2022年11月14日 VOA慢速英语：西班牙的科学家希望通过古老的葡萄藤来挽救葡萄酒业务

 

Genetic researchers in Spain's wine country believe grape vines that have lived for more than 35 years are better able to deal with high temperatures brought by climate change.
西班牙葡萄酒之乡的遗传学研究人员认为，已经存活超过 35 年的葡萄藤能够更好地应对气候变化带来的高温。
 
Winemakers in the Rioja area in northern Spain make some of the best wine in the world. Wine has been made there for hundreds of years.
西班牙北部里奥哈地区的酿酒师生产世界上最好的葡萄酒。数百年来，葡萄酒一直在那里酿造。
 
But in recent years, winemakers there have been having trouble producing good wine. They say the wine tasted better in the past, when temperatures were usually cooler. The 2022 summer was the hottest in Spain since record-keeping began in 1961. Temperatures were 2.2 degrees Celsius higher than average.
但近年来，那里的酿酒师在生产优质葡萄酒方面遇到了麻烦。他们说这种酒在过去味道更好，当时温度通常较低。 2022 年的夏天是西班牙自 1961 年开始记录以来最热的一年。气温比平均水平高 2.2 摄氏度。
 
Researchers like Pablo Carbonell think older grapevines may be able to grow better in higher temperatures.
巴勃罗·卡博内尔 (Pablo Carbonell) 等研究人员认为，较老的葡萄藤可能能够在较高的温度下生长得更好。
 
As part of his research work, Carbonell looks at rows of gray shapes on his computer screen. Among them was a green rectangle. This, he said, represents a kind of grapevine that produces grapes that take longer to ripen, even in warmer conditions.
作为研究工作的一部分，Carbonell 在他的电脑屏幕上查看成排的灰色图形。其中有一个绿色矩形。他说，这代表了一种葡萄树，即使在温暖的条件下，这种葡萄也需要更长的时间才能成熟。
 
A longer ripeness period is what winemakers want. The current vines produce grapes that are ready to pick too early. Such grapes do not make wine that has the right color and smell. The wine also has too much alcohol.
更长的成熟期是酿酒师想要的。目前的葡萄藤生产的葡萄准备采摘过早。这样的葡萄不能酿造出颜色和气味合适的葡萄酒。这酒也有太多的酒精。
 
People who work in the vineyards have long crossed old vines with new ones. Now they are working with special laboratories -- like the one where Carbonell works -- to find a climate-resistant vine.
在葡萄园工作的人长期以来一直将旧葡萄藤与新葡萄藤杂交。现在，他们正在与特殊的实验室（比如 Carbonell 所在的实验室）合作，以寻找一种耐气候的葡萄树。
 
The place is called the Vine and Wine Research Institute. It is known as the ICVV in Spain. The scientists there are studying the genomes of commonly used grapes in Spanish wine.
这个地方被称为葡萄藤和葡萄酒研究所。它在西班牙被称为 ICVV。那里的科学家正在研究西班牙葡萄酒中常用葡萄的基因组。
 
The lab is working to keep the Spanish winemaking industry alive as temperatures rise. The scientists say the older grapevines have a more diverse genetic makeup.
随着气温升高，该实验室正在努力保持西班牙酿酒业的活力。科学家们表示，较老的葡萄藤具有更多样化的基因构成。
 
Spain is the third-largest winemaking country in the world behind France and Italy. Spanish wine production is worth close to $5 billion in the country's economy each year.
西班牙是仅次于法国和意大利的世界第三大酿酒国。西班牙葡萄酒生产每年为该国经济带来近 50 亿美元的价值。
 
The United Nations warns that climate change will cause Europe to lose crops due to heat, dry conditions and "extreme weather." The report will be included in the discussion at the COP 27 international climate meeting, which began this week in Egypt and runs until November 18.
联合国警告说，气候变化将导致欧洲因高温、干燥条件和“极端天气”而损失农作物。该报告将被纳入 COP 27 国际气候会议的讨论中，该会议于本周在埃及开始，一直持续到 11 月 18 日。
 
The Rioja region has 500 wineries and makes up 21 percent of Spain's wine production, totaling over $1.5 billion each year. Spain needs the region's wine production to continue.
里奥哈地区拥有 500 家酿酒厂，占西班牙葡萄酒的 21%年产值超过 15 亿美元。西班牙需要继续该地区的葡萄酒生产。
 
Inigo Torres is director of Grupo Rioja, a trade association representing 60 wineries in the region.
Inigo Torres 是代表该地区 60 家葡萄酒厂的贸易协会 Grupo Rioja 的董事。
 
"We are very worried about climate change," he said. He noted that this year's grape harvest started two weeks early. The change affects the way the wine tastes.
“我们非常担心气候变化，”他说。他指出，今年的葡萄收获提前两周开始。这种变化会影响葡萄酒的口味。
 
Torres said the warmer weather also limits how many grapes grow on each vine. As a result, total wine production has gone down by 5 to 10 percent over the last four years.
托雷斯说，温暖的天气也限制了每株葡萄藤上的葡萄数量。结果，在过去四年中，葡萄酒总产量下降了 5% 到 10%。
 
Jose Miguel Martinez Zapater is the director of ICVV. He and his scientists are working to analyze the wine. They are looking at vine cuttings that are close to 100 years old.
Jose Miguel Martinez Zapater 是 ICVV 的主管。他和他的科学家们正在努力分析这种葡萄酒。他们正在寻找接近 100 年树龄的葡萄藤插条。
 
He said the laboratory is doing the same kind of work scientists have done to sequence the human genome. But instead of looking for mutations that cause diseases, the wine scientists are looking for traits, or qualities, that might permit the vines to survive in a warmer climate.
他说实验室正在做的工作与科学家们为人类基因组测序所做的工作相同。但是，葡萄酒科学家们不是在寻找导致疾病的突变，而是在寻找可能使葡萄藤在更温暖的气候中生存的特征或品质。
 
In addition to the genetic research, scientists are also working on different planting methods. A winery called RODA is planting vines in a curve instead of a straight line. The hope is that plants will soak up more water this way. The new vineyard is made up of vines that were over 100 years old and moved from another place.
除了基因研究之外，科学家们还在也在研究不同的种植方法。一家名为 RODA 的酒厂正在以曲线而不是直线种植葡萄藤。希望植物会以这种方式吸收更多的水。新葡萄园由树龄超过100年、从别处搬来的葡萄树组成。
 
Maria Santolaya is an agricultural engineer and part of RODA's technical team. She said she hopes next summer is not as hot. The hot weather, she said, "has been very problematic."
Maria Santolaya 是一名农业工程师，也是 RODA 技术团队的一员。她说她希望明年夏天不会那么热。她说，炎热的天气“一直是个大问题。”
 
But, "our biggest concern," she added, "is what will happen in 20 or 30 years. We don't really know how things will come out."
但是，“我们最担心的是，”她补充说，“是 20 或 30 年后会发生什么。我们真的不知道事情会如何发展。”