作者： 发布时间：2017-10-10 关注度：158
In the 1975 short film Gvinis Qurdebi (Wine Thieves), four mischievous villagers sneak into a stingy neighbor’s wine cellar, crack open his qvevri(enormous ceramic urn) and start drinking the wine stored inside. As they get drunk and rambunctious with toasts and song, they wake the winemaker who ends up joining them.
拍摄于1975年的短片Gvinis Qurdebi（《酩酊大盗》）中，四个顽皮的村民偷偷潜入一个小气鬼邻居的酒窖，打开Qvevri陶罐（以陶土烧制的大型瓮），豪饮里面贮藏的葡萄酒。酩酊大醉的他们开始尽情嬉笑欢唱，相互祝酒，直到酿酒师被喧闹的声音吵醒，最终加入了他们的畅饮派对。
It is in this same spirit of Georgian joie de vivre that Avto Kobakhidze, Givi Apakidze and Zaza Asatiani have come together to take other people’s wine and sell it under their own label, Wine Thieves. Their catchphrase is “The finest quality Georgian wine ‘stolen’ exclusively for you,” although nothing is actually ripped off. If they like a wine from a person with no resources to bottle his or her own vintage, the Thieves buy it at a price set by the winemaker, then bottle and sell it.
同样有着格鲁吉亚人逍遥乐天的性格的阿夫托·考巴西泽、季维·阿帕吉泽和札札·阿萨夏尼聚在一起，用他们自创的商标“酩酊大盗”销售其他人酿造的葡萄酒。他们的宣传口号是“上品格鲁吉亚葡萄酒，专门为你‘盗’来”——虽然这里的“盗”只是一句戏言，不可当真，如果某位缺乏独立包装和营销能力的师傅酿造的葡萄酒赢得了他们的青睐，“酩酊大盗”们便会按照酿酒师确定的价格购买，然后装瓶销售。
Helping humble winegrowers get their juice to market is nothing new in Georgia. Ramaz Nikoladze, the respected Imeretian natural winemaker, has helped get octogenarian Didimi Maglakelidze’s sparse but exquisite Aladasturi and Tsolikouri vintages into bottles and onto tables in the U.S. and Europe. The difference with the Wine Thieves is that they are making a business out the practice. Motivated by a simple love of wine, these three friends started the business a year ago and currently have five family wines in their quiver: a Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane (made by Kobakhidze) and a Saperavi from Kakheti, a Chinuri from Kartli and a Tsolikouri from Imereti. In September they will add a rare Tetra from Racha and a Cabernet from Kakheti to the collection.
在格鲁吉亚，帮助名不见经传的葡萄种植者出售葡萄酒并不是什么奇闻异事。备受尊敬的伊梅列季天然葡萄酒酿造师拉玛茨·尼克拉泽便曾帮助年届八旬的迪迪米·马格拉克利泽包装产量稀少的精品阿拉达斯图里和索利格乌利葡萄酒，并销售到美国和欧洲。而“酩酊大盗”的不同之处在于：他们的商业模式完全从实践出发。处于对葡萄酒单纯的喜爱，这三位朋友一年前开始创业，目前他们的产品目录中有五款家庭酿制的葡萄酒：一款卡斯泰利-莫次瓦涅（由考巴西泽酿制）、一款产自卡赫基地区的萨别拉维、一款产自卡尔特里地区的琴奴里和一款产自伊梅列季地区的索利格乌利。今年9月，酒单中还会再添加一款产自拉恰地区的珍稀Tetra葡萄酒和产自卡赫基地区的赤霞珠。
All are qvevri wines, which means they have been fermented and aged in large terra cotta amphorae buried in the ground. It is an ancient method of winemaking that Georgians have been practicing for thousands of years and is on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
以上各款葡萄酒均属于Qvevri陶罐葡萄酒——意味着在埋藏于地下的巨大陶罐中发酵熟成。这项古老的酿酒技艺在格鲁吉亚已有几千年历史，并被列入联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录。
The bold tannins rolling over the tongue tell you this is Kakhetian wine – brawny and heroic.
舌尖上强烈的单宁气息说明这款葡萄酒来自卡赫基——强壮且富于英雄般的气质。
Kobakhidze and Apakidze make the wine selections. The two connoisseurs are co-founders of the Georgian Wine Club, which for ten years has been promoting traditional methods of local winemaking through festivals, tastings and classes. The club is also behind the annual New Wine Festival in Tbilisi, the leading celebration of wine in the country. As jurors, they come across hundreds of family wines, some brought to them in used plastic water bottles; about 80% are below average.
