英语听力文摘 白兰地是这样酿成的

Brandy From Wine： How Alcohol Is Turned Into Brandy?

白兰地酿造工艺精湛，特别讲究陈酿时间与勾兑的技艺，其中陈酿时间的长短更是衡量白兰地酒质优劣的重要标准。干邑地区各厂家贮藏在橡木桶中的白兰地，有的长达40-70年之久。

世界上有很多国家都生产白兰地，如法国、德国、意大利、西班牙、美国等，但以法国生产的白兰地为品质最好，而法国白兰地又以干邑和阿尔玛涅克两个地区的产品为最佳，其中，干邑的品质被举世公认，最负盛名。

既然有如此好酒，就一起去听听这些玉液琼浆是如何酿成的吧。

From wine to Brandy on this Moment of Science.

Making wine is a biological process. Live yeast added to grape juice digests the juice’s sugar giving off alcohol as a byproduct. How much alcohol is produced depends on how much sugar the juice starts with. But eighteen percent alcohol is about as strong as any wine can get before the yeast poisons itself and the fermentation stops.

Brandy begins as wine but is then distilled, raising the alcohol concentration to forty or fifty percent–well above the level that would kill any yeast.

To see how distillation works, picture steam from a kettle hitting a cold windowpane, where it condenses and drips off. The water dripping off is called “distilled water,” which is different from tap water because it no longer contains the salts and minerals with much higher boiling points, which were left behind when the water in the kettle turned to steam.

Wine is roughly one part alcohol to five parts water, but the boiling point for alcohol is only 173 degrees Fahrenheit- 39 degrees lower than the boiling point for water.

So the alcohol in wine can be distilled into brandy by heating the wine to just over 173 degrees — hot enough to boil the alcohol, but not hot enough to boil the water.

The steam, which is mostly alcohol, is then run through cold tubing where it condenses and drips into a container.

Although the water doesn’t actually boil, some water still evaporates with the alcohol which is why even the strongest liquor is not a hundred percent alcohol. But most of the water is left behind. Making wine is a biological process which is legal in most states. But remove the water to make brandy, and you’re committing a federal offense.