仿佛来自异世的葡萄园：漫步兰萨罗特岛
Roaming Through Lanzarote’s Otherworldly Vineyards
MÓNICA R. GOYA
2020年9月28日
Situated some 80 miles off the southwest coast of Morocco, Lanzarote — with its stunning coastline, desert-like climate and plethora of volcanoes — is the easternmost of Spain’s Canary Islands. Major volcanic activity between 1730 and 1736, and again in 1824, indelibly altered the island’s landscape and helped pave the way for an improbable sight: a vast expanse of otherworldly vineyards.
位于摩洛哥西南海岸约80英里处的兰萨罗特岛，是西班牙加那利群岛最东部的岛屿，拥有令人惊叹的海岸线、类似沙漠的气候和众多火山。1730年至1736年以及1824年的大规模火山活动永久改变了岛上的景观，并为一幅不可思议的景象铺平了道路：一大片仿佛来自异世的葡萄园。
In recent years, Spain has devoted more land to vines than any other country in the world. And while the Canary Islands, more broadly, have a longstanding wine tradition — the archipelago’s wines, for example, were mentioned in several of Shakespeare’s plays — nothing could prepare me for the uniqueness of Lanzarote’s vines.
近年来，西班牙用来种植葡萄的土地比世界上任何一个国家都多。尽管从更宽泛的意义上讲加那利群岛有着悠久的葡萄酒传统（例如，这个群岛的葡萄酒还曾出现在莎士比亚的几部剧作中），但兰萨罗特葡萄的独特性还是在我意料之外。
The most remarkable wine area on the island is La Geria, a 13,000-acre protected landscape which lies at the foot of Timanfaya National Park, one of Lanzarote’s main tourist attractions. It was here in Timanfaya that volcanic eruptions buried around a quarter of the island (including La Geria) under a thick layer of lava and ash, creating a breathtakingly barren scene — and eventually leading to a new way of growing vines.
岛上最引人注目的葡萄酒产区叫拉吉里亚，这是一片1.3万英亩的保护区，位于提曼法亚国家公园脚下，而提曼法亚国家公园是兰萨罗特的主要旅游景点之一。正是在提曼法亚，火山爆发将岛上将近四分之一的土地（包括拉吉里亚）掩埋在一层厚厚的熔岩和火山灰之下，形成了令人惊叹的荒芜景象——并最终导致一种新的葡萄树生长方式形成。
Many of the vines on Lanzarote are planted in inverted conical holes known as hoyos, which are dug by hand to various depths, each one made in search of the fertile soil underneath the ash and lapilli. In a counterintuitive twist, the ash plays an essential role in the vineyards’ success: It protects the ground from erosion, helps retain moisture and regulates soil temperature.
兰萨罗特岛的许多葡萄藤种植在被称为霍约斯(hoyos)的倒锥形洞中，这些洞是由手工挖到不同深度的，每一个都是为了寻找火山灰和火山泥下面的肥沃土壤。出人意料的是，火山灰对葡萄园的成功起着至关重要的作用：它保护土壤免受侵蚀，有助于保持水分并调节土壤温度。
Low semicircular rock walls protect the vines from the merciless winds. Together with the hoyos, they contribute to an inventive growing method that might easily be mistaken for a network of sculptural art.
低矮的半圆形岩壁让藤蔓免受无情大风的侵袭。它们和霍约斯一起带来了一种创造性的生长方法，让种植地很容易被误认为是雕塑艺术组成的网络。
La Geria is a superb example of humans working hand-in-hand with nature. In a way, the immense — if desolate — beauty of this area is evidence of human resilience in the face of adversity: For hundreds of years, inhabitants here have managed to extract life from volcanic ash on an island often plagued by drought.
拉吉里亚是人类与自然携手合作的绝佳例子。在某种程度上，这一地区巨大而荒凉的美丽证明了人类面对逆境时的韧性：数百年来，这里的居民一直设法在一个经常遭受干旱侵扰的岛屿上从火山灰中获取生命。
But changing weather patterns (including scarcer-than-usual rainfall) and harsh economic realities are persistent threats. The traditional hoyos system can yield about 1,200 pounds of grapes per acre. Other less traditional (and less time intensive) cultivation systems on the island can yield up to 6,000 pounds per acre — by utilizing higher-density growing techniques and some forms of mechanization.
但不断变化的天气模式（包括低于平常水平的降雨）和严酷的经济现实是持续存在的威胁。传统的霍约斯系统每英亩可以生产1200磅的葡萄。而岛上其他一些不那么传统、也没那么耗时的种植系统，通过使用更高密度的种植技术和一些机械化模式，可以使每英亩的产量达到6000磅。
An economist by trade and environmentalist at heart, the winegrower Ascensión Robayna has a strong connection to Lanzarote and a serious commitment to conservation. For years she has tended high-maintenance and low-yielding organic vineyards, adamantly asserting that this unique landscape, and the traditions embedded within it, must be kept alive.
以经济学家为业却怀揣环保主义者之心的酿酒师阿森松·罗瓦伊纳(Ascensión Robayna)与兰萨罗特岛关系密切，一心专注于对此地的保育。多年来，她一直经营着高维护、低产量的有机葡萄园，并坚定地主张必须保持这片独特的土地和其中蕴含的传统活力。
“Growing vines in hoyos means that farmers adapted to the special circumstances of soil and climate, creating the most singular of the agrarian ecosystems,” she said.