考巴西泽和阿帕吉泽负责甄选葡萄酒，这两位葡萄酒鉴赏家是格鲁吉亚葡萄酒俱乐部的创始人，过去十年中，俱乐部一直致力于通过节庆、品鉴会和葡萄酒课程宣传推广本地传统酿酒技艺。俱乐部也是一年一度的第比利斯新酒节——全国最重要的葡萄酒节庆活动——的重要组织者。作为品评者，他们要品鉴几百款家庭酿制的葡萄酒，一些酿酒师用旧水瓶作为盛装葡萄酒的容器带给他们，其中大约80%的葡萄酒在平均水平以下。
Contracts with the winemakers are short-term. The aim is to help family wineries learn to market their own wine. And because organic wines in particular can have a bad year, the Wine Thieves are free to add or drop a wine, depending on its quality. What you get in a bottle is some of the best tasting secret stash in Georgia.
与酿酒师签订的合同均为短期合同，这一切努力的目标在于帮助家庭式酿酒作坊出品的葡萄酒打入市场。特别是由于有机葡萄酒品质波动较大，“酩酊大盗”可以根据品质在酒单中添加或删减。为顾客提供的则是格鲁吉亚品味上佳却鲜为人知的佳酿。
Two years ago, the pair pulled Asatiani away from his whiskey tumbler and converted him to the wonderful world of wine. Now the marketing and sales professional swirls and noses wine while plying his talents with the Thieves.
两年前，这两位品酒师说服阿萨夏尼离开威士忌领域，转投精彩无限的葡萄酒行业。目前这位营销专业人士一面发掘和品鉴葡萄酒，一面在“酩酊大盗”发挥其市场营销才能。
“I’m just a city guy. I have no connection to winemaking,” Asatiani admitted to us over a glass of Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane. “Avto and Givi introduced me to the world of Vino Underground and changed everything.”
“作为城里人，我对酿酒几乎一无所知。”阿萨夏尼一边畅饮卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅葡萄酒，一边坦承： “阿夫托和季维带我进入地下小众葡萄酒的世界，改变了我的一切。”
They raised eyebrows when they hit the market with their 2015 Saperavi, which featured on its label a naked woman drawn by the English artist Owen Gent, who licensed his image to the Thieves. In addition, the label for a limited edition of their apple wine featured a graphic of a woman’s backside and a snake. While sexist wine labels are not exclusive to Georgia and have sparked a lot of debate on social media, Asatiani shrugged off the controversy, instead revealing the label for the up-and-coming Cabernet – a red pump with a corkscrew replacing the high-heel.
提到萨别拉维2015在市场上获得巨大反响时，他们眼中放光，这款酒的酒标是英国艺术家欧文·根特绘制的裸女（“酩酊大盗”已取得这幅画像的授权）。而一款限量版苹果酒的酒标则是一位女子的背影和一条蛇。虽然带有性暗示意味的酒标并不仅仅在格鲁吉亚出现，社交媒体上的争论也不绝于耳，但阿萨夏尼对争议一笑置之，并大方秀出即将上市的一款赤霞珠酒标：一个带有开瓶器——而不是高跟鞋——的红色泵。
The Wine Thieves are currently negotiating the details of getting their Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane, Tsolikouri and Saperavi to California through Blue Danube, a Los Altos distributor with a sharp focus on rare, natural wines from Europe. A whiff of the Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane, a light amber wine, picks up dried apricot and oriental spices, and the bold tannins rolling over the tongue tell you this is Kakhetian wine – brawny and heroic.
“酩酊大盗”目前正和位于Los Altos的 “蓝色多瑙河”公司洽谈业务细节，计划通过这家专注欧洲珍稀天然葡萄酒的经销商使卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅、索利格乌利和萨别拉维葡萄酒打入加利福尼亚市场。卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅呈淡琥珀色，富于杏干和东方香料气息，在舌尖上生动而明显的单宁说明这款葡萄酒来自卡赫基——强壮如同英雄一般。
“Our dream is to do business in the U.S. Georgia’s main market is in China and Russia. The quality of these wines is compromised – factory wines in Moscow suck. But if our wine makes it to California, then that will be real success,” Asatiani said, swirling the wine in his glass.
“我们的梦想是将业务拓展到美国市场。格鲁吉亚的主要市场是中国和俄罗斯，而他们的（本土）葡萄酒品质只能说是很勉强——莫斯科酒厂里的工业化葡萄酒实在很糟糕。如果我们的葡萄酒能打入加利福尼亚市场，便是真正意义上的成功了。”阿萨夏尼晃动着杯中的葡萄酒，侃侃而谈。
