strong， pungent and even fermented taste better than sweet varieties. Medium-body German dry plays magic with tempeh-dressed food.

Lee has her share of resistance. When clients rejected her recommendation， she accepted it graciously.

Lee visits various parts of Asia to analyze local markets. She sees great progress in Chinese wine regions. The wines are clearer and highlight the characters of grapes. She particularly likes wine from Ningxia， and wine made with Xinjian and Gansu grapes， which incorporate the characteristics of local grapes in them.

“Chinese wine is closer to European variety， due to continental geography and weather conditions. Wine carries the character of local soil， especially those from Hebei and Shandong. But there are shortcomings， mostly with growing. Yield factor is important for good wine， over growing is never good，” said Lee. She thinks that farmers have the misconception that high production equals high profits， and this leads to unsatisfactory grape quality. In Europe， growers are wine makers themselves， keenly aware of how to grow best grapes.