HAO LIWEN: CONNOISSEUR IN CHINA

HAO LIWEN: CONNOISSEUR IN CHINA

Connoisseur is what people call Hao Liwen. But strictly speaking, this occupation is not offlcially recognised as a job in China. For now, Hao’s job is wine taster, commenter and trainer.

Text by Chen Yuqiang Photos by Chen He Translation by Zheng Ying

March 10th, a little cold in Shanghai. In a winery in Changning District, Hao Liwen took a bottle of wine out of the rack originally from Burgundy, France. Hao cut the seal with a wine knife, took out the cork and held the bottom of the bottle, moving it closer to the glass. The bottle inclined gently, and the liquid, which was clean as ruby, flew into the glass.

Hao Liwen lifted the glass up, swished it gently, sniffed the joyful smell before taking a sip.“Elegant” was Hao's comment.

Connoisseur is what people call Hao Liwen. But strictly speaking, this occupation is not offlcially recognised by the country, and there is no professional certiflcate for this job. For now, Hao's job is wine taster, commenter and trainer, but people will normally call him just connoisseur. “I think connoisseur is like an epicure, there is no high criteria for this. As long as somebody loves wine and is able to analyse it rationally, that's enough. If someone could know deeper and get more fun from this, then they will open the door of the world of the wine.”

As a rare connoisseur in China with WSET 4 grad diploma, Hao Liwen tastes and comments on nearly 1000～2000 wines every year, rating and reviewing them. There's a saying that connoisseurs swallow no wine when they taste. This is verifled by Hao.

“It's wasteful to just spit so much good wine. The wine sent to be tasted should have been treasured. It's their best fate to be tasted.” Said Hao. But when he tastes about more than 100 kinds of wine everyday, to keep the taste bud pure, most are spat out. Tasting too much wine could even hurt the nose. So in order to balance the smell, Hao will smell the back skin of the hand to recover his smell.

郝利文：品酒師在中國

品酒師，是外界對郝利文的稱呼。在葡萄酒圈，郝利文更為人熟知的名字是“胡子馬丁”，那是他為自己取的化名。嚴格來說，國內并沒有品酒師這一職業(yè)，郝利文的身份目前是葡萄酒品評人、講師，但是大眾媒體依然習慣稱郝利文為品酒師。

In this circle, Hao is famous for “Beard Martin”, that's an alias he made for himself. However, he didn't have a chaotic beard when we met him. When Hao was little, he loved the hotel manager with the beard in the TV series Grand Hotel, and he thought that was cool and wanted one for himself. But he was not allowed by his parents when he was little, and later not allowed by his wife. The beard he wants is never on his face, but becomes his alias.

Just like the story about his alias, Hao has a temperament mixed by western and eastern cultures. When he appears, he is always dressed up, regardless of whether he holds a glass in his hand or not. It's also a Shanghai style, appropriate and decent. During the process of more than 10 years' research for wine chateaus, he comes back and forth between two kinds of cultures and absorbs the best parts from both.

Since the flrst time he had stepped into the industry and tasted his flrst sip in 2004, he travelled in Chateaus in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile and other countries in South America, and pilgrimed in the Holy Lands in the world of wine, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy. So many years' travel and taste makes Hao realise how broad is this world of wine. “Every place has its own culture and its own style of wine. The wine is also restricted by the region even in the same area, yet there can be something different in details. For example, in Burgundy, there are more than 600 different regions. When you taste carefully, every region is so different. For now I only know the rough traits of Burgundy, and iflwant to master all the differences of every area, it would take more than my whole life.”

After travelling to the chateaus of the old and new world, Hao Liwen found out surprisingly that there are also good quality chateaus in China, where the culture of wine has been popular for only a short time. In Helan Mt in Ningxia and Tian Mt in Xinjiang, the wine from these exquisite chateaus have been gradually recognised and approved. In the coming years, Hao will be engaged in making more people realise that there are also competitive wine products in China.

