Zhejiang

Three ingredients, one place

The character of Shaoxing wine comes from three elements of its terroir: glutinous rice; the water of Jianhu Lake, fed by springs in the Kuaiji Mountains; and qu, a wheat-based starter whose complex microbes drive fermentation. Producers have long claimed that the lake water is what makes Shaoxing wine unique.

A calendar of brewing

Traditional Shaoxing brewing follows the seasons. The rice-based starter is made in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the wheat qu in the eighth, and the 'wine mother' in the ninth. Brewing begins at the start of winter (立冬) and fermentation lasts more than ninety days. The following winter the wine is pressed, heated, sealed in clay jars and stored for years or even decades. Only then does it become one of the great aged styles.

The styles

Shaoxing wines range from dry to sweet. Yuanhong (元红) is the classic dry style. Jiafan (加饭), 'added rice', uses more rice for a richer, semