作者： 發布時間：2017-10-10 關注度：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.
拍攝于1975年的短片Gvinis Qurdebi（《酩酊大盜》）中，四個頑皮的村民偷偷潛入一個小氣鬼鄰居的酒窖，打開Qvevri陶罐（以陶土燒制的大型甕），豪飲里面貯藏的葡萄酒。酩酊大醉的他們開始盡情嬉笑歡唱，相互祝酒，直到釀酒師被喧鬧的聲音吵醒，最終加入了他們的暢飲派對。
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.
同樣有著格魯吉亞人逍遙樂天的性格的阿夫托·考巴西澤、季維·阿帕吉澤和札札·阿薩夏尼聚在一起，用他們自創的商標“酩酊大盜”銷售其他人釀造的葡萄酒。他們的宣傳口號是“上品格魯吉亞葡萄酒，專門為你‘盜’來”——雖然這里的“盜”只是一句戲言，不可當真，如果某位缺乏獨立包裝和營銷能力的師傅釀造的葡萄酒贏得了他們的青睞，“酩酊大盜”們便會按照釀酒師確定的價格購買，然后裝瓶銷售。
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.
在格魯吉亞，幫助名不見經傳的葡萄種植者出售葡萄酒并不是什么奇聞異事。備受尊敬的伊梅列季天然葡萄酒釀造師拉瑪茨·尼克拉澤便曾幫助年屆八旬的迪迪米·馬格拉克利澤包裝產量稀少的精品阿拉達斯圖里和索利格烏利葡萄酒，并銷售到美國和歐洲。而“酩酊大盜”的不同之處在于：他們的商業模式完全從實踐出發。處于對葡萄酒單純的喜愛，這三位朋友一年前開始創業，目前他們的產品目錄中有五款家庭釀制的葡萄酒：一款卡斯泰利-莫次瓦涅（由考巴西澤釀制）、一款產自卡赫基地區的薩別拉維、一款產自卡爾特里地區的琴奴里和一款產自伊梅列季地區的索利格烏利。今年9月，酒單中還會再添加一款產自拉恰地區的珍稀Tetra葡萄酒和產自卡赫基地區的赤霞珠。
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.
以上各款葡萄酒均屬于Qvevri陶罐葡萄酒——意味著在埋藏于地下的巨大陶罐中發酵熟成。這項古老的釀酒技藝在格魯吉亞已有幾千年歷史，并被列入聯合國教科文組織非物質文化遺產名錄。
The bold tannins rolling over the tongue tell you this is Kakhetian wine – brawny and heroic.
舌尖上強烈的單寧氣息說明這款葡萄酒來自卡赫基——強壯且富于英雄般的氣質。
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.
考巴西澤和阿帕吉澤負責甄選葡萄酒，這兩位葡萄酒鑒賞家是格魯吉亞葡萄酒俱樂部的創始人，過去十年中，俱樂部一直致力于通過節慶、品鑒會和葡萄酒課程宣傳推廣本地傳統釀酒技藝。俱樂部也是一年一度的第比利斯新酒節——全國最重要的葡萄酒節慶活動——的重要組織者。作為品評者，他們要品鑒幾百款家庭釀制的葡萄酒，一些釀酒師用舊水瓶作為盛裝葡萄酒的容器帶給他們，其中大約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.
與釀酒師簽訂的合同均為短期合同，這一切努力的目標在于幫助家庭式釀酒作坊出品的葡萄酒打入市場。特別是由于有機葡萄酒品質波動較大，“酩酊大盜”可以根據品質在酒單中添加或刪減。為顧客提供的則是格魯吉亞品味上佳卻鮮為人知的佳釀。
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.
兩年前，這兩位品酒師說服阿薩夏尼離開威士忌領域，轉投精彩無限的葡萄酒行業。目前這位營銷專業人士一面發掘和品鑒葡萄酒，一面在“酩酊大盜”發揮其市場營銷才能。
“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.”
“作為城里人，我對釀酒幾乎一無所知。”阿薩夏尼一邊暢飲卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅葡萄酒，一邊坦承： “阿夫托和季維帶我進入地下小眾葡萄酒的世界，改變了我的一切。”
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.
提到薩別拉維2015在市場上獲得巨大反響時，他們眼中放光，這款酒的酒標是英國藝術家歐文·根特繪制的裸女（“酩酊大盜”已取得這幅畫像的授權）。而一款限量版蘋果酒的酒標則是一位女子的背影和一條蛇。雖然帶有性暗示意味的酒標并不僅僅在格魯吉亞出現，社交媒體上的爭論也不絕于耳，但阿薩夏尼對爭議一笑置之，并大方秀出即將上市的一款赤霞珠酒標：一個帶有開瓶器——而不是高跟鞋——的紅色泵。
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.
“酩酊大盜”目前正和位于Los Altos的 “藍色多瑙河”公司洽談業務細節，計劃通過這家專注歐洲珍稀天然葡萄酒的經銷商使卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅、索利格烏利和薩別拉維葡萄酒打入加利福尼亞市場。卡斯泰利-姆茨瓦涅呈淡琥珀色，富于杏干和東方香料氣息，在舌尖上生動而明顯的單寧說明這款葡萄酒來自卡赫基——強壯如同英雄一般。
“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.
“我們的夢想是將業務拓展到美國市場。格魯吉亞的主要市場是中國和俄羅斯，而他們的（本土）葡萄酒品質只能說是很勉強——莫斯科酒廠里的工業化葡萄酒實在很糟糕。如果我們的葡萄酒能打入加利福尼亞市場，便是真正意義上的成功了。”阿薩夏尼晃動著杯中的葡萄酒，侃侃而談。
