WE ALL DREAM of flying first class. Admit it, when the plane pushes back from the gate and begins its taxi to the runway, those of us not quite as close to the cockpit as we had hoped begin to entertain envious thoughts about those up front, sipping vintage Champagne and nibbling their smoked salmon and Osetra caviar.
我们都向往乘坐头等舱。承认吧，当飞机驶离登机门、开始滑向跑道时，我们这些觉得自己座位距离驾驶舱不顾近的人，就会开始对那些坐在前面的人各种嫉妒嫉妒恨：他们可以啜着陈年香槟，细细品味烟熏三文鱼和奥斯特拉鲟(Osetra)鱼子酱。
I'm one of those who still experience a little pang of excitement as the catering trolley makes its way down the aisle. But such has been the downgrading of air travel in recent years that food is no longer a given, let alone wine. To compound matters, modern aviation regulations mean the oenophile hasn't a hope of bringing his favorite bottle on board.
我属于那种见到餐车推上过道心里依然会稍稍激动的人。不过，近些年航空旅行体验开始逐渐降格，机上食物不再免费，酒就更别提了。让事情变得更复杂的是，受到现代航运规定的限制，爱酒之人不可能把自己最喜欢的美酒带上飞机了。

I'm always reminded of the final scene of 'Hannibal' (2001) when Anthony Hopkins, flying in economy, takes delivery of a Dean & Deluca hamper complete with a half-bottle of 1996 Château Phélan Ségur from Saint-Estèphe, an assortment of fruits, caviar and cheese and, infamously, a tiny pot of brain.
互动图：头等舱美酒我总是回想起电影《汉尼拔》(Hannibal，2001年)的最后一幕，搭乘经济舱的安东尼·霍普金斯(Anthony Hopkins)提着高档食品杂货店Dean & Deluca的食品包，外加半瓶源自 埃斯泰夫(Saint-Estephe)产区的飞龙世家酒庄(Chateau Phelan Segur) 1996年的美酒，以及水果、鱼子酱和奶酪等各式食品——不甚光彩的是，他还带了一小罐人脑。
Not that I would recommend drinking such a delicate wine in such a small glass at 35,000 feet. Wines taste very different in the air; a combination of altitude and low humidity tends to accentuate a wine's acidity and alcohol. Meanwhile, the cabin's dry atmosphere will make the tannins--the bitter-tasting compounds found in red wine--more pronounced. And it's not just the wines that are affected. The way we taste things also changes at altitude. As the recycled cabin air dries the mucus in our nasal passages, our sense of smell diminishes, wreaking havoc with our olfactory appreciation.
我并不是要推荐在35,000英尺（约合10,668米）的高空用那么小的杯子享用如此精美的葡萄酒。葡萄酒在高空品起来味道非常不同，高空环境及低湿度会凸显出葡萄酒的酸度和酒精度。同时，机舱内干燥的环境会让单宁——红酒中那种味道涩口的物质——的味道变得更为浓烈。此外，受影响的不只是酒本身。我们品尝东西的方式在高空也会发生变化。由于机舱内的循环空气让我们鼻道中的黏液变干，我们的嗅觉会随之变弱，对气味的辨识会因此遭到破坏。
Saint-Estèphe is known for producing wines with plenty of tannins and acidity in their youth--Dr. Lecter would be advised to plump for something a little riper and softer to pair with his brain; maybe an Australian Shiraz.
埃斯泰夫以出产在年轻期就单宁丰富和酸度高的葡萄酒而闻名——所以这里要建议莱克特博士(Dr. Lecter)选择成熟一些、更柔和的葡萄酒来搭配他的人脑餐。澳大利亚的设拉子(Shiraz)葡萄酒或许是一个选择。
Which brings me to Australia and its flagship carrier, Qantas, which has, for the second year running, picked up a string of prizes in the annual 'Cellars in the Sky' awards. The airline was judged to have the best overall wine cellar, above Emirates, which won silver, and El-Al and Cathay Pacific, which shared bronze.
这让我想到了澳大利亚及其旗舰航空公司——澳洲航空(Qantas)。该公司连续第二年在一年一度的“空中窖藏奖”(Cellars in the Sky)评选中摘得了一系列奖项。它被评为最佳的葡萄酒整体窖藏，位列获得银奖的阿联酋航空(Emirates)及共享铜奖的以色列航空(El-Al)与国泰航空(Cathay Pacific)之上。
Qantas says its success lies in its wine panel, created in 2003 and comprising three Australian winemakers: Vanya Cullen, Stephen Pannell and Tom Carson. They meet several times a year and assess hundreds of wines, asking questions such as, does it represent a premium wine? Is it a benchmark of its style? Is it drinking well and will it show well under flying conditions?
澳洲航空称，其成功得益于它的葡萄酒专门小组。该小组成立于2003年，由三名澳大利亚葡萄酒生产商组成：万尼亚·库伦(Vanya Cullen)、斯蒂芬·潘内尔(Stephen Pannell)和汤姆·卡森(Tom Carson)。他们一年会面几次，对数百种葡萄酒进行评估，并且提出一系列问题如：它是否是优质葡萄酒？是否是该类葡萄酒的标杆？口感是否上乘？以及它在飞行条件下的表现是否出色？。
A spokesman for the panel says altitude dulls a wine's aroma, potentially ruining a good bottle of wine. Soft fruit and citrus flavors are reduced, whereas wines with riper, red-berried fruit tend not to be so badly affected. Meanwhile, a young wine can seem hard whereas older wines tend to taste better.
该小组的一名发言人称，高空环境会减淡葡萄酒的芳香，可能会毁掉一瓶好酒。柔和的水果及柑橘味会减淡，而更成熟、红色浆果味的葡萄酒受到的影响则没那么严重。与此同时，较年轻的葡萄酒可能会显得苦烈，而较成熟的葡萄酒的味道往往会更好。
With its mainly Australian wine list, Qantas has got it right. My advice to fliers has always been to opt for those wines that are bigger, riper and more expressive, with low acidity. Something like a Merlot, Pinotage or Shiraz for reds or Chardonnay, Semillon and Viognier for whites.
在这个方面，主要配备本国葡萄酒的澳洲航空公司做对了。我对航空旅客的建议一直是选择那些更浓香、更成熟、更具特色且酸度更低的葡萄酒。红酒的话可选择梅洛(Merlot)、品诺塔吉(Pinotage)或设拉子，白葡萄酒则可选择霞多丽(Chardonnay)、赛美蓉(Semillon)和维欧尼(Viognier)。
It does seem a shame, though, that some of the finest wines in the world are consumed under such poor conditions. Having said that, if I were traveling first class and were handed a cool glass of effervescent vintage Krug after takeoff, I'd take it.
然而，一些世界最好的葡萄酒却要在如此糟糕的条件下品饮，这着实可惜。话虽如此，假如我坐上了头等舱，空乘在飞机起飞后递给我一杯沁凉的陈年Krug起泡酒，我还是会接受的。
WILL LYONS
WILL LYONS