The honeyed phrases flow like the wines they describe, but the truth is that wine experts often use a torrent of language to disguise the fact they can't always put a name to the aroma they are smelling. Those wine buffs who say "you'll be impressed by its berried impudence" or urge us to "bask in its sumptuous oakiness" are actually no better at getting the right description than any other drinker, New Scientist magazine said. But the magazine said wine experts do have a strong memory for smells, which is crucial to their appreciation of the grape. Researchers in New Zealand tested the ability of 11 wine experts and 11 novices to recognise and name 12 individual chemicals that are components of wine aromas. They were then given an additional 12 samples and asked both groups to name them and say whether they were among the original 12. "The wine experts proved just as inept as the novices at naming odours," the magazine said. "But the experts did excel in recognising whether an odour had been repeated -a task that draws on their memory of smell itself, rather than their verbal ability. " The ability to remember the experience of various wines is crucial, Anthony Dias Blue, wine editor of Bon Appetit magazine told New Scientist. That, he said, is just a matter of practice.

优美动听的酒评流泻一如它所形容的美酒，但实际上品酒专家们经常用连珠炮似的言辞来掩盖这样一个事实：他们并不总能给自己闻到的香气冠以正确的名称。《新科学家》杂志说，在正确描述酒的气味方面，那些念叨着“你会被它浆果般的粗野打动”或是敦促我们“享受它华丽的橡树风味”的内行们并不比其他酒徒高明多少。但杂志同时也说，品酒专家对气味的记忆能力的确很强，这对品评葡萄酒是至关重要的。新西兰的研究者对11个品酒专家和11个新手进行了测试，检验他们识别12种独特的化学品并标出其名称的能力，这12种化学品都是构成葡萄酒香气的要素。研究者随后又向他们出示了另外12份样品，让他们标出其名称， 并指明它们是否是原来的12种之一。“事实证明专家在冠以气味名称方面与新手同样无能，” 杂志说。“但他们在辨别一种气味是否重复出现时的表现的确更为出色——这取决于他们对气味本身的记忆，而不是口头表达能力。”《好胃口》杂志的品酒编辑安东尼·迪亚斯·布卢对《新科学家》杂志说：“记住各种酒带来的不同感觉的能力是非常重要的。”而这据他说不过是种多加练习就能掌握的技能。

Remarks：虽然多加练习就可以，但要做到能骄傲地说一声：“无他，惟手（鼻）熟耳”也不是件容易的事啊。