他她話題:女人的味覺比男人好嗎（上)

MANY YEARS AGO, when I first met the wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr., he told me something that I have never forgotten. "My wife, Pat, has a much better palate than I do," he said. (Was it really possible that the most influential wine critic of the modern age was a mere runner-up to a woman named Pat?)

多年前，我初次見到評酒大師羅伯特・派克（Robert M. Parker Jr.）的時候，他講了一句我永遠忘不了的話，“我妻子帕特（Pat）的味覺比我好得多。”（當代最有影響力的評酒師只能步一個名叫帕特的女人的後塵，這可能嗎？）

The idea that women are better tasters than men is hardly new. It's a "truth" I've heard repeated over and over again-though, oddly enough, it's almost always asserted by men. But do they really believe it-or are they tossing some sort of an oenological bone to the "fairer sex"? And more important, is it even correct?

女人味覺強於男人這種說法並非新近纔有，這樣的“實情”我已經反反覆覆聽到過很多遍──然而說來也奇怪，說這話的差不多都是男人。但是他們真的這麼認爲嗎？還是說他們只是想讓釀酒行業更顯得“性別平等”？更重要的是，這種看法正確嗎？

I called the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and put the question to sensory psychologist Marcia Pelchat. "Women are better smellers than men," replied Dr. Pelchat. "They're better at perceiving odors." Did that mean that women were actually better tasters than men? After all, what people often perceive as tastes are actually aromas. Dr. Pelchat didn't exactly answer my question but chose to rephrase it instead: "Flavor isn't just taste, it's a combination of sensory input-it's taste and smell," she said.

我電話聯繫了費城莫奈爾化學感應中心（Monell Chemical Senses Center）的感官心理學家馬西婭・佩爾莎（Marcia Pelchat）。佩爾莎回答說，“女人的嗅覺比男人好，她們更善於覺察氣味。”這是否意味着女人的味覺就比男人好呢？畢竟，人們經常所說的味道其實指的是香味。佩爾莎博士沒有直接回答我的問題，而是在措辭上進行了修改：“味不僅僅指的是味道，它是感官的綜合輸入──是味覺和嗅覺之和。”

Dr. Pelchat added a few more interesting facts: Women tend to prefer less carbonation in their wines and are usually more sensitive to bitter flavors than men. They also prefer slightly sweet wines. I'd certainly heard that last one often enough-and seen the sort of wines that marketers created in response. (Cupcake Merlot or Pink Moscato, anyone?)

佩爾莎博士又給我講了幾種更有意思的情況：女人不喜歡葡萄酒裏有過多的氣泡，她們對苦味的敏感度高於男性。她們也更喜歡略有甜味的葡萄酒。對於最後一點我已經聽得耳熟能詳了──也見過市場營銷人員順應需求推出的那種葡萄酒（蛋糕梅洛葡萄酒（Cupcake Merlot）或者粉紅莫斯卡託葡萄酒（Pink Moscato））。

In fact, a veritable ocean of plonk has been produced with the sole purpose of appealing to the supposedly superior female palate. Dr. Pelchat said that when female friends visited her house, they invariably brought along a bottle of sweet, pink wine. What did she do? "Smile and regift," replied Dr. Pelchat.

事實上，現在已經生產了大量價格低廉的劣質酒，唯一目的就是迎合女人所謂更好的味覺。佩爾莎博士說，當女性朋友到訪她家時，她們總是會帶一瓶甜甜的玫瑰紅葡萄酒來。她會怎麼做呢？佩爾莎博士回答道，“微笑着收下，然後轉送給別人。”

What did wine professionals think of the purported palate divide? I decided to contact a few industry couples, starting with Kelli White and Scott Brenner, sommeliers at Press restaurant in St. Helena, Calif., as well as domestic partners in real life.

