Chinese wine
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Jiu (Template:Zh-cp) is the Chinese word that refers to all alcoholic beverages. This word has often been translated into English as "wine", although the meanings do not correspond exactly. The same Han character is also used in Japanese, where it is pronounced sake.
Many Chinese "wines" are made from grains and herbs and distilled to high concentration. Traditional Chinese wines are rarely made of fruits. Chinese wines from southern China are mostly made of rice, those from northern China are mostly made of wheat and sorghum. Most are colorless clear liquid unless other herbs are added to give a different color. Additionally, grape wine is increasingly produced and consumed in China due to Western influence.
Names of some famous Chinese liquors or wines:
- Fen jiu (汾酒) — this wine was dated back to Northern and Southern Dynasties (550 A.D.). It is the original Chinese white wine made from sorghum. Alcohol content by volume: 63-65%.
- Zhuye qingjiu (竹葉青酒) — this wine is Fen jiu brewed with a dozen or more of selected Chinese herbal medicine. One of the ingredients is bamboo leaves which gives the wine a greenish color and its name. Alcohol content by volume: 46%.
- Maotai jiu (Maotai) (茅台酒) — this wine has a production history of over 200 years. It is named after its origin at Mao Tai town in Guizhou Province. It is made from wheat and sorghum with a unique distilling process that involves seven iterations of the brewing cycle. This wine is made famous to the western world when the Chinese government served this in state banquets entertaining the US presidents. Alcohol content by volume: 54–55%.
- Gaoliang jiu (高粱酒) — Gaoliang is the Chinese name for sorghum. Besides sorghum, the brewing process also use barley, wheat etc. The wine was originated from Dazhigu (大直沽, east of Tianjin) since the Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, Taiwan is a large producer of gaoliang jiu. Alcohol content by volume: 61–63%.
- Meigui lujiu (玫瑰露酒 rose essence wine) — a variety of gao liang jiu with distill from a special species of rose and crystal sugar. Alcohol content by volume: 54–55%.
- Wujia Pijiu (五加皮酒) — a variety of gaoliang jiu with a unique selection of Chinese herbal medicine added to the brew. Alcohol content by volume: 54–55%.
- Dagu jiu (大麴酒) — Originates from Sichuan with 300 years of history. This wine is made of sorghum and wheat by fermenting in a unique process for a long period in the cellar. Alcohol content by volume: 52%.
- Yuk Bing Siu Zau (玉冰燒酒 pinyin Yubing shaojiu, less commonly known as 肉醪燒) — a Cantonese rice wine with over 100 years of history. It is made of steamed rice. It is stored a long period with submerged pork fat after distillation. The pork fat is removed before bottling. Its name probably derived from the brewing process. Yuk is a homophone of meat in Cantonese and bing means ice which describes the appearance of the pork fat floating in the wine. Cantonese rice wine breweries prospered since the North Sung dynasty when the Foshan area was exempted from alcohol tax. Alcohol content by volume: 30%.
- Sheung Jing (雙蒸酒 double distill) and San Jing (三蒸酒 triple distill) Jiu — two varieties of rice wine from the Jiujiang area by distilling twice and three times respectively. Alcohol content by volume: 32% and 38–39% respectively.
- Sanhua (三花酒 three flowers) jiu — a rice wine made in Guilin with allegedly over a thousand year history. It is famous for the fragrant herbal addition and the use of spring water from Mount Elephant in the region. Alcohol content by volume: 55–57%.
- Fujian Glutinous Rice wine (福建糯米酒) — made by adding a long list of expensive Chinese herbal medicine to glutinous rice and a low alcohol rice wine distill. The unique brewing technique use another wine as raw material, not starting with water. The wine has an orange red color. Alcohol content by volume: 18%.
- Huadiao jiu (花雕酒) — a variety of yellow wine originates from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. It is made of glutinous rice and wheat. Alcohol content by volume: 16%. Huadiao literally means flowery carving. The name describes the appearance of the pottery that stored the wine. This wine evolved from the Shaoxing tradition of burying the wine underground when a daughter was born. The wine (女兒紅 pinyin nǚ'ér hóng) would be dug up for the wedding banquet when the daughter got married. The containers would then be decorated with bright colors as a wedding gift. To make the gift more appealing, people started to use pottery with carving and patterns and hence the name Huadiao. Depending on the timing of the girl's marriage, the wine was usually aged for years. Huadiao jiu, nǚ'ér hóng, or Shaoxing jiu are basically made of the same wine except they are named differently depending on the age, the container and how they are used. It is not uncommon to have Huadiao aged 50 years or more.