低醇和无酒精葡萄酒，算得上是葡萄酒吗？

文｜Tersina Shieh 编、译｜张恬熙

低醇或不含酒精的葡萄酒/啤酒/烈酒在中国香港的潮流或许还不够明显，但在英国和美国却越来越受欢迎。正在提供这类产品的香港进口商表示：销售状况令人满意。这种低酒精甚至不含酒精的“酒精饮料”究竟是有市场，还是仅仅只是一种时尚罢了？

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/无酒精的葡萄酒拥护者表示：他们在与朋友们社交、玩乐时，不想因为喝酒而感到有压力。虽然我是个葡萄酒爱好者，但不得不承认，有时候我也不想喝任何葡萄酒（或是酒精饮料）。可能因为我太累了，感觉不舒服或就是不想喝酒。不过，我还是会和朋友们一起出去，就算喝杯起泡水（或许还是倒在葡萄酒杯里）也会很开心。如果有朋友强迫我喝酒，那在我看来，这就不是真正的朋友了。

我还记得年轻时曾在寺庙里吃过很油腻的素菜，每一道菜都有像“素鱼”“素鹅”这样的名字，这些食物的形状做得像鱼或鹅。我觉得这有点虚伪，如果我喜欢吃素食，我就会骄傲地去吃一碗沙拉而不是去吃一道油腻的、长得像鱼的菜肴。在我看来，这和低醇/无酒精的葡萄酒是一个道理，如果你根本不愿意，为什么还要喝一种叫“葡萄酒”的饮品呢？

葡萄酒就是一种由葡萄汁发酵而成的天然产物，具有多种香气。酒精有助于提升味觉，让口感更加丰富。酿造低醇葡萄酒的方法之一，是在用一般的手法酿成酒后再故意去除酒精。对我来说，这种做法（一般是通过离心法或反渗透法）就像给人截肢一样，酿造出来的“葡萄酒”是不平衡且不完整的。

另一种酿造低醇葡萄酒的方法，是在所有的糖转化为酒精之前停止发酵。但最终葡萄酒里还是会含有大量的糖。这样说来，酒精和糖，两害相权该取何为轻呢？

葡萄酒最终的酒精度取决于葡萄收获时所含的糖。在过去的20－30年里，酿酒师在葡萄成熟之后会故意将葡萄留在树藤上一段时间（延长挂果时间），通过这种方式积累葡萄糖分，提升酒精含量。最近，酿酒师会在葡萄刚刚成熟时进行采摘，从而酿造出更有活力、更新鲜并且低度数的天然葡萄酒。根据你对低醇的理解，来自凉爽产区的葡萄酒会比温暖产区葡萄酒的度数低很多，比如德国。那些非常在意酒精摄入量的消费者，可以选择来自凉爽地区的葡萄酒。这些葡萄酒的度数不会过低，除非是甜型葡萄酒，但至少这些葡萄酒是自然产物并且是完整的。

当然，一款酒的味道也不可忽视。在最近一次关于这个话题的辩论中，我们喝了一些非常糟糕的低醇/无酒精葡萄酒。白葡萄酒尝起来带有甜味，却没有任何酸度结构，红葡萄酒喝起来就像带苦味儿的草药。这些葡萄酒通常比较贵，因为需要进行额外的加工来去除酒精。

我一点儿也不反对无酒精饮料，但我并不认可饮用低醇/无酒精的酒款是迫于同伴的压力而妥协，又或者是为了一样无趣的东西而去支付它的溢价。低醇/不含酒精的酒的前提一定是味道可口。在这之前，我只会坚持喝水。

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.