让人既爱又恨的葡萄酒 餐饮达人的心声

There are many wines that are much beloved -- and a few that are notoriously reviled. Silver Oak Cellars Cabernet happens to be both. It's incredibly popular, especially among patrons of American steakhouses. It's also a running joke among certain oenophiles who regard it as the choice of vinous rubes.
有很多葡萄酒深受人们喜爱——也有些酒饱受非议。Silver Oak Cellars的解百纳(Cabernet)碰巧都是。这款酒非常受欢迎，特别是在美国牛排餐厅。在有些葡萄酒爱好者看来，这款酒却一直是个笑话，他们认为嗜酒的乡巴佬才会选择。

I first experienced this peculiar dichotomy a dozen years ago at the late Veritas restaurant in New York. I'd spent the better part of a week following the Veritas wine team -- Tim Kopec, Eric Zillier and Joshua Nadel -- around for a magazine story. The crew was one of the best in New York, as was their wine list, which was deep in selections from Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone, and also featured lots of expensive California Cabernets. It was Silver Oak alone that provoked Scott Bryan, the restaurant's chef at the time, to make a sort of mocking salute whenever the sommelier carried it through the kitchen and into the dining room (which was fairly often).
我最早体验到这种奇怪的矛盾现象是十几年前在如今已经关闭的纽约Veritas餐厅。那周大部分时间我都跟着Veritas的葡萄酒团队——蒂姆·科佩茨(Tim Kopec)、埃里克·齐利亚(Eric Zillier)和乔舒亚·纳德尔(Joshua Nadel)——到处跑，为的是给杂志写一篇稿子。这个团队是纽约最棒的，他们的酒单也一样，都是从波尔多(Bordeaux)、勃艮第(Burgundy)和罗纳河谷(Rhone Valley)精心挑选的酒，还有很多昂贵的加州解百纳。单单Silver Oak惹着了当时餐厅的主厨斯科特·布莱恩(Scott Bryan)，每次品酒师拿着酒穿过厨房去餐厅时，他就会做出某种嘲笑的手势。

The gesture was certainly tame compared with some of the less than flattering names I've heard applied to Silver Oak over the years. ('Silver Joke' is one of the more printable ones.) I can't think of another wine that has elicited such vitriol, even though there are plenty of other ubiquitous and rich California Cabernets that would seem to be equally fair game: Jordan, Caymus and Opus One, to name a few. Why was Silver Oak singled out?
和我多年来听过的对Silver Oak不那么讨喜的某些评价（“Silver Joke”是其中能上台面的评价之一）相比，这个手势肯定是无伤大雅。我想不出还有哪款葡萄酒遭到过如此恶毒的评价，即便还有大量随处可见的昂贵加州解百纳似乎也差不多：比如Jordan、Caymus和Opus One。为什么偏偏Silver Oak被拎出来了？

I posed the question to Mr. Zillier, who left Veritas almost 10 years ago. He is now the customer-relations manager of SevenFifty Technologies, a New York-based online wine buying resource for retailers and restaurateurs. One of the reasons that Silver Oak Cabernets (the winery produces one from Napa and one from Sonoma) are reviled, said Mr. Zillier, has to do with the upfront oak and fruit. He said it's an unchallenging, obvious wine 'for people who think they know a lot about wine.' How did he envision a Silver Oak-loving type? 'It's generally someone who is confident and conservatively dressed,' Mr. Zillier said.
我向10年前离开Veritas的齐利亚提出了这个问题。他现在是纽约SevenFifty Technologies的客户关系经理，该公司专门为零售商和餐厅提供葡萄酒网上购买资源。齐利亚说，Silver Oak的这两款解百纳（一款产自纳帕谷(Napa)，一款产自索诺玛(Sonoma)）之所以评价不好，一个原因和用的橡木和葡萄有关系。他说这是一款“对自以为很了解葡萄酒的人”来说毫无挑战性、平淡无奇的葡萄酒。那他是怎么看喜欢Silver Oak 葡萄酒的人的？齐利亚说：“一般是自信而且穿着保守的人。”

I've been in wine shops across the country that won't sell Silver Oak, the same way that a cool indie bookstore might shun Danielle Steel. One such retailer in suburban Dallas, who didn't want to be identified for fear of alienating his Silver Oak-drinking friends, explained that he stocked many more interesting wines. Gary Fisch, owner of Gary's Wine shops in New Jersey, which sells a good amount of Silver Oak Cabernet, said he thought that dislike of the wine was a bit of a bandwagon phenomenon. 'Silver Oak is the wine that's sexy to hate.'
我去过全美各地不愿意卖Silver Oak的葡萄酒行，这些酒行不卖Silver Oak就跟一家很酷的独立书店不会卖丹尼尔·斯蒂尔(Danielle Steel)的书一样。达拉斯郊区就有一个零售商解释说他存了很多更有意思的葡萄酒。他不愿意透露姓名，怕疏远喜欢喝Silver Oak的朋友。新泽西州的Gary's Wine葡萄酒行有很多Silver Oak解百纳出售，老板加里·菲什(Gary Fisch)说，他觉得对这款葡萄酒的厌恶有点像是从众效应。他说：“不喜欢Silver Oak是很酷的一件事情。”