3月10日，上海微冷。

在長寧區(qū)的一家酒坊，郝利文從酒架上挑出一支來自法國勃艮第紅葡萄酒。用酒刀小心割開瓶封，取出軟木塞，郝利文手握瓶底，將酒瓶平穩(wěn)靠近酒杯。瓶身輕輕傾斜，帶著紅寶石般透徹的瓊漿流入酒杯。

郝利文端起酒杯，輕輕搖晃，欣賞散落在酒杯里的芬芳，隨后稍稍飲下一口?！皟?yōu)雅?！焙吕脑u價道。

品酒師，是外界對郝利文的稱呼。但嚴格來說，并沒有品酒師這一國家認可的職業(yè)，品酒師也沒有任何專業(yè)的證書認證。郝利文的職業(yè)目前是葡萄酒品評人、講師，但是大眾媒體依然習慣稱郝利文為品酒師?！拔矣X得品酒師像美食家一樣沒有很高的門檻，只要一個人愛品酒并且能分析得有道理，這就足夠了。如果他能了解更多，他將能獲得更多的樂趣，也打開了葡萄酒世界的大門?！?/p>

作為國內為數(shù)不多、擁有WSET4級Diploma資質的講師，郝利文每年要品鑒近一、兩千支酒，并為這些酒打分、寫評論。有一種說法，說品酒師工作時幾乎不將試飲的葡萄酒喝下去。這一說法得到郝利文的證實。

“要將這么多的好酒吐掉，真的很浪費。能送來品賞的葡萄酒，理應被飲用者珍惜，被他們飲用是葡萄酒最好的宿命?！焙吕恼f。最多一天需要品一百種酒，為了保證味蕾的純凈，大部分的酒都吐掉了。品太多種類的葡萄酒，甚至鼻子都會有影響。為了平衡嗅覺，郝利文會用聞手背皮膚的方法讓嗅覺恢復。

在葡萄酒圈，郝利文更為人熟知的名字是“胡子馬丁”，那是他為自己取的化名。然而，見面時郝利文臉上并沒有留著亂糟糟的大胡子。成長時所喜歡連續(xù)劇《大飯店》的酒店經(jīng)理留著大胡子，郝利文覺得很酷，一直很想留這樣的胡子。誰知成長時父母不允許留胡子，成家后愛妻不允許留胡須，郝利文想擁有的胡子一直沒在臉上長起來，反而成了他的化名。

正如這個名字的故事，郝利文的身上呈現(xiàn)出西方文化與東方文化交織的氣質。當他出現(xiàn)時，永遠衣著得體，無論手中有沒有酒杯。這是上海的風格，得體、有分寸。而他在十幾年考察葡萄酒莊的過程，也讓他不斷往返于兩種文化，從兩種文化之間汲取養(yǎng)分。

從2004年進入葡萄酒行業(yè)第一次喝到葡萄酒，十幾年間郝利文游歷過法國、意大利、西班牙、葡萄牙、智利、南美等國家的酒莊，到那些在葡萄酒世界里的圣地朝拜，波爾多、勃艮第等地區(qū)……多年的游歷和品酒生涯，讓郝利文意識到葡萄酒世界之大?！懊總€地方的文化都不一樣，酒的風格也不一樣。而且葡萄酒有地塊的限定，就算在同一個地塊上，都有細微的差異。比如勃艮第地區(qū)，可以分為六百多個地塊，細細品嘗，各個地塊的葡萄酒都有所不同。如今我只能大致把握勃艮第地區(qū)的特點，如要把握各個地塊的不同，也許窮盡一生的時間也不夠?！?/p>

游歷了舊世界、新世界的酒莊后，郝利文驚喜地發(fā)現(xiàn)，在葡萄酒盛行不久的國內，也開始有質量較好的酒莊。在寧夏的賀蘭山、新疆的天山，這些精品酒莊出產(chǎn)的葡萄酒品質開始被認可。在接下來的時間，郝利文將致力于讓更多人意識到，國內葡萄酒也有拿得出手的精品酒。

