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How did 2010 stack up in terms of wine? Despite the economic recession, winemakers, wineries and wine bars came up with more than a few innovations -- making sure we keep our consumption up and our interest high. Here, our picks for notable wine trends.
1. Improvement in the quality of box wines
It used to be that boxed wines were just that -- boxed wines. End of story. Now, however, we are seeing wineries that formerly bottled only in glass switching to Tetra Pak. One such example is Big House Red and Big House White, both from California.
Packaging in a box is also an eco-friendly move for many reasons, including that the wine lasts up to 3-4 weeks (as opposed to 3-4 days in the bottle) and it costs less to ship paper than it does glass (bringing the cost savings to you). Some steller examples of vino-in-a-box include Black Box Wines (Wine Spectator gave the Chardonnay 87 points) and Bota Box Old Vine Zinfandel earned 95 points and a gold medal at this year's California State Fair.
2. Innovative bottle enclosures
R. Stuart & Co., a winery in Oregon, is one of the few wineries that has gone crystal. What, you say? Basically, no cork and no synthetic cork either. Instead, a crystal stopper, much like the ones used for cooking oils, is snug inside the bottle. Classy.
3. Upmarketing from some wine labels
Now before you flash back into your college years where you probably drank a lot of Yellow Tail, Alice White and Gallo (in a jug), hear us out. The famed budget label from the Casella family in Australia (we're talking about Yellow Tail) unveiled a reserve line this year. It costs a few bucks more but it's worth it. We tried the Shiraz and liked it. Due to increasing economic concerns on behalf of consumers -- coupled with more and more sophisticated palates -- it is very likely that we will see more budget wineries going upper-end with a few of their wines.
4. Wine kegs at wine bars
Last month we reported on what's shaking at wine bars -- and it's not the cocktail shaker. Boutique, smaller-sized wineries are reaching out to local wine bars and selling them on the idea of pouring wines from kegs behind the bar. This is happening all across the country. Think of it this way. You get to try a wine that isn't sold at your local liquor store or featured on a restaurant's wine list.
5. BYOW (Bring Your Own Wine) continues
Due to cumbersome liquor-license laws in some cities, restaurants are adopting a BYOW attitude: A patron brings his or her own wine and no corkage fee is charged. It's happening in Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, New York City, New Jersey and other areas. For wine lovers, this is a dream come true. You aren't forced to pay more money on a fine bottle of wine (whether it's the 200% markup on the wine list or the $15-$25 corkage fee for a wine you've brought along).
6. Casual eateries offer wine
We are continually amazed at how easy it is to order a glass of wine -- or even a bottle -- at an upscale fast-food retail chain, such as Noodles & Company. Wisconsin Mac & Cheese (an actual menu item) with Chardonnay? We are so in. And did you know that you can now wash down a burrito at Chipotle with a margarita prepared behind the counter? In April we reported on a Starbucks test project in Seattle (Roy Street Coffee & Tea), where not only can you get a Frappuccino or a skinny latte but you can also share a bottle of J Vineyards Cuvée 20 Brut (California) with your table companions. We are hoping, hoping, hoping that our local coffee shops are listening and know about this trend, ahem.
7. Wineries embrace Twitter
Not all of us are so lucky to be on the ground at our favorite winery during harvest time, or able to fly out for a sipping tour in the tasting room. Fortunately, with Twitter, we can virtually be there. Winemakers are taking their personalities onto Twitter, pumping out tweets that tell us what to expect from a particular vintage after a barrel tasting, whether the sun in shining on a vineyard block today, and what to pair with a specific wine. The number of wineries on Twitter is too vast to mention here, but we bet if you dial up a winery's web site you will see a little "t" that tells you what its Twitter handle is.
