Wine
葡萄酒
It is hard to say how long people have been drinking wine.
我们很难断定喝葡萄酒的历史有多长。
Wine is far older than recorded history.
但可以肯定的是,葡萄酒的历史远比记载的时间长。
Some experts say it is even as old as civilization itself.
一些专家认为甚至它本身同文明一样古老。
The first wine ever made was probably an accident.
葡萄酒的诞生纯属偶然:
People in ancient times might have picked ripe grapes.
古人摘下葡萄放进容器里,
Some juicy grapes at the bottom of the container were crushed together.
最下面的那些被压碎。
As the grapes broke open,yeasts on the skins went to work turning sugar from the fruit into alcohol.
葡萄皮中的酵母菌把糖分转化成酒精,
This is the fermentation process that turns grape juice into wine.
这就是葡萄汁转化成葡萄酒的发酵过程。
Wine was not just about having an enjoyable drink.
葡萄酒不仅可供即兴品尝
It could be stored for future use.
葡萄酒可以长时间贮存,备他日之用。
And, it was nutritious and often much safer to drink than water during early times.
在早期,喝葡萄酒比喝水更为营养和安全。
Some experts say that up until the 1600s in Europe,wine was one of the only prepared drinks.After that, wine had competition from beer, coffee and tea.
从17世纪开始,欧洲人除了葡萄酒,还有啤酒,咖啡和茶可供选择。