Chinese wine

Jiu () is the Chinese word that refers to all alcoholic beverages. This word has often been translated into English as "wine", although the meaning is closer to "alcoholic beverage" or "liquor." The same Chinese character is also used in Japanese, where it is pronounced sake or shu, and in Korean, where it is pronounced "ju."

The two main varieties of Chinese wines are fermented wines or "yellow liquor" (黄酒; pinyin: huáng jiǔ) , which may be reddish-brown to beige in tone, and distilled liquors or "white liquor" (白酒; pinyin: bái jiǔ), which are usually clear liquids. Although not a traditional product, grape wine (葡萄酒 ; pinyin: pútáo jiǔ, lit. "grape wine") is also increasingly produced and consumed in China due to Western influence.

Chinese wines are traditionally warmed before being consumed. The optimal temperature for warming the liquor is just slightly below the boiling point of ethanol. This allows the aromas of the liquor to be better appreciated by the drinker.

Yellow liquors (黄酒)

Main article: Huangjiu

Chinese yellow liquors, also known as "huangjiu" (, lit. "yellow wine" or "yellow liquor"), are fermented wines that are brewed directly from grains such as rice or wheat. Such liquors contain less than 20% alcohol, due to the inhibition of ethanol fermentation at this concentration. These wine are traditionally pasteurized, aged, and filtered before their final bottling for sale to consumers. Yellow liquors can also be distilled to produce white liquors, or baijiu (see below).

Chinese "yellow liquors" are classified based on several factors. Among them are the liquor's dryness, the starter used in its production, and its production method.

White liquors (白酒)

Main article: Baijiu

Chinese white liquors, or distilled liquors, are classified under the general heading "baijiu" (, lit. "white liquor" or "white wine"). White liquors are also commonly called shaojiu (烧酒; pinyin: shāojiǔ; lit. "hot liquor" or "burned liquor"), either because of the burning sensation in the mouth during consumption, the fact that they are usually warmed before being consumed, or because of the heating required for distillation. Liquors of this type typically contain more than 30% alcohol in volume since they have undergone distillation. There are a great many varieties of distilled liquors, both unflavored and flavored.

While yellow liquors have a wide variety of classification methods, white liquors are grouped primarily by their type of fragrance.

Production

Ingredients

The three main ingredients that contribute to the unique characters of various Chinese wines are the grains, the water, and the liquor starter. Other ingrediants that alter the colour or taste of the final product may also be added.

Grains

Chinese wines are traditionally made from grains. Wines from southern China are typically made only from glutinous rice, while those from northern China are made of predominately of wheat, barley, millet, sorghum, or occasionally Job's tears. Most famous northern Chinese wines are made using a mixture of rice and other grains.

Grains used in brewing are degermed and polished of their bran. The grains are then soaked and acidfied with the aid of lactobaccilus or through the addition of lactic acid into the soaking liquid. Acidification is done to discourage the growth of other microbs on the grains, which can spoil the resulting liquor by creating off flavours in it or rendering it poisonous. This process also gives many Chinese wines a taste and mouth-feel unique to most other types of rice wines.

Water

Water is also an important component in Chinese wine making. This is not only because it hydrates the grains and enables fermentation to occur, but also because it contributes to the flavour and quality of the liquor, depending on its pH and mineral content. Many Chinese wine making regions are famous not only for their wines but also the flavour and quality of their water sources.

Emphasis is placed on gathering the cleanest water directly from springs or streams, or from the center of lakes where the water has been exposed to the least amount of pollutants. Water used for making Chinese wines should be low in iron and sodium, with a higher proportion of magnesium and calcium ions as part of its total mineral content.

Liquor starter

The starter is cake or paste containing a mixture of various yeasts, molds, and bacteria, which is used to inoculate the grains. The starter converts the grain starches to sugars, and sugars to ethanol. Certain starters also acidify the grain mixture. Each brewery uses a different type of starter cake that was made at their facilities from previous starter cultures, which are handed down from generation to generation. Larger factories often use pure cultures of each organism in a starter instead of the actual cakes themselves.

