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Shaoxing wine (''Shaohsing'', ''Hsiaohsing'', ''Shaoshing''), also called "yellow wine", is a traditional Chinese wine made by fermenting
glutinous rice Glutinous rice ('' Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amyl ...
, water and wheat-based yeast. It must be produced in
Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...
, in the
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
province of
eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. It is widely used as both a beverage and a cooking wine in
Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...
. It is internationally well known and renowned throughout
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
, as well as in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
.TVB show Natural Heritage 天賜良源 episode 1 January 30, 2008. Shaoxing wine exclusive The content of peptides in Shaoxing wine is high; however, their potential taste properties have not yet been studied.


Production

The traditional method involved manually stirring rice mash with a type of wooden hoe every 4 hours, in order to help the yeast break down the sugars evenly. Known as ''kāipá'' ( 开耙), it was an essential skill to produce wines that were not bitter or sour. Another skill of the winemaker would be to assess the fermentation by listening to the vat for the sound of bubbling. In addition to glutinous rice, Shaoxing wine can be produced with sorghum or millet. It is also bottled for domestic consumption and for shipping internationally. Aged wines are referred to by year of brewing, similar to grape vintage year (''chénnián'', 陳年). Wines sold overseas are generally used in cooking, and can contain spices and extra salt. Mislabeling wines from regions other than Shaoxing is a "common fraudulent practice".


Prominent producers

* Zhejiang Gu Yue Long Shan Shaoxing Wine Co., Ltd. (古越龍山) of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. * Di ju tang 帝聚堂 * Kuai ji Shan 会稽山 (named after a local mountain) * Tu Shao Jiu 土绍酒. *Nü Er Hong 女儿红 In 2020, a revenue of 4.3 billion yuan ($664 million) was reported by 80 rice wine makers in Shaoxing.


History

Rice wine has been produced in China since around 770 to 221 BC and was generally for ceremonial use. During the late
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, educated councilors from Shaoxing spread the popularity of wine consumption throughout the country and was an essential part of Chinese banquets. Large quantities are made and stored in clay jars over long periods of time. In 1980s Hong Kong, interest in Nü Er Hong, a brand of Shaoxing wine, grew due to nostalgic interest in mainland Chinese traditions, as well as references in popular martial arts novels of the time.
Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chin ...
celebrated his appointment as first Chief Executive of Hong Kong with Nü Er Hong. In China, popularity has waned in favor of drinking other types of alcohols, and has a reputation for being "old-fashioned" although still used for cooking. Outside of Asia it is mostly regarded as a cooking wine.


Classification


Usage

Shaoxing wine can be drunk as a beverage and in place of rice at the beginning of a meal. When at home, some families will drink their wine out of rice bowls, which is also the serving style at
Xian Heng Inn Xian Heng Inn, Xian Heng Tavern or Xian Heng Hotel is a historic Chinese cuisine restaurant located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. History The original restaurant was founded in 1884, during the reign of the Guangxu E ...
. If not served at a meal, Shaoxing wine can also accompany
peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...
or other common snacks. ''Nǚ Ér Hong'' (女儿红), or "daughter's (red) wine" is a tradition in Shaoxing when a daughter is born into a family. A jar of wine is brew and stored underground from the day of the daughter's birth, and opened for consumption on her wedding day. Huang jiu 黄酒 (
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...
: huáng jiǔ), as it is known locally, is also well known for its use in meat dishes, in addition to being an ingredient in many dishes of Chinese cuisine. It is a key ingredient of
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
's favourite dish of braised pork belly with scallion greens – what he called his "brain food" that helped him defeat his enemies. The following is a sample list of other common Shaoxing wine-marinated dishes. It is not limited to the following: *
Drunken chicken Drunken chicken () is a way of preparing chicken using alcoholic beverages. Different varieties of the dish exist in Chinese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Greek and Latin American cuisine. Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and China There are ...
(醉雞) *
Drunken shrimp Drunken shrimp (), also known as drunken prawns, is a popular dish in parts of China based on freshwater shrimp that are sometimes eaten cooked or raw. The shrimp are immersed in liquor to make consumption easier. Different parts of China have ...
(醉蝦) * Drunken
gizzard The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (pterosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, dinosaurs, birds), earthworms, some gastropods, so ...
(醉腎) * Drunken fish (醉魚) * Drunken crab (醉蟹) * Drunken liver (醉肝) * Drunken
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...
(醉豆腐乾) * Drunk phoenix talon (醉鳳爪)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaoxing Wine Chinese wine Rice wine Shaoxing cuisine