“在霍约斯中种植葡萄意味着农民适应了特殊的土壤和气候环境，创造了最独特的农业生态系统，”她说。
There’s an obvious sparkle in Ms. Robayna’s eyes whenever she descends into the lava fissures, called chabocos, where trees and grapevines — especially muscat grapes, among the oldest of varieties — are grown. (Puro Rofe, a winery founded on the island in 2018, recently released a wine made exclusively from her chaboco-grown grapes.)
每当进入熔岩裂缝时，明显可以看到罗瓦伊纳的眼神中闪烁的光芒。熔岩裂缝被称为查波克斯(chabocos)，这里生长着树木和葡萄，尤其是最古老的葡萄品种之——麝香葡萄。（2018年在岛上成立的葡萄酒厂Puro Rofe最近推出了一款完全用查波克斯出产的葡萄酿制的葡萄酒。)
In the late 19th century, a pestilent aphid, phylloxera, decimated grapevines throughout mainland Europe. (The wine industry there was salvaged by grafting European vines onto American rootstocks, which were immune to phylloxera.) By contrast, phylloxera never reached Canarian shores. As a result, vines here can be planted on their own roots — a relative rarity in the wine world.
在19世纪末，一种叫葡萄根瘤蚜的害虫摧毁了整个欧洲大陆的葡萄树。（人们将欧洲的葡萄嫁接到不怕根瘤蚜的美国砧木上，从而挽救了当地的葡萄酒产业。）相比之下，根瘤蚜从未到达卡纳利亚海岸。因此，这里的葡萄树可以自根种植——这在葡萄酒界是相对罕见的。
Hundred-year-old vines and unique grape varieties are a common sight across the islands. Malvasia Volcánica is arguably the island’s most well-known grape variety; others include Listán Negro, Diego and Listán Blanco.
岛上随处可见百年的葡萄藤和独特的葡萄品种。Malvasia Volcánica无疑是岛上最著名的葡萄品种；其他的还包括Listán Negro，Diego和Listán Blanco。
Once, while visiting a set of vineyards near Uga, a small village in southern Lanzarote, I followed the winegrower Vicente Torres as he climbed barefoot — the traditional way of working here — up the hillside to inspect his vines. With the lapilli tickling my feet, and while sinking slightly with each step, I found the ascent more arduous than I’d anticipated. Growing anything in this soil, I learned, is hard work.
有一次，在参观兰萨罗特南部一个小村庄乌贾附近的一组葡萄园时，我跟随赤脚（当地的传统工作方式）的酿酒师维森特·托雷斯(Vicente Torres)爬上山坡，检查他的葡萄园。火山石硌着我的脚，虽然是一点点地行进，我发现攀登比我预想的要艰难得多。我了解到，在这片土地上种植任何东西都是艰苦的工作。
According to regulatory data, this year’s harvest is expected to be less than half of last year’s, with a forecast of about 2.6 million pounds of grapes.
根据监管数据，今年的葡萄产量预计约为260万磅，不到去年的一半。
“The oldest men around here say they don’t recall a year as bad for vineyards as this,” said Pablo Matallana, an oenologist who grew up on neighboring Tenerife but has family roots on Lanzarote. “We have been enduring two years of extreme drought. Some plots have debilitated considerably, and the vigor of the vines has decreased,” he said.
“这里的老人说，他们记忆里葡萄园的情况从来没这么糟过，”在临近的特内里费长大的葡萄酒研究者帕布罗·马塔拉纳(Pablo Matallana)说。“我们已经经历了两年的极端干旱。一些地块已经严重退化，葡萄藤的活力也下降了，”他说。
Rayco Fernández, a founding member of the Puro Rofe winery and a distributor praised for having been one of the first to showcase quality Canarian wines, agreed. “The drought is ruining vineyards,” he said, adding that the ash, where there is a thick enough layer of it, has been a lifeline.
雷科·费尔南德斯(Rayco Fernandez)是Puro Rofe酒庄的创始成员之一，也是第一批展示卡纳利亚优质葡萄酒的经销商之一，他对此表示赞同。“干旱正在毁掉葡萄园，”他说，并且提到足够厚的火山灰层一直是至关重要的。
But Lanzarote faces other threats, too. Tourism accounts for a significant portion of the island’s gross domestic product. And, despite a relatively low number of confirmed coronavirus infections, this economic sector has largely evaporated.
但兰萨罗特岛还面临着其他威胁。旅游业是该岛生产总值的重要组成部分。尽管这里的冠状病毒感染确诊人数相对较少，但这一经济部分已基本消失。
According to a Covid-19 economic impact study conducted at La Laguna University, Lanzarote’s G.D.P. is projected to drop by 21 percent.
根据拉古纳大学(La Laguna University)进行的Covid-19经济影响研究，兰萨罗特岛的生产总值预计将下降21%。
With the number of winegrowers falling, and climate change wreaking havoc, the future of winemaking on Lanzarote appears more challenging than ever.
随着葡萄种植和酿酒者者数量的下降，以及气候变化造成的破坏，在兰萨罗特岛酿制葡萄酒的未来似乎面临着空前的挑战。
There’s no doubt, though, that the island holds a kind of mythical sway over its visitors. It’s been almost a year since my last trip to Lanzarote, yet I continue to revisit certain images in my mind: of vines emerging from the majestic hoyos at the foot of Timanfaya — a splendor still to be treasured there, at least for now.
不过，毫无疑问，这座岛屿对游客有着一种神秘的吸引力。离我上次去兰萨罗特岛已经将近一年了，但我仍在脑海中重温着某些画面：葡萄藤从提曼法亚山脚下雄伟的霍约斯中冒出来——这一壮丽景象仍值得珍藏，至少现在来说是这样。
