Both Italian and Chinese cultures share a common feature revolving around alcoholic beverages, with both their tangible and intangible aspects tracing their history back centuries. In fact, many different countries all over the world can boast a unique type of ethanol-containing beverage which comprises an inevitable part of our social interactions.

意大利文化和中国文化都有一个共同的特点，就是离不开饮酒文化的部分，其历史甚至可以追溯到几百年前。事实上，世界上许多不同的国家都拥有一款独特的酒，因为饮酒文化已经成为了社会交往中不可或缺的一个部分。

Fruit is the essential component of any wine, with fermented grapes being the predominant source. Baijiu is a distilled alcoholic beverage, the raw material for which is usually two-color sorghum (cereal) or corn, as well as glutinous rice, wheat, barley and other crops.

红酒的酿造原料主要是水果，市面上的绝大部分红酒是用葡萄酿成的，发酵的葡萄是其中酒精成分的主要来源。而白酒则是一种蒸馏酒，其的酿造原料则是高粱、玉米、糯米以及小麦等各种粮食作物。

Italian wine is older than Italy itself. Almost the entire Apennine Peninsula is ideal for growing grapes, so the ancient Greeks were engaged in this business here. The Romans made a great contribution to the development of winemaking, in particular, they improved the technology of growing grapevines and improved the methods of wine making.

意大利的红酒比意大利本身更加古老。几乎整个亚平宁半岛都是葡萄的理想种植之地，因此古希腊人就在这里开始了红酒的制作。而罗马人对酿造红酒的发展做出了巨大的贡献，尤其重要的是他们改进了葡萄的种植技术，也改良了酿酒方法。

Grapes that are used in wine production to a great extent (even greater than the production technology itself) affects the quality of the final product, along with tartaric acid, pectin, minerals and tannic acid, which are predetermined by the soil and climate, are the most decisive factors that designate the taste of the wine.

对于红酒的品质来说，原料的影响甚于所采用的酿造工艺，一款红酒的风味、香气等特质在很大程度上取决于酿造它所使用的葡萄品种。红酒中的一些成分，如酒石酸，果胶，矿物质和单宁酸等，是红酒品质优劣的决定性因素，他们的含量受土壤、气候等因素影响。

In terms of technology, baijiu started to be distilled more than 700 years ago, during the Mongol rule in China.

从技术层面来说，白酒是从700多年前，蒙古的统治时期开始出现的。

Its brewing technology is far more complex and has a far more decisive nature compared to the raw materials used in winemaking. This liquor has a complex flavor that is mainly decided by the type of esters remaining after the process of distillation of yeast and starch (sugar) that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation.

它的酿造技术要复杂得多，与酿酒所用的原材料相比，具有更为决定性的性质。这种酒有一种复杂的风味，这主要取决于经过酒曲发酵的淀粉（糖质）在蒸馏过后剩余的酯的类型。

      Wine has a lower alcohol content, generally between 8% and 15%, with fortified wines going up to 20 percent.  The strength of the drink varies from 40 to 60% (sometimes higher, up to nearly 70%).  A good reason why wine is a better choice for occasions when you are not comfortable enough with getting drunk. 

葡萄酒的酒精含量较低，一般在8%到15%之间，强化葡萄酒的酒精含量高达20%。饮料的强度从40%到60%不等（有时更高，可以达到接近70%）。因此如果你不想因为喝醉而感到不舒服的话，红酒是一个很好的选择。

      Have you ever wondered why wine glasses are designed as transparent goblets? The answer is that color is one of the key factors in deciding the wine quality, the temperature at which wine is consumed also strongly affects the taste impression, with this in mind, wine glasses have a stem to prevent the consumer from touching the vessel with warm hands.

      你有没有想过为什么红酒杯会被设计成透明的高脚杯？这是因为色泽也是品鉴红酒的一种品质，并且由于温度是影响红酒风味的一个关键因素，因此为了控制红酒温度，一般把玻璃杯设计成高脚杯的样式，以防止手接触到杯壁使红酒升温。

Baijiu requires a relatively low temperature, and color is not a key factor for tasting. The fact that baijiu is a beverage that makes you feel the intoxicating effect of alcohol faster, the drinking vessel is usually smaller in order to help you control the amount of alcohol consumed at a time. Traditional Chinese liquor cups are made of white ceramic.

而白酒对温度的要求相对不高，色泽也并不是品鉴白酒的关键因素，而酒精度数又比较高，容易喝醉，因此为了控制饮用的量，常见的白酒杯多是白色的陶瓷小杯，在外形设计上可能会有一些小的差异。

A glass before dinner, a glass at dinner, a glass after dinner. Italian wine is drunk to emphasize the taste of food, and food is eaten to emphasize the taste of wine. Modern population of Italy drinks less than previous generations, but the culture of alcohol consumption is still very widespread. Italians still know how to enjoy wine like no other.

