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，我初次见到评酒大师罗伯特・派克（Robert M. Parker Jr.）的时候，他讲了一句我永远忘不了的话，“我妻子帕特（Pat）的味觉比我好得多。”（当代最有影响力的评酒师只能步一个名叫帕特的女人的后尘，这可能吗？）
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?

女人味觉强于男人这种说法并非新近才有，这样的“实情”我已经反反复复听到过很多遍──然而说来也奇怪，说这话的差不多都是男人。但是他们真的这么认为吗？还是说他们只是想让酿酒行业更显得“性别平等”？更重要的是，这种看法正确吗？
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.
我电话联系了费城莫奈尔化学感应中心（Monell Chemical Senses Center）的感官心理学家马西娅・佩尔莎（Marcia Pelchat）。佩尔莎回答说，“女人的嗅觉比男人好，她们更善于觉察气味。”这是否意味着女人的味觉就比男人好呢？毕竟，人们经常所说的味道其实指的是香味。佩尔莎博士没有直接回答我的问题，而是在措辞上进行了修改：“味不仅仅指的是味道，它是感官的综合输入──是味觉和嗅觉之和。”
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?)
佩尔莎博士又给我讲了几种更有意思的情况：女人不喜欢葡萄酒里有过多的气泡，她们对苦味的敏感度高于男性。她们也更喜欢略有甜味的葡萄酒。对于最后一点我已经听得耳熟能详了──也见过市场营销人员顺应需求推出的那种葡萄酒（蛋糕梅洛葡萄酒（Cupcake Merlot）或者粉红莫斯卡托葡萄酒（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.
事实上，现在已经生产了大量价格低廉的劣质酒，唯一目的就是迎合女人所谓更好的味觉。佩尔莎博士说，当女性朋友到访她家时，她们总是会带一瓶甜甜的玫瑰红葡萄酒来。她会怎么做呢？佩尔莎博士回答道，“微笑着收下，然后转送给别人。”
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.
葡萄酒专业人士对传说中的男女味觉差异有何看法呢？我决定与业内的几对夫妇取得联系，就从凯莉・怀特（Kelli White）和斯科特・布伦纳（Scott Brenner）开始。他们是加利福尼亚州圣海伦娜（St. Helena）Press餐厅的侍酒师，现实生活中又是家庭伴侣。
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.
我先跟怀特聊了聊。她很小心地解释说她所指的差异也许只是斯科特和凯莉之间的差异，并不代表男女之别。怀特说她和布伦纳对大多数葡萄酒的感觉是一样的，但是她“对熟过头的水果和酒精更敏感一些”，而布伦纳“能够看着一大瓶葡萄酒心生赞叹。”她还说这与她所感受到的男女味觉差异是完全一致的。对于女性更喜欢比较甜的葡萄酒这一成见她是如何看待的呢？怀特回答，“我认为女性葡萄酒专业人士不是这样的。”
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.
至于布伦纳，他措辞很谨慎，不想说出“任何可能让自己被人当成性别歧视主义者的言论”，虽然他在评说女性品尝除灰皮诺（Pinot Grigio）以外的其它酒的品味提高了这番话时，听起来的确有点性别歧视主义的嫌疑。如果灰皮诺是为没有品味的女人所选的话，无知男人喝的近乎于葡萄的东西又是什么玩意儿呢？布伦纳没有说具体的品种名字，但是他猜想没有品味的男人“情况也许是一样的”。他是不是认为女人的味觉比男人好呢？他说，“我觉得味觉上没有差异──我认为存在差异的是接触味道的多寡程度。”
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.)
我又向亚当・李和戴安娜・李进行了咨询。他们以Siduri and Novy为品牌制造了数十种不同的葡萄酒──原料是来自加利福尼亚和俄勒冈各地的霞多丽（Chardonnay）、西拉（Syrah）和黑皮诺（Pinot Noir）葡萄酒。李氏夫妇像团队一样分工合作，对每种酒的所有成分都要品尝出来，在最终混合兑制的成品中，俩人向其中添加的成分各占一半。不过李先生在一封电子邮件中写道，当戴安娜怀孕时，“她的味觉实在太灵敏了，我们选择的葡萄酒都是她勾兑出来的。我开玩笑说，每个勾兑葡萄酒的年份，我都会让她怀上孕。”李氏夫妇有三个孩子，年龄分别为12岁、八岁和六岁。收藏家们请记好了：这就意味着1999年、2003年和2006年都有佳酿。（李太太当然在这期间也在品酒吐酒。）