VOA标准英语10月-Napa Valley's Wine Region Boasts Many Other Prett

This year, visitors to Northern California's Napa Valley region will have lots more than great wines and rolling vistas¹ to enjoy. VOA's Adam Phillips offers a taste of these and other Napa pleasures in this report.
　

California's Napa Valley is now famous for lots more than its world class wines…

Spirits were high in the tasting room at the Robert Mondavi Winery as tourists, wine connoisseurs² sampled the many varieties of wine this vineyard produces every year. Wine pourer Jessica Cherry loves to please connoisseurs, but she takes special care to educate those who are unfamiliar³ the pleasures of wine.

"Start off with what you like," she advises. "I know with myself, I started off liking⁴ white wines, and then I went into reds. I constantly go back and forth⁵. I love them all now!"

That's unusual in the United States, where only 12 percent of consumers drink wine. This contrasts sharply with Italy, winery founder⁶ Robert Mondavi's birthplace, where the joys of wine are considered an integral part of the good life. According to Inger Shiffler, the winery's wine educator, it was Mondavi's mission to get its estimated 300 thousand annual visitors to enjoy it, too.
　

...although this group of friends is getting the full benefit of the "tastings" on offer in the region's vineyards

"Mr. Mondavi's goal from the beginning was to get wine back on a dinner table, back with a meal, back with a family," Shiffler says. To do this, he offered a full tour of his vineyard that highlighted the winemaking process and "tastings" where guides "walk you though the wines and explain some of the things you might be tasting and some tips for how to appreciate wine."

There is a wine tour for almost every tourist in Napa's estimated 375 vineyards. Novices⁷, for example, can learn basic wine tasting techniques. Connoisseurs can take an "essence tour" to deepen their appreciation⁸ for a good wine's underlying⁹ chemistry. During an essence tour, visitors sniff¹⁰ the aromas¹¹ exuded¹² by a variety of substances, from olives to lemons and bark, and then try to identify similar tastes and aromas in various wines.
　

The "Essence Tour" at the Robert Mondavi Winery uses the nose as a way to enhance appreciation for good wine's many subtle flavors

All great wine requires great grapes, but winemaking itself is an art that involves knowing when to pick, choosing the right vineyards, deciding which grapes to choose and how you might blend those grapes together. Shiffler says that the winemaker's role is then "to taste and taste and taste and taste and figure out how to make the wine he or she would like to express."

At the Hess Collection Winery halfway¹³ up nearby Mount Veeder, Napa Valley tourists can appreciate another type of art: the painted and sculpted¹⁴ kind. Inside its airy museum space are Abstract Expressionist paintings by Robert Motherwell, portraiture¹⁵ by the British painter Francis Bacon, and a flaming typewriter by the Argentinian sculptor¹⁶ Leopoldo Maler. The collection is vast, and only about 20 percent of it is on exhibit at any one time.

David Johnson, who runs the Hess Collection Winery visitor center, says art is just as important to this winery's founder as wine.
　

"Hommage" by Leopoldo Maler, one of many intriguing17 artworks on display at the museum in Hess Collection Winery in Napa Valley. Museums like this and a host of smaller galleries are making the area a favored destination for art lovers

"Art is Donald Hess' personal passion. And he was probably the first person to actually put an art gallery with a winery," he says. "And we do have people from all over the world who… love to come out and see the collection."

It is craft rather than art that's offered at the Saint Helena Olive Oil Company. It is one of the several small Napa firms that sell the oil made from the local trees - some which are centuries old - that thrive in this Mediterranean¹⁸ climate. Shop assistant manager Andrea Mason shows off the 15 or so limited edition varieties produced here.

"The one thing that differentiates¹⁹ Napa Valley olive oil from other regions is we like to do early harvest as well as Italian varietals," she says. "That's going to give you a very pungent²⁰ or robust²¹ olive oil so you get a strong peppery 'after-kick.'"
　

Andrea Mason of the Saint Helena Olive Oil Company proudly displays several of the region's locally made artisanal oils

Mason loves the time-honored way her olive oils are produced nearly as much as their flavors. "Farmers go out, handpick the olives, and then they press the olive," she says.

Mason adds that many still press the olive "the old fashioned way, which is just mortar²² and stone, and you are going to be crushing the complete olive." The olive oil is then bottled immediately, says Mason, "… because, unlike wine, you don't want to have an aged²³ olive oil; you want to use it within its harvest year."

Other great reasons to visit Napa Valley, California, include hiking and camping in its idyllic²⁴ green hills, dining in its gourmet²⁵ restaurants, shopping in its quirky stores or attending an outdoor concert - all pleasures that go down nice and smooth, with or without a glass of wine.

1 vistas   

长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景

参考例句：

• This new job could open up whole new vistas for her. 这项新工作可能给她开辟全新的前景。
• The picture is small but It'shows broad vistas. 画幅虽然不大，所表现的天地却十分广阔。

2 connoisseurs   

n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Let us go, before we offend the connoisseurs. 咱们走吧，免得我们惹恼了收藏家。 来自辞典例句
• The connoisseurs often associate it with a blackcurrant flavor. 葡萄酒鉴赏家们通常会将它跟黑醋栗口味联系起来。 来自互联网

3 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

4 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 novices   

n.新手( novice的名词复数 )；初学修士（或修女）；（修会等的）初学生；尚未赢过大赛的赛马

参考例句：

• The Russians are such novices in Africa. 在非洲的俄国人简直都是些毫无经验的生手。 来自辞典例句
• Where the primary track all novices, screams everywhere, ha ha good terror. 那里的初级道上全是生手，到处都是尖叫声，哈哈好恐怖的。 来自互联网

8 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

11 aromas   

n.芳香( aroma的名词复数 )；气味；风味；韵味

参考例句：

• Intoxicating earth aromas induced lassitude and ethereal calm. 泥土的醉人的芳香叫人懒洋洋的，感到一种远离尘世的宁静。 来自辞典例句
• Nose and elegant nose with attractive fruity, floral and citrus fruit aromas. 芳香：优雅、馥郁、迷人的柑橘属水果的果香及花的清香。 来自互联网

12 exuded   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• Nearby was a factory which exuded a pungent smell. 旁边是一家散发出刺鼻气味的工厂。 来自辞典例句
• The old drawer exuded a smell of camphor. 陈年抽屉放出樟脑气味。 来自辞典例句

13 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

14 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

15 portraiture   

n.肖像画法

参考例句：

• I am going to have my portraiture taken.我请人给自己画张肖像。
• The painting of beautiful women was another field of portraiture.人物画中的另一个领域是仕女画。

16 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

17 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

19 differentiates   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
• Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。

20 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

21 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

22 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

23 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

24 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

25 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。