The West may toast birthdays and weddings with Champagne, but China still hasn’t found a taste for the bubbly, a new study finds.

　　一项新的研究发现，尽管西方人会在生日和婚礼庆典上用香槟敬酒，但中国人对这种冒着气泡的酒精饮料仍然不太感冒。

　　China, including Hong Kong, is the world’s fifth-largest wine market, and its thirst for wine is on the rise, according to the report released by wine-trade fair Vinexpo and compiled by International Wine & Spirit Research. Chinese drinkers consumed 159.3 million 9-liter cases of wine in 2011, representing a 142% increase from 2007. What’s more, the IWSR forecasts growth to increase by another 40% over the next three years.

　　葡萄酒贸易博览会Vinexpo发布的报告以及国际葡萄酒及烈酒研究(International Wine & Spirit Research) 编制的数据显示，中国(包括香港)已经成为全球第五大葡萄酒市场，其对葡萄酒的需求呈上升趋势。2011年，中国饮酒者总共消费了1.593亿箱(每箱9 升)葡萄酒，较2007年增加了142%。而且据国际葡萄酒及烈酒研究所预测，未来三年中国的葡萄酒消费量还将增加40%。

　　Of all those bottles, 99.5% were red, white or rose wines. That means just 0.5% ― or one out of 200 bottles ? contained bubbles. “The Chinese ignore the sparkling wines right now,” said Robert Beynat, chief executive of Vinexpo, in an interview in Hong Kong.

　　在所有这些被消费掉的酒中，99.5%为红、白或桃红葡萄酒。这意味着只有0.5%(即每200瓶中只有一瓶)是起泡酒。Vinexpo的首席执行长贝纳(Robert Beynat)在香港接受采访时说，中国人眼下忽视了起泡葡萄酒。

　　To compare, 7% of all the wine consumed in the world in 2011 was sparkling, and the category is set to increase another 9% by 2016. Global consumption of non-sparkling wines, on the other hand, is predicted to increase by just 5% over the same period.

　　相比之下，全球2011年消费的所有葡萄酒中，有7%为起泡酒。到2016年起泡酒的消费量还将增加9%。另一方面，同期全球对非起泡葡萄酒的消费量预计将仅仅增加5%。

　　According to Mr. Beynat, Chinese consumers have yet to discover sparkling wines such as Champagne, Cava and Prosecco, mainly because of a lack of marketing in the mainland. He predicts that the major Champagne brands such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger will lead a breakthrough in coming years.

　　在贝纳看来，中国消费者尚未发现香槟、卡瓦(Cava)和普罗塞克(Prosecco)等起泡葡萄酒的妙处，主要是因为这些酒在中国内地缺乏营销。他预测未来几年诸如酩悦(Moet & Chandon)、凯歌(Veuve Clicquot)和泰亭哲(Taittinger)等主要香槟品牌将率先实现突破。

　　“It starts with Champagne,” he said. “The Chinese will start to drink it as an aperitif first, then will move on to other sparkling wines.”

　　贝纳说，从香槟开始，中国人会首先将其作为开胃酒饮用，然后会开始品尝其它起泡葡萄酒。

　　Bubbles or no, China is still far behind the Western world in terms of per capita consumption. Chinese drinkers consumed only 1.4 liters of wine per person in 2011, way below French drinkers who ranked first by downing an average of 53.2 liters per person that year. China’s per capita consumption is predicted to increase to 2.1 liters per person over the next three years.

　　无论是否为起泡酒，就人均消费量而言，中国仍然远远落后于西方世界。2011年中国饮酒者人均葡萄酒消费量仅为1.4升，远低于排在第一的法国人。后者当年人均消费量为53.2升。未来三年中国葡萄酒人均消费量预计将增加至2.1升。

　　China is now the sixth-largest producer of wines in the world, higher than Australia and behind France, Italy, Spain, U.S. and Argentina. Mr. Beynat said domestic production is key to growing consumption within China.

　　目前中国是世界第六大葡萄酒生产国，产量高于澳大利亚，仅次于法国、意大利、西班牙、美国和阿根廷。贝纳说，中国国内的葡萄酒生产对中国人不断增长的葡萄酒消费非常重要。

　　“We all prefer products from our own countries,” he said. “Once [domestic Chinese vineyards] produce more, China will drink more, and then they’ll even import more.”

　　贝纳说，人们都更喜欢自己国家酿的酒，一旦中国国内的酒庄能够生产更多葡萄酒，中国人的消费量也会增加，之后他们甚至会进口更多葡萄酒。