The winery's aging process is a possible factor in the Silver Oak controversy. Unlike just about every other Cabernet made in Napa Valley, Silver Oak is aged in American oak, which adds sweet notes of vanilla and, some even say, coconut. (Silver Oak makes its own barrels.) The more commonly used French oak is far more subtle, with spicy aromas.
Silver Oak的陈酿过程可能是该酒遭到争议的一个因素。与其他所有产自纳帕谷的解百纳不同的是，Silver Oak是在美国橡木桶里陈酿的，从而增加了香草的甜味，有些人甚至会说有椰子味。（Silver Oak自己生产木桶。）更常用的法国橡木桶更精致些，有辛辣香气。

And yet Silver Oak also has a large, and very passionate, following. The winery produces just under 100,000 cases of their two Cabernets annually, and their tasting room has won raves from amateur drinkers and wine professionals alike.
不过Silver Oak也有一大群非常热情的粉丝。Silver Oak的两款解百纳每年产量不到10万箱，而酒庄的品酒室赢得了包括业余和专业人士在内的葡萄酒爱好者的盛赞。

Silver Oak Cellars, founded in 1972 by Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer, was one of the few serious wineries in Napa 40 years ago. Its earliest Cabernets bore a 'North Coast' appellation, suggesting the grapes had been sourced from all over the northern part of the state. It wasn't until 1979 that the winery produced a Napa Cabernet. (A 1977 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet came out before.)
Silver Oak Cellars于1972年由雷·邓肯(Ray Duncan)和贾斯汀·梅耶(Justin Meyer)创立，在40年前的纳帕谷是少数几家正经的酒庄之一。其最早的解百纳标着“北海岸”产区的标签，表明葡萄来自加州北部各个地区。直到1979年才生产纳帕谷解百纳。（1977年出过一款Silver Oak亚历山大谷解百纳( Alexander Valley Cabernet)。）

Silver Oak Cabernet sells well all over the country, but thanks to its big, ripe flavor profile, it's particularly successful in steakhouses. It's a regular top-seller at Empire Steak House in New York and at Del Frisco's steakhouses across the country. Jessica Certo, sommelier of Del Frisco's in New York, said that she couldn't keep Silver Oak in stock. 'We sell out of every vintage,' she said.
Silver Oak解百纳在全美各地销量不错，但由于其浓郁成熟的口味，在牛排馆里尤其畅销。它在纽约帝国牛排餐厅(Empire Steak House)和全美各地的Del Frisco's牛排店经常是最畅销的葡萄酒。纽约Del Frisco's牛排店的品酒师杰西卡·塞尔托(Jessica Certo)说，店里存不了Silver Oak。她说：“每款年份酒都卖光了。”

It was as if the wine simultaneously existed in two different worlds. I wondered if the winery's owners were aware that their Cabernet was such a lightning rod. I called David Duncan, Silver Oak's CEO and president, to ask his thoughts on the chatter his wine inspired. 'I know there were a couple of somms in Texas who were saying some things,' said Mr. Duncan, sounding unfazed.
就好像这款酒同时存在于两个世界里。我在想酒庄的老板们是否意识到他们的解百纳成了这样一个众矢之的。我致电Silver Oak首席执行长兼总裁大卫·邓肯(David Duncan)，询问他对自己的葡萄酒引起的争议有何看法。他说：“我知道在得克萨斯州有几个品酒师在说三道四。” 他听起来泰然自若。

I was surprised to learn that an anti-Silver Oak sommelier could get a job, let alone rise to a position of influence, in the steakhouse-centric Lone Star state. Mr. Duncan said that Texas was one of the winery's most important markets, along with California and Florida. In any case, he said, 'We're not interested in what a few people say. I really don't see it as that big of a deal. We have tens of thousands of customers who like our wines.' Could the oak's sweetness be too much for some people? 'We produce wines that people like,' he said.
得知在以牛排馆为主的得克萨斯州，反感Silver Oak的品酒师竟然能找到工作，我感到很意外，更意外的是他们竟然还能升到有影响力的职位。邓肯说，得州是酒庄最重要的市场之一，还有加州和佛罗里达。他说，无论如何，“我们都对少数人说什么不感兴趣。我真的觉得没什么大不了。我们有成千上万喜欢我们葡萄酒的客户。”橡木的甜味对有些人来说是不是太重了？他说：“我们生产人们喜欢的葡萄酒。”

Older vintages of Silver Oak Cabernet, which tend to show less overt oak, also have a few of their own fans, and foes. The winery's production was much smaller back in the 1980s -- it made about 30,000 cases per year of both Cabernets, less than a third of today's output.
较早年份的Silver Oak解百纳往往橡木味没那么重，这些酒也有一些自己的粉丝，当然也有人不喜欢。1980年代，酒庄的生产规模比现在小得多，这两款解百纳每年的产量约3万箱，不到现今产量的三分之一。