“饭前一杯酒，席间一杯酒，饭后一杯酒”是一种饮用红酒的习惯。对意大利人来说，饮用红酒和享用食物是为了使双方的味道相互融合促进。现代意大利的饮酒人数比前几代人来说减少了，但饮酒文化仍是十分普遍的，意大利人仍然知道如何享受葡萄酒。 

Wine tasting culture exquisitely suggests that only one or two mouthfuls of wine should be drunk from the whole glass, as the core idea is to feel the taste and smell, and enjoy the color of the beverage. Italians drink to enjoy, not to get drunk or mark the end of the week. The most important idea is to consume wine moderately. For instance, if the meal is over, but there is still some wine in the glass, it would be considered a bad taste to finish the glass. The action of alcohol is neutralized by delicious food, wine is only a touch to communication, food and atmosphere, and not the main event of the evening.

红酒的饮用方法讲究细品，一杯红酒通常只有一两口的量，重点在于品尝红酒的风味、口感，在品酒前甚至还可以先视觉上欣赏一下酒的颜色，红酒的饮用更像是一种调剂，而不是为了喝醉或庆祝周末。最重要的是饮酒一定要适度，例如，如果饭吃完了，但杯子里还有酒，这时再把酒饮尽会被认为不能发挥酒的完美作用。酒精应该被美味的食物中和，让红酒变成一种与食物和氛围交流的感觉，而不是作为主要感受对象。

In China, on the other hand, baiju accompanies almost any social event. It is drunk in times of happiness - at weddings, birthdays, corporate parties, important negotiations, after successful deals and victories - and in times of sadness. Therefore, if a foreigner is currently engaged in business (or any other activity) in China or plans to do so in the future, he should definitely study Chinese baiju in all its diversity in advance, which, ultimately, should help in his endeavors. The reputation of a foreigner will increase significantly in the eyes of Chinese people, if he knows what kind of drink baijiu is, what effect can one expect from baijiu and how, in fact, to drink it correctly. Let's talk about the main traditions of alcohol drinking in China.

另一方面，在中国，白酒几乎出现在任何社会活场合，不论是幸福的时刻——婚礼、生日、公司聚会、重要谈判、成功交易和胜利之后——还是悲伤的时刻，酒都是常客。因此，如果一个外国人目前在中国从商（或其他活动）或将来打算在中国从商，就应该事先研究各种各样的中国白酒。如果一个外国人知道白酒是什么样的，饮用白酒会有怎样的感觉，以及如何正确饮用白酒，这可能有助于提高他在中国人心目中的地位。我们也可以来看看中国饮酒的一些传统。

    Banquet in China does not only involve alcohol, it also presents an opportunity to discuss business questions that could not be brought up in a formal environment. There are certain rules to be followed while drinking baijiu in a social context: 

在中国，宴席不仅涉及酒，还提供了一个讨论一些在正式环境中无法提出的商业问题的机会。在中国喝白酒，有这样的一些说法：

• A refusal to drink after a toast is seen as a personal insult; 如果祝酒后拒绝喝酒，可能会被视为一种不尊重的表现；

• Older people and senior leaders should always be the first to drink; 老年人和高层领导应该第一个喝酒；

• If someone chooses to propose a toast to you, it is better to stand up to show respect, and before sitting back, you will have to propose that the person who just toasted to you sits first; 如果有人选择向你敬酒，最好站起来表示尊重，在坐下之前，你必须也向刚刚向你敬酒的人敬酒；

• The one who is proposing a toast has to drink more that the person to whom the toast was proposed to, and ect.. 提议祝酒的人必须比被提议祝酒的人多喝一杯，诸如此类。

“For deep feelings – drink down to the bottom” is a more appropriate description for Chinese baijiu culture. Liquor drinking not only requires quality, but also quantity, in order to reflect its value. However, in recent years, people have gradually realized that from a health point of view, alcohol consumption should be moderated and the habit of excessive drinking is gradually disappearing from China. 

对传统的白酒文化来说，“感情深，一口闷”是一种更为贴切的描述，白酒的饮用不仅要够质，更要够量，才能体现其价值。不过近年来，人们也逐渐意识到从健康的角度来说，酒的饮用还是应该适量为宜，过去那种一味追求多喝多醉的酒局正在逐渐减少。

The difference between wine and baijiu culture is more like the collision between Chinese and Western culture. As our lives become more and more international, an increased number of Chinese people have begun to drink wine when they are having meals, and liquor has also become a choice for foreigners who are doing business in China, therefore, wine and liquor culture is gradually interacting with each other and thus constantly changing and evolving.

红酒文化和白酒文化的不同，其实更像是一种中西方酒文化的碰撞，随着我们的生活越来越国际化，越来越多的中国饭桌上开始出现红酒，白酒也开始成为在中国经商的外国人的选择，中西方的酒文化也在逐渐相互影响，不断发生着改变。