The terroir of wine, as nuanced as eastern and western language, is a unique combination of the elements in nature through which each grape is nourished. To appreciate the complexity of wine, one must acknowledge both the diversity of cosmos and the distinction of the senses.
Each variety of wine contains the baryonic matter that exists in all creation, but “the elements” contained within are understood differently in the English and Chinese speaking worlds.
In the west, the common belief is there are four elements in nature and are thought of as material. In the east, five elements exist and are considered to be types of energy in a constant state of change. Transcreation must not only acknowledge, but appreciate both world views when describing the distinct characteristics of terroir.
Translations should invoke the senses; which means engaging five in the west, six in the east.
In the both cultures, wine lovers enjoy tasting the level of fruit, smelling the bouquet, hearing the pull of the cork, seeing the depth of color and feeling the texture with their tongue, but an additional sense is regarded in the east; the philosophy of the infinite… wherein the universe exists in a single drop of wine.