參考譯文：
2010年有關葡萄酒的關鍵詞匯都有哪些？盡管經濟衰退，釀酒商、釀酒廠及酒吧紛紛推陳出新，以吸引我們的眼球并刺激消費。以下是我們選出的一些較引人注意的革新動態。
1. 盒裝酒質量的改進
以前僅僅有盒裝酒，但現在，我們可以看到那些之前僅選擇玻璃瓶包裝的釀酒廠紛紛轉向了利樂包，如加利福尼亞的Big House Red and Big House White。
盒包裝對生態環境保護來說，是個很大的進步！例如，打開包裝后，盒裝酒能保存3~4個星期（而若在玻璃瓶中，僅可保存3~4天）；降低了運輸費用——紙要低于玻璃（由此也為你節省了部分費用）。盒裝廉價酒的例子如Black Box Wines(葡萄酒愛好者給Chardonnay打了87分)和Bota Box（Old Vine Zinfandel拿了95分，并于今年加利福尼亞的展銷會上奪得一枚金牌）。
2. 酒瓶附件的革新
俄勒岡州的R.Stuart&Co. 是少數使用水晶塞的酒廠中的一家。我沒聽錯吧？基本上不再使用軟木塞或合成軟木塞，而代之以水晶塞——置于瓶內，很像食用油所使用的那一種。
3. 一些葡萄酒品牌退出高檔市場
在你追憶講述自己念大學時曾喝很多Yellow Tail, Alice White 和Gallo(壺裝)之前，請先聽我講完。今年，澳大利亞Casella家族（我們指Yellow Tail）公布了其著名廉價酒的底線。消費者一般要為之多花一些美元但其實物有所值。我們品嘗了Shiaz，并且很喜歡。但站在消費者立場考慮到日益增長的經濟因素及越來越復雜的口味多樣化，我們將看到更多酒廠會將其一些品牌退出高端市場。
4. 酒吧內的“酒桶“
上個月，我們報道了“what’s shaking at wine bars”——事實上并不是雞尾酒調酒器。現在一些小規模酒廠鎖定當地酒吧出售酒類，然后酒吧從吧臺后面的桶里把酒直接倒在杯子里就可以了。這在全國各地已很普遍。所以，事實上，你正在飲用的那杯酒可能并不是當地酒館或餐館酒單列表上所示的特色酒。
5. 顧客依然可以自己帶酒
考慮到一些城市涉及酒類許可方面的復雜法律，餐館都持“可自帶酒”的態度：顧客可以自己帶酒且不會因此收費，如蒙特利爾，芝加哥，費城，休斯頓，紐約，新澤西州和其他一些地區。對于酒類愛好者來說，這簡直就是夢想成真了！你不必再為某瓶優質酒支付高昂的價錢（酒單列表上高達200%的“敲竹杠”還是你自帶酒需支付15~25美元的開瓶費）。
6. 簡易小吃店可提供酒類
我們一直驚訝于那些高檔快餐零售店，像Noodles&Company，可以很輕易提供給顧客一杯或一瓶酒。Wisconsin Mac&Cheese(某菜單上的具體項)和夏敦埃酒？另外，知道嗎？現在你可以在Chipotle邊吃玉米餅邊飲用吧臺后面制備的瑪格麗特酒了。四月份時，我們報道了一家位于西雅圖的星巴克試驗店面（Roy Street Coffee&Tea），在那里，你不僅可以食用法布基諾或脆皮拿鐵，而且還可以跟同伴共享一瓶J Vineyards 20°特釀。真的是非常非常希望我們當地的咖啡店也都能知悉這個流行趨向~
7. 酒廠紛紛開微博
并非所有人都能在收獲期時幸運的到自己喜愛的酒廠去，或是飛到品酒室體驗一次味覺旅行。可幸運的是，通過微博，我們可以“身臨其境”了。釀酒師將他們的品牌特色搬進微博，并給我們做詳細介紹，如今天的太陽是否曬到了葡萄園某個角落或如何跟一種具體的酒做比較。開通微博的釀酒廠實在是太多了以致無法在此一一列出，但我們打賭，如果點擊某酒廠網頁，你將會看到一個小小的字母“t”——告訴你他的微博是怎樣進入并操作的。