The starter is either mixed in water using only the filtrate of the mixture, or the starter is dried, ground, and applied directly in the form of a dry powder. Although the manufacturing process requires only one type of starter for fermentation, many Chinese wines are brewed their liquors from two of more types of starters.

Flavourings

Chinese wines may occasionally be made or flavoured with fruits, but this is rather rare (it is more common in Korean wines). Medicinal herbs and spices are more commonly added to Chinese wine. These additives not only impart a reddish, brown, or green colour, but also modify the taste and flavour of the liquor itself. Some production processes also create wines that are dark tan in colour without the addition of herbs.

Preparing the seed mash

Prior to the actual brewing of the liquor, a small batch of grain is prepared to produce the seed mash. Seed mash is produced by soaking the glutinous rice and other grains and steaming them on frames or screens for several minutes. This cooks the grains and converts the starch to a gelatinized form that is more easily utilized by the starter culture.

The inoculation temperature of the steamed grains is tightly controlled as it alters the flavour character of the wine. This is usually done when the grain has been cooled to between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius, which is considered the optimal initial fermentation temperature for the seed mash. The "small starter" is first added and allowed around two days to begin the saccharification, acidification, and fermentation of the grains. This partially liquifies the steamed grains, which is a signal to now add the "large starter" as well as more water to form a thick slurry.

This slurry is carefully stirred by a brewmaster to aerate and maintain an optimal level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the mixture, as well as to maintain an even temperature throughout the fermenting mass. The slurry is periodically stirred over the course of a week. The stirred slurry is then allowed to go through a more thorough fermentation for approximately one month, following which the pH of the mixture will have dropped to around 3.4, and the concentration of alcohol will have reached approximately 15%. This is the seed mash that will be used to brew the main mash.

Brewing the main mash

Chinese wines are made using a multistep fermentation process similar to the way Japanese sake is produced. A mash of water, steamed glutinous rice, and other grains is inoculated with rice that has already been cultivated with the mold Aspergillus oryzae or molds of the Rhizopus genus (Chinese: 麴霉菌, 曲霉菌, pinyin: qū meí jùn; Japanese: 麹菌, koji-kin) and certain strains of Lactobacillus. When mixed into the mash the Aspergillus and Lactobacillus cultivates the mixture and converts the starch in the grains into sugars and lactic acid, respectively. This sweet and slightly sour liquid is drained and reserved, while additional water (and sometimes also malt) is added to the mixture. The process is repeated until the grains are exhausted.

Yeast is then added to this liquid in order to convert the sugars in the liquid to alcohol. The alcoholic liquid produced is then is allowed to continue to mature in earthenware jars for several months to several decades. The matured alcoholic liquid is then bottled and sold as "yellow liquor."

Distillation

Chinese "yellow liquor" is sometimes distilled for a more potent alcoholic drink called baijiu (白酒; pinyin: bái jiǔ; lit. "white liquor"), which can sometimes be as high as 70-80% alcohol.

The production of baijiu is so similar in color and mouthfeel to vodka that some foreigners refer to it as "Chinese vodka" or "Chinese white vodka." However, unlike vodka, baijiu is less thoroughly filtered, with gives each liquor its own unique and sometimes penetrating (or even somewhat harsh) flavour and fragrance.

History

The origins of the alcoholic beverage from fermented grain in China cannot be traced definitively. It is believed to have 4000 years history. A legend said that Yidi, the wife of the first dynasty's king Yu (about 2100 BC) invented the method. At that time millet was the main grain, the so-called "yellow wine", then rice became more popular. It was not until the 19th century that distilled drinks become more popular.

Traditionally, Chinese distilled liquors are consumed together with food rather than drunk on their own.

The market for wine is growing and the Chinese people are open to trying wines from around the world. "Most French people are quite conservative and tend to stick to local production. Asians are more open-minded and willing to try new things" says Thomas Percillier, export director for Asia Pacific for CVBG, one of Bordeaux's principal exporters.

Source

Orient express. Decanter, June, 2006, page 103.

External links

Chinese alcoholic beverages | Rice drinks

Baijiu | Baijiu | 白酒 (中国酒)

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Chinese wine