葡萄酒專業人士對傳說中的男女味覺差異有何看法呢？我決定與業內的幾對夫婦取得聯繫，就從凱莉・懷特（Kelli White）和斯科特・布倫納（Scott Brenner）開始。他們是加利福尼亞州聖海倫娜（St. Helena）Press餐廳的侍酒師，現實生活中又是家庭伴侶。

I spoke first with Ms. White, who was careful to note that the differences she cited "might be Scott-and-Kelli differences" rather than differences between the sexes. Ms. White said that she and Mr. Brenner responded in the same way to most wines, although she was "more sensitive to overripe fruit and alcohol" while Mr. Brenner was "able to look at a very large wine and admire it." That was definitely in line with her experience of the male palate versus the female one, she added. What did she think of the stereotype of women liking sweeter wines? "I don't think that's true with female wine professionals," replied Ms. White.

我先跟懷特聊了聊。她很小心地解釋說她所指的差異也許只是斯科特和凱莉之間的差異，並不代表男女之別。懷特說她和布倫納對大多數葡萄酒的感覺是一樣的，但是她“對熟過頭的水果和酒精更敏感一些”，而布倫納“能夠看着一大瓶葡萄酒心生讚歎。”她還說這與她所感受到的男女味覺差異是完全一致的。對於女性更喜歡比較甜的葡萄酒這一成見她是如何看待的呢？懷特回答，“我認爲女性葡萄酒專業人士不是這樣的。”

For his part, Mr. Brenner was cautious about saying "anything that might be construed as sexist," although he remarked that he thought women were "becoming more educated, trying wines that aren't Pinot Grigio," which did sound, well, just a tiny bit sexist. If Pinot Grigio was the wine of choice for uneducated women, what was the go-to grape for ignorant men? Mr. Brenner resisted naming a particular varietal but speculated that uneducated men were "probably on a parallel track." Did he think that women had better palates than men? "I don't think there's a difference in palate-I think it's a difference in exposure," he said.

至於布倫納，他措辭很謹慎，不想說出“任何可能讓自己被人當成性別歧視主義者的言論”，雖然他在評說女性品嚐除灰皮諾（Pinot Grigio）以外的其它酒的品味提高了這番話時，聽起來的確有點性別歧視主義的嫌疑。如果灰皮諾是爲沒有品味的女人所選的話，無知男人喝的近乎於葡萄的東西又是什麼玩意兒呢？布倫納沒有說具體的品種名字，但是他猜想沒有品味的男人“情況也許是一樣的”。他是不是認爲女人的味覺比男人好呢？他說，“我覺得味覺上沒有差異──我認爲存在差異的是接觸味道的多寡程度。”

I put the question to Adam and Dianna Lee, who make dozens of different wines under the Siduri and Novy labels-Chardonnay and Syrah and Pinot Noir from all over California and Oregon. The Lees operate as a team, tasting all of the components of every wine, and each has equal input as to the final blend. And yet when his wife was pregnant, Mr. Lee wrote in an email, "Dianna's tasting acumen was particularly great. Every wine we selected was her blend. The joke became that I'd get her pregnant every year for blending." The Lees have three children, ages 12, 8 and 6. Collectors take note: That's vintages 1999, 2003 and 2006. (Ms. Lee was, of course, tasting and spitting during this time.)

我又向亞當・李和戴安娜・李進行了諮詢。他們以Siduri and Novy爲品牌製造了數十種不同的葡萄酒──原料是來自加利福尼亞和俄勒岡各地的霞多麗（Chardonnay）、西拉（Syrah）和黑皮諾（Pinot Noir）葡萄酒。李氏夫婦像團隊一樣分工合作，對每種酒的所有成分都要品嚐出來，在最終混合兌制的成品中，倆人向其中添加的成分各佔一半。不過李先生在一封電子郵件中寫道，當戴安娜懷孕時，“她的味覺實在太靈敏了，我們選擇的葡萄酒都是她勾兌出來的。我開玩笑說，每個勾兌葡萄酒的年份，我都會讓她懷上孕。”李氏夫婦有三個孩子，年齡分別爲12歲、八歲和六歲。收藏家們請記好了：這就意味着1999年、2003年和2006年都有佳釀。（李太太當然在這期間也在品酒吐酒。）