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A mystery uncorked
风雨不归舟 发表于 2008-05-29 23:18:35
A mystery uncorked
May 8th 2008
From The Economist print edition
1. DECEMBER 5th 1985 will for ever have a place in wine lore.
1985年的12月5日，这个日子将永远被载入葡萄酒史册。
2. On that day Christie's auctioned a bottle of 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux, thought to have once been part of Thomas Jefferson's cellar, and part of a cache of bottles said to have been recently unearthed from a Paris house.
这一天，Christie拍卖行拍卖了一瓶1787年的拉菲堡的波尔多葡萄酒。这瓶酒被认为曾一度存身于Thomas Jefferson的酒窖，据说是最近从巴黎一户人家的地窖里挖出来的藏酒中发现的。
3. The sale price for lot 337, 6,000, was five times the previous record for a normal-sized bottle of wine.
这个编号337的拍卖品，高达156,000美元的天价相当于此前一支标准瓶装葡萄酒拍卖价格纪录的五倍。
4. The buyer, Malcolm Forbes, was at first incensed that his son, Kip, bidding on his behalf, had paid so much.
一开始，这瓶酒的买者，Malcolm Forbes，被代他竞价的儿子Kip花如此重金拍下这瓶酒气得吐血。
5. But the sale caused such a stir that the publicity-seeking billionaire concluded that it was a price worth paying for a piece of history, and proudly put the dirt-encrusted vessel on display.
不过，这次拍卖也引起了不小的反响。“寻找亿万富翁”节目不但推断说花这个价钱买下那段历史是物有所值，还把那个脏兮兮的瓶子拿出来骄傲地展示了一下。
6. Doubts over the wine's provenance soon emerged, though. Jefferson, who meticulously recorded his transactions, had never mentioned buying any such wine.
然而，不久之后，针对这瓶酒来源的怀疑也开始出现。因为Jefferson总是极为详尽地记录自己的收藏，但他却从没提及买过这瓶酒。
7. The discoverer of the Jefferson bottles, a German pop-band manager turned wine dealer called Hardy Rodenstock, would not say who had sold them to him, or even how many were in the cache.
这瓶Jefferson藏酒的发现者，一个从德国流行乐队经理转行的葡萄酒商人，Hardy Rodenstock，从不说谁卖给他的这瓶酒，或者那个地窖有多少藏品。
8. The record-breaking bottle had, some muttered, suffered suspiciously little ullage (evaporation).
一些人私下里说，这瓶破记录的天价酒的蒸发损耗少得令人起疑。
9. To others, something about the initials engraved on it, “Th.J”, did not seem quite right.
另一些人则觉着酒瓶上刻的姓名缩写“Th.J”这几个字母看起来不大对劲。
10. For a while, Mr. Rodenstock was able to keep the doubters at bay.
一度，Rodenstock先生能堵住怀疑者的嘴。
11. It helped that he was championed by the auctioneers' respected wine supremo, Michael Broadbent, owner of the world's most experienced palate, which had tasted 40,000 different wines.
这都得益于他得到了Michael Broadbent的支持。Michael Broadbent是一位受拍卖人尊敬的葡萄酒权威，他拥有全球最挑剔的味蕾，曾品尝过40,000种不同的葡萄酒。
12. Others, too, drooled as Mr. Rodenstock displayed an extraordinary talent for digging up rare Yquems, Margaux, Lafites and Moutons (he was known as “Monsieur Yquem” on account of his passion for sweet white Bordeaux).
当Rodenstock先生显示他那同样非凡的才能挖掘出了珍稀的Yquems、Margaux、Lafites和Moutons时（他因对甜白波尔多的偏爱而被称作“Yquem先生”），其他人的口水也流得满地都是。
13. Oenophiles flocked to his increasingly lavish “verticals”—tastings of many vintages from a particular chateau—hoping to be one of those whom he called from time to time, offering an antique bottle at a “friendship” price.
嗜酒如命的人们蜂拥到他那日益慷慨的vertical酒会——一个特定酒庄出产的美酒的品尝会——并期望成为他不时挑选出来的幸运儿，以便能够以一个“友好”的价格购得一瓶古酿。
14. But, as prices for rare wines shot up in the late 1980s, fuelled by rising American demand, so did fears over wine piracy.
不过，到20世纪八十年代后期，受美国高涨需求的影响，葡萄酒珍品的价格也一路飙升，而人们对葡萄酒仿制品的恐惧也日益加重。
15. Dodgy bottles started appearing almost weekly.
拍卖会上开始出现仿制品，几乎每周都有。
16. Of those exposed as fakes, a remarkable number could be traced back to the enigmatic Mr. Rodenstock.
在那些被曝光的仿制品中，有相当一部分可以追溯到神秘莫测的Rodenstock先生身上。
17. He might have got away with it, were it not for an uppity Florida tycoon, Bill Koch, who had bought four of the Jefferson bottles.
