Wine lovers know the difference between Merlot and Pinot Noir. Both are red wines but there is a world of difference between the two. They pair (match) with different types of food. In a column last week, I wrote that a friend had invited me to a cozy (comfortable, relaxing) French restaurant in Haiphong Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui called Rack Cuisine. I said we ate a combination of seafood, such as scallops and fish, and meat, including quail (a type of small bird). I wrote that we paired the delicious food with Merlot because Merlot can pair with either seafood or meat. Sharp-eyed readers immediately noticed my error when they saw a picture of the wine we drank on the online version of my column. We drank Pinot Noir, not Merlot！
The expression “a world of difference” means a very big difference. The expression “sharp-eyed” means very quick at noticing things. I have a good excuse for writing we drank Merlot even though we drank Pinot Noir. I was drinking Merlot when I wrote the column and subconsciously wrote Merlot！The word “subconscious” means the part of your mind that remembers things and influences your actions without you realizing it. Many people do or say things subconsciously that embarrass them. I am not embarrassed but I hope the owner and head chef of Rack Cuisine, Angus Yung Ka-chun, will not ban me from his restaurant.
There is a world of difference between Merlot and Pinot Noir because the two red wines are made from different grapes. Pinot Noir is a light-bodied wine and Merlot is medium-bodied. Generally speaking, light-bodied wines are lower in alcohol content and the grapes are grown in cool climates. Medium-bodied wines have a moderate alcohol content. Bordeaux and Burgundy in France are well-known for medium-bodied wines. Pinot Noir has a lighter red color and can pair with seafood as well as meat. Merlot pairs better with meat. From now on, I will try not to drink wine when I write columns!
愛酒之人都知道梅洛酒（Merlot）跟黑皮諾酒（Pinot Noir）的分別。它們都是紅酒，但二者可謂有天壤之別（a world of difference）。它們可以用來配搭（pair）不同類型的食物。在上星期的專欄中，我寫到一位朋友邀請我去尖沙咀海防大廈一間舒適的（cozy）法式餐廳名Rack Cuisine。我說我們吃了幾種海鮮的組合，例如扇貝和魚，還有肉類包括鵪鶉（quail）等。我又寫道，我們以梅洛（Merlot）配搭（paired）這些美味的食物，因為梅洛（Merlot）可以跟海鮮又或者肉類配搭（pair）。讀者們看到我那放在專欄網上版、我們喝酒的照片時，眼利的（sharp-eyed）讀者立即便注意到我的錯處：我們喝的可是黑皮諾（Pinot Noir），而不是梅洛（Merlot）！
習語a world of difference意即天壤之別。習語sharp-eyed即是眼光敏銳的。即使我們喝的是黑皮諾（Pinot Noir），我卻寫了梅洛（Merlot），我可以給出一個很合理的理由：我寫專欄時正喝着梅洛（Merlot），因而下意識地（subconsciously）寫了做梅洛（Merlot）！Subconscious 即是潛意識，在你不為意的情況下影響你的行為。許多人會下意識地（subconsciously）做了或說了一些令他們尷尬的事。我不感到尷尬，但我希望Rack Cuisine的店主兼主廚翁嘉俊，不會禁止我再到他的餐廳用膳吧！
梅洛（Merlot）跟黑皮諾（Pinot Noir）可謂有着天淵之別（a world of difference），因為兩種紅酒是由不同品種的葡萄釀製而成的。黑皮諾（Pinot Noir）是輕酒體（light-bodied）的酒，而梅洛（Merlot）則屬於中等酒體（medium-bodied）。一般來說，輕酒體（light-bodied）的酒精含量較低，葡萄生長在較寒涼的氣候；中等酒體（medium-bodied）的酒則有中度的酒精含量。法國的波爾多和勃艮第都出名盛產中等酒體（medium-bodied）的酒。黑皮諾（Pinot Noir）偏向淺紅色，可以配搭（pair）海鮮與肉類；梅洛（Merlot）則配搭（pairs）肉類比較好。由現在開始，我會試着不要在寫專欄時喝酒了！
mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
