美国国家公共电台 NPR Champagne Makers Bubble Over A Bumper Crop Caused By European Drought

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Europe had one of its hottest summers on record this year and many crops were destroyed. But the summer of 2018 was good for champagne¹. Here's Eleanor Beardsley.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELLS RINGING)

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE²: Bells toll³ at this abbey in the French region of Champagne, where Dom Perignon was buried. The Benedictine monk⁴ is said to have invented the method for turning wine into champagne here more than 300 years ago. The neat rows of vines look like stitching across the rolling hills. This time of year, those vines are laden⁵ with clumps⁶ of dark purple pinot noir and light green chardonnay grapes, which are blended to make champagne. Vincent Chaperon is a cellar master at Dom Perignon Champagne. He says France's northernmost winemaking region has to deal with a harsh climate.

VINCENT CHAPERON: Well, the frost - winter frost, but spring frost as well. Average temperature quite low, not so much sun, 200 days of rain. With the evolution of climate, things have been moving in the good way, so less rain, more sun, warmer temperature, less frost. So at these moments and for about 15 years, the impact has been positive.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: In September, the vineyards are full of grape pickers. Every grape must be picked by hand so as not to damage the fruit. Traditionally, the three-week harvest begins mid-September, but this year, that's when it ended. Claude Bucot has harvested grapes in Champagne for the last 27 years.

CLAUDE BUCOT: (Through interpreter) The weather determines when the harvest begins, and it's been starting earlier and earlier. We now come here a week or even two weeks before we did 20 years ago

BEARDSLEY: In the whole history of champagne making, the harvest has begun in August only five times including this year, four of those times have been in this century. Winemakers in Champagne say the warmer temperatures are increasing the quantity and quality of the grapes. Philippe Schaus is the CEO of Moet Hennessy.

PHILIPPE SCHAUS: What I'm hearing around me, even from people who are older than 80 years, is that this is the best harvest they ever had. So it looks like it's a very, very good year.

BEARDSLEY: The Champagne region typically produces about 300 million bottles a year. 2018 will yield at least 10 million more bottles of what is expected to be some of the best bubbly in history. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Champagne, France.

1 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》