要不是自负的佛罗里达大亨，Bill Koch，又一下子买了四瓶“Jefferson藏酒”，他说不定已经携款潜逃了。
18. Unable to live with the feeling that he might have been defrauded, Mr. Koch threw money at a team of investigators to root out the truth.
Koch先生买了酒后整日心神不宁，总觉着可能被骗，就花重金请来一组调查员帮他挖出真相。
19. Forensic experts concluded that the engraving on the labels had been made with a modern power tool, not an 18th-century implement.
法院的专家们断定，标签上的字是用一种现代的电动工具刻上去的，而不是18世纪的工具。
20. A tip-off led to the basement of a house recently vacated by Mr. Rodenstock and the discovery of piles of blank labels, corks and other counterfeiter's paraphernalia.
一则秘密消息把人们的目光引向了一所房子的地下室，Rodenstock先生刚刚从那里搬走。人们在那里发现了成堆的空白标签，软木塞，以及其它的造假工具。
21. In 2006 Mr. Koch sued the German (whose real name, it turned out, was Meinhard Goerke) for fraud.
2006年，Koch先生以诈骗罪起诉了这名德国人（这回是用他的真名，Meinhard Goerke）。
22. The rare wine world is still recovering from the tawdry affair.
这个庸俗的故事至今还让葡萄酒珍品界至今还对这个庸俗的故事心有余悸。
23. Mr. Rodenstock, for many years considered its boldest bottle hunter, turned out to be “the Konrad Kujau of the grapevine”, as one newspaper put it, referring to the faker of the Hitler diaries.
Rodenstock先生，多年来被当作最大胆的葡萄酒搜寻者，结果却是“葡萄酒界的Konrad Kujau”。一份报纸将其与希特勒日记的伪造者相提并论。
24. This is a gripping story, expertly handled by Benjamin Wallace who writes with wit and verve, drawing the reader into a subculture strewn with eccentrics and monomaniacs.
这是一个引人入胜的故事，作者Benjamin Wallace用他那睿智而生动的笔调，将读者引入一个充满古怪和偏执的世界。
25. “The Billionaire's Vinegar” is full of detail that will delight wine lovers.
《亿万富翁的醋》，这本书中充满着让葡萄酒爱好者兴奋的细节。
26. It will also appeal to anyone who merely savours a great tale, well told.
当然，如果你仅仅是想阅读一个娓娓道来的好故事，这本书也同样会吸引你。
27. Unlike Monsieur Yquem's dodgy plonk, this book is the genuine article.
不像Yquem先生精心包装过的劣等葡萄酒，本书可是货真价实的好文章。
May 8th 2008
From The Economist print edition
1. DECEMBER 5th 1985 will for ever have a place in wine lore.
1985年的12月5日，这个日子将永远被载入葡萄酒史册。
2. On that day Christie's auctioned a bottle of 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux, thought to have once been part of Thomas Jefferson's cellar, and part of a cache of bottles said to have been recently unearthed from a Paris house.
这一天，Christie拍卖行拍卖了一瓶1787年的拉菲堡的波尔多葡萄酒。这瓶酒被认为曾一度存身于Thomas Jefferson的酒窖，据说是最近从巴黎一户人家的地窖里挖出来的藏酒中发现的。
3. The sale price for lot 337, 6,000, was five times the previous record for a normal-sized bottle of wine.
这个编号337的拍卖品，高达156,000美元的天价相当于此前一支标准瓶装葡萄酒拍卖价格纪录的五倍。
4. The buyer, Malcolm Forbes, was at first incensed that his son, Kip, bidding on his behalf, had paid so much.
一开始，这瓶酒的买者，Malcolm Forbes，被代他竞价的儿子Kip花如此重金拍下这瓶酒气得吐血。
5. But the sale caused such a stir that the publicity-seeking billionaire concluded that it was a price worth paying for a piece of history, and proudly put the dirt-encrusted vessel on display.
不过，这次拍卖也引起了不小的反响。“寻找亿万富翁”节目不但推断说花这个价钱买下那段历史是物有所值，还把那个脏兮兮的瓶子拿出来骄傲地展示了一下。
6. Doubts over the wine's provenance soon emerged, though. Jefferson, who meticulously recorded his transactions, had never mentioned buying any such wine.
然而，不久之后，针对这瓶酒来源的怀疑也开始出现。因为Jefferson总是极为详尽地记录自己的收藏，但他却从没提及买过这瓶酒。
7. The discoverer of the Jefferson bottles, a German pop-band manager turned wine dealer called Hardy Rodenstock, would not say who had sold them to him, or even how many were in the cache.