1999年

郝利文第一次旅居意大利，并深刻地接觸葡萄酒。

2004年

正式進入葡萄酒行業(yè)。在這個階段郝利文得到許多經(jīng)典產(chǎn)區(qū)酒莊參觀的機會，并在其后的十多年，訪問和考察過全球近百家知名酒莊，足跡遍及美國、蘇格蘭、法國、 意大利、 德國、西班牙、 葡萄牙、智利、南非等國家。

2009年

作為葡萄酒主講人拍攝了教育片《葡萄酒鑒賞家》。

2011年

獲得WSET(英國葡萄酒和烈酒教育基金會)4級Diploma證書和認證講師資格， 波爾多葡萄酒學校講師資格。其后，郝利文先后獲得勃艮第認證講師、新西蘭認證葡萄酒專家、法國香檳騎士、美國納帕谷葡萄酒專家等證書。

體驗式教學法，是指在教學過程中為了達到既定的教學目的，從教學需要出發(fā)，引入、創(chuàng)造或創(chuàng)設與教學內容相適應的具體情境或氛圍，以引起學生的情感體驗，幫助學生迅速而正確地理解教學內容，促進他們心理機能全面和諧發(fā)展的一種教學方法。體驗式教學法使學生身臨其境或如臨其境，一則帶給學生從形象的感知到抽象的理性的頓悟，二則激發(fā)學生的學習興趣和學習情緒，使學習活動成為自主自發(fā)的活動。同時，在教學實踐中，體驗式教學法在英語閱讀課、寫作課研究相對較多，而將其運用到語法課研究的則比較少。[1]

2012年

作為主編加入《橄欖美酒評論》雜志，同年和齊仲嬋一起出版《葡萄酒平常問》一書。

2014

加入《Decanter醇鑒》并擔任中國品牌大使，出版《葡萄酒游記》一書。成為法國干邑認證講師，并開始葡萄酒行業(yè)最高專業(yè)頭銜——葡萄酒大師（Master of Wine）學習。

2015年

成為羅伯特·帕克團隊的亞洲酒品評人，為《葡萄酒倡導家》（The Wine Advocate）及RobertParker.com品評來自亞洲的精品葡萄酒和清酒。借助這個世界上最有影響力之一的評分體系，給真正吸引人的亞洲酒帶來更多來自葡萄酒世界的關注。

NOT EVERY WESTERNER KNOWS THEIR WINE, JUST LIKE MANY CHINESE ARE NOT EXPERTS IN TEA.

N=NIHAO

H=Hao Liwen

N: Is it easier for westerners than easterners to enter the world of wine?

H: People may misunderstand that in some foreign countries, especially in France and Italy, it seems that everyone knows about wine. In fact, it's not true. In research of wine, I have travelled to many countries, including those which are famous for wine production. I just found out that people there are not necessarily more knowledgable about wine than we are. For instance, some foreigners also think that every Chinese is good at Tea ceremony. But actually, most of us just drink normal tea everyday, and have no expertise in the ceremony. To my opinion, their advantage lies in the language. If people can overcome the difflculty of language, they are more likely to learn something profound in this fleld.

N: When red wine first came onto our table, it was popular to drink it with Sprite. Is this a mistake?

H: To add Sprite into red wine feels a little“unenlightened”, but not really wrong. Some Chinese drink red wine with Sprite just because they don't get used to this kind of bitter taste. It's the same when foreigners love to take tea with milk and warm water. Spanish also make Sangria with Sprite. However, when taking some good wine, I suggest not adding anything else, just straight.

N: Why would you use the word “elegant“ to review the wine that you approve?

H: My friends are always, just laughing at me about my only one comment on wine, “elegant”. Of course, I have plentiful words when I want to express something. “Elegant” is a basic criterion to judge a good wine. Just like people, wine has its personality, so using words like “elegant”,“humble”, “flne”, and “smooth” can also be objective, and this kind of skill has been working since old times. This way of review is not to mystify something, but rather to make the readers know deeper about wine. For example, a type of wine is reviewed as “strong strike in velvet”. At the flrst sight, it looks confusing. But when you think about it twice, you can feel this comment can describe the gentle feeling at the flrst sip, but it has a stronger power when you swallow it, like a strong strike to your mouth. These ways of commenting on wine are also very interesting when you compare your thinking with the real tastes.

