Shaoxing is also a waterside city, with more than 4000 bridges. It is most famous for Jianhu Lake, in the south. The water there is very special, incomparably better for brewing Shaoxing Wine. Those who tend to make Shaoxing Wine at other places are doomed to failure, even with the best materials and techniques.
Why is it so special? Shaoxing was a marshland in ancient times. It was alleviated by the mountain torrents from Huiji Mountain in the south, and by the tides from the sea in the north. Jianhu Lake was also formed this way. There are two layers of coal mud under Jianhu Lake that contain a large quantity of nutrition and at the same time adsorb harmful ingredients. Due to these special geographic conditions, the water in Jianhu Lake is crystal clear, and contains abundant Ca and the trace element Li.
Using this water as the main water source, Shaoxing Wine is different from common yellow wine. It is brewed with glutinous rice and wheat with high qualities. It looks bright and lustrous. Its flavor is a mixture of sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and rough. Despite the strong fragrant and elegant color, Shaoxing Wine is also rich in nutrition. It contains more than 8 types of aminoacid, which cannot be formed by our body and which are very important to our health. Drinking Shaoxing Wine can help stimulate blood flow, lower blood pressure, control blood sugar, protect the heart, nourish the stomach, and promote appetites.
Shaoxing Wine consists of many breeds, such as Yuan Hong, Jia Fan, Shan Niang, Xue Xiang and Tai Diao. Yuan Hong is known for its vermeil wine jug; Jia Fan, also called Hua Diao, is made on the basis of Yuan Hong; Shan Niang is brewed with Yuan Hong Wine, served as the main water source; Xiang Xue uses the distillers' grains of yellow wine as main source; while Tai Diao is a mixture of the other yellow wines.
It can also be categorized according to sugar content. There is dry wine, half-dry wine, slight sweet wine, and sweet wine. They are represented by Yuan Hong, Jia Fan, Shan Niang and Xiang Xue respectively. Yuan Hong Wine can be served with chicken and duck; Jia Fan tastes best with seafood; Shan Niang usually goes with delicacies and desserts; while Xiang Xue is the most delicious cold drink.
Today wine making has become the pillar industry of Shaoxing; and people there know how to fully use their rich wine culture to stimulate development. In Shaoxing, wine customs appear everywhere. One can find wine at weddings, funerals, festivals, business activities, and the daily lives of local people.
In fact, Chinese wine culture has a long history that dates back to 2400 years ago. In China’s Spring and Autumn period, Shaoxing City was the country of Yue. In 492 BC, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, was defeated and enslaved by Wu. Three years later, he returned to his own country, and strengthened his resolve to end the national humiliation. He encouraged his soldiers by awarding them with wines. This indicates that the wine industry at that time had a scale of no modest dimension.
Wine customs and their long history enhance the wine industry in Shaoxing, and give the city a unique characteristic. When people mention Shanxing, they not only know its bountiful human landscape and picturesque rivers and lakes, but also are familiar with Xian Heng Wineshop, which was often visited by Kong Yiji (a character in Lu's novel), and also its famous wine culture.
By Zhang Xiaoxiao