这瓶Jefferson藏酒的发现者，一个从德国流行乐队经理转行的葡萄酒商人，Hardy Rodenstock，从不说谁卖给他的这瓶酒，或者那个地窖有多少藏品。
8. The record-breaking bottle had, some muttered, suffered suspiciously little ullage (evaporation).
一些人私下里说，这瓶破记录的天价酒的蒸发损耗少得令人起疑。
9. To others, something about the initials engraved on it, “Th.J”, did not seem quite right.
另一些人则觉着酒瓶上刻的姓名缩写“Th.J”这几个字母看起来不大对劲。
10. For a while, Mr. Rodenstock was able to keep the doubters at bay.
一度，Rodenstock先生能堵住怀疑者的嘴。
11. It helped that he was championed by the auctioneers' respected wine supremo, Michael Broadbent, owner of the world's most experienced palate, which had tasted 40,000 different wines.
这都得益于他得到了Michael Broadbent的支持。Michael Broadbent是一位受拍卖人尊敬的葡萄酒权威，他拥有全球最挑剔的味蕾，曾品尝过40,000种不同的葡萄酒。
12. Others, too, drooled as Mr. Rodenstock displayed an extraordinary talent for digging up rare Yquems, Margaux, Lafites and Moutons (he was known as “Monsieur Yquem” on account of his passion for sweet white Bordeaux).
当Rodenstock先生显示他那同样非凡的才能挖掘出了珍稀的Yquems、Margaux、Lafites和Moutons时（他因对甜白波尔多的偏爱而被称作“Yquem先生”），其他人的口水也流得满地都是。
13. Oenophiles flocked to his increasingly lavish “verticals”—tastings of many vintages from a particular chateau—hoping to be one of those whom he called from time to time, offering an antique bottle at a “friendship” price.
嗜酒如命的人们蜂拥到他那日益慷慨的vertical酒会——一个特定酒庄出产的美酒的品尝会——并期望成为他不时挑选出来的幸运儿，以便能够以一个“友好”的价格购得一瓶古酿。
14. But, as prices for rare wines shot up in the late 1980s, fuelled by rising American demand, so did fears over wine piracy.
不过，到20世纪八十年代后期，受美国高涨需求的影响，葡萄酒珍品的价格也一路飙升，而人们对葡萄酒仿制品的恐惧也日益加重。
15. Dodgy bottles started appearing almost weekly.
拍卖会上开始出现仿制品，几乎每周都有。
16. Of those exposed as fakes, a remarkable number could be traced back to the enigmatic Mr. Rodenstock.
在那些被曝光的仿制品中，有相当一部分可以追溯到神秘莫测的Rodenstock先生身上。
17. He might have got away with it, were it not for an uppity Florida tycoon, Bill Koch, who had bought four of the Jefferson bottles.
要不是自负的佛罗里达大亨，Bill Koch，又一下子买了四瓶“Jefferson藏酒”，他说不定已经携款潜逃了。
18. Unable to live with the feeling that he might have been defrauded, Mr. Koch threw money at a team of investigators to root out the truth.
Koch先生买了酒后整日心神不宁，总觉着可能被骗，就花重金请来一组调查员帮他挖出真相。
19. Forensic experts concluded that the engraving on the labels had been made with a modern power tool, not an 18th-century implement.
法院的专家们断定，标签上的字是用一种现代的电动工具刻上去的，而不是18世纪的工具。
20. A tip-off led to the basement of a house recently vacated by Mr. Rodenstock and the discovery of piles of blank labels, corks and other counterfeiter's paraphernalia.
一则秘密消息把人们的目光引向了一所房子的地下室，Rodenstock先生刚刚从那里搬走。人们在那里发现了成堆的空白标签，软木塞，以及其它的造假工具。
21. In 2006 Mr. Koch sued the German (whose real name, it turned out, was Meinhard Goerke) for fraud.
2006年，Koch先生以诈骗罪起诉了这名德国人（这回是用他的真名，Meinhard Goerke）。
22. The rare wine world is still recovering from the tawdry affair.
这个庸俗的故事至今还让葡萄酒珍品界至今还对这个庸俗的故事心有余悸。
23. Mr. Rodenstock, for many years considered its boldest bottle hunter, turned out to be “the Konrad Kujau of the grapevine”, as one newspaper put it, referring to the faker of the Hitler diaries.
Rodenstock先生，多年来被当作最大胆的葡萄酒搜寻者，结果却是“葡萄酒界的Konrad Kujau”。一份报纸将其与希特勒日记的伪造者相提并论。
24. This is a gripping story, expertly handled by Benjamin Wallace who writes with wit and verve, drawing the reader into a subculture strewn with eccentrics and monomaniacs.
这是一个引人入胜的故事，作者Benjamin Wallace用他那睿智而生动的笔调，将读者引入一个充满古怪和偏执的世界。
25. “The Billionaire's Vinegar” is full of detail that will delight wine lovers.
《亿万富翁的醋》，这本书中充满着让葡萄酒爱好者兴奋的细节。
26. It will also appeal to anyone who merely savours a great tale, well told.
当然，如果你仅仅是想阅读一个娓娓道来的好故事，这本书也同样会吸引你。
27. Unlike Monsieur Yquem's dodgy plonk, this book is the genuine article.
不像Yquem先生精心包装过的劣等葡萄酒，本书可是货真价实的好文章。
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