N: when you taste red wine, do you need rituals to help you get into a groove?

H: Rituals are needed absolutely. We don't need a full set of rituals like having a bath, changing the clothes, burning incense and playing music. But drinking red wine also needs some speciflc routine tools and atmosphere to help me immersed into the world of wine, such as clean glasses, an environment without smell, light without colours……These can groove me up quickly. I like it most when in a leisurely afternoon, I take out a good wine and taste it in peace. It's an ideal status.

“不是每個西方人都懂葡萄酒，正如不是所有中國人都精通茶”

N：進入葡萄酒世界時，西方人會比東方人更容易嗎？

H：大家可能會有這樣一個誤解，覺得國外，尤其是在葡萄酒名氣較大的法國和意大利，似乎人人都懂紅酒，其實并不是。在考察紅酒的過程中，我游歷過許多國家，包括那些盛產(chǎn)葡萄酒的國家，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們所懂的葡萄酒知識，不一定比我們多。打個比方，外國人都以為中國人個個都精通茶道，但實際上我們大部分人只是日常中習慣飲茶，并無深入認識。在這一點上，國內與國外學習葡萄酒知識處于同一起跑線，不存在他們因為身處那個國度所知的葡萄酒知識就一定比我們多。我個人認為，他們學習葡萄酒知識的優(yōu)勢在于語言。很多葡萄酒術語，是用當?shù)卣Z言表達的，用英語或者其他語言翻譯過來未必準確。如果大家能夠克服語言困難，在學習葡萄酒知識的道路上一定能走得更深遠。

（本圖由伊周Femina雜志提供）

N：紅葡萄酒剛開始出現(xiàn)在國內酒桌時，比較流行加入雪碧飲用。這是不是一個誤區(qū)？

H：在紅葡萄酒中加入雪碧，讓人感覺有點“土”，不能完全說是錯誤的。中國人喝紅葡萄酒加入雪碧，是因為對丹寧的苦澀口感還不習慣。這和外國人喝中國茶加溫水和奶，道理是一樣的。西班牙人在飲用葡萄酒的時候也會加入雪碧，做成桑格利亞。但是，在品嘗好的紅葡萄酒時，我強烈建議不要加入其他東西，直接飲用是最好的享受。

N：為什么喜歡用“優(yōu)雅”這一詞來評價你認可的葡萄酒？

H：我的朋友老是笑我，說我在試飲葡萄酒時只有“優(yōu)雅”一個評價。當然，我在用文字表達的時候詞匯會豐富很多。“優(yōu)雅”，是我認為好的葡萄酒必須要達到的一個基本要求。像人一樣，葡萄酒也有個性，所以用“優(yōu)雅”“不張揚”“細膩”這些形容人的詞匯去形容葡萄酒也是客觀的，這種手法自古有之。這種手法不是故弄玄虛，而是力圖幫助讀者更深入地了解葡萄酒，比如有一款葡萄酒被評為“戴絲絨的鐵拳”。乍一看，不懂是什么意思。如果細細去想，這個評價是描述該葡萄酒初入口時很溫柔，但是喝下去后受到的沖擊很大，口腔仿佛被鐵擊集中一般。這些葡萄酒的評價方式，慢慢體會后與飲用感相對照，也會是一種樂趣。

N：你在品嘗葡萄酒時，會需要儀式感幫助你進入狀態(tài)嗎？

H：儀式感還是需要的。當然我們現(xiàn)在做不到沐浴更衣焚香奏樂這樣一套儀式，但是飲用葡萄酒，我覺得還是要有固定的工具、環(huán)境幫助我沉浸入葡萄酒的世界。比如說干凈的杯子、沒有味道的環(huán)境、沒有顏色的燈，這些都能幫我進入品嘗的狀態(tài)。我最喜歡的是在一個空閑的下午，打開一支好葡萄酒，安安靜靜地品味。這是一個美好的下午。