Rice wine style
Huadiao
花雕酒huādiāo jiǔ
'Carved flowers': aged Shaoxing wine, named after its decorated jars
- Category
- Aged Shaoxing wine
- Home region
- Zhejiang
- Classification
- Usually semi-dry (aged jiafan)
- Ageing
- Years or decades in clay jars
- Sweetness
- Semi-dry
- Literal meaning
- Carved flowers
Taste profile
Sweetness
DrySweetSweetness: 2 out of 5Acidity
LowHighAcidity: 3 out of 5Body
LightFullBody: 4 out of 5Savouriness
LowHighSavouriness: 5 out of 5
Aromas
- caramel
- walnut
- dried fruit
- sherry-like
- umami
Huadiao, 'carved flowers', is aged Shaoxing wine, usually made from jiafan. Its name comes from the jars decorated with carved and painted flowers in which it was traditionally stored. Long ageing in clay jars gives it a deep amber colour and complex aromas often compared to sherry.
After pressing and heating, Shaoxing wine is sealed in clay jars and stored for years or even decades. Only after this long ageing does it become one of the great styles of Chinese rice wine, such as huadiao and nü'er hong. Bottles are often labelled with the number of years of ageing.
Nü'er hong
Nü'er hong (女儿红), 'daughter red', is linked to a Shaoxing tradition: when a daughter was born, the family would bury jars of wine and open them on her wedding day.
How to recognise it
On the label look for 花雕 (huādiāo) and an age statement. Many huadiao wines are sold in decorated ceramic jars as well as glass bottles. The wine inside is usually a semi-dry jiafan aged for years.
What age brings
Long ageing in clay jars slowly oxidises the wine. Its colour deepens from gold to dark amber, and its aromas move from fresh rice and grain towards walnut, caramel, dates, soy and spice. Older huadiao becomes smoother and more complex, much like an old sherry.
Huadiao in the kitchen
Huadiao is also a famous cooking wine: dishes such as huadiao chicken (花雕鸡) take their name from it. For cooking, a younger, simpler bottle is perfect; keep the older ones for the glass.
How to taste it
Warm it gently in a jug standing in hot water, pour it into small cups and sip slowly with a savoury dish.
Producers
Bottles
How to serve
Serve gently warmed or at room temperature, in small cups. Older wines deserve to be sipped slowly, like a fine sherry.
Pairs with
Food pairings
- Hairy crab in autumn is the classic match; also braised meats, aged cheeses and nuts.
Sources
- Shaoxing, a city that ferments — Chill Crisp by Xueci
- Traditional Shaoxing huangjiu brewing (example sentence) — ChinesePod
Other styles
Yuanhong
元红酒
The classic dry Shaoxing wine
Jiafan
加饭酒
'Added rice': the rich, semi-dry Shaoxing wine most people know
Shanniang
善酿酒
Wine brewed with wine: Shaoxing's semi-sweet speciality
Xiangxue
香雪酒
'Fragrant snow': the sweetest Shaoxing wine
Nü'er hong
女儿红
'Daughter red': the Shaoxing wine buried at a daughter's birth
Fujian Red Qu Wine
红曲酒
Ruby-red rice wine made with red yeast rice, the 'grandfather of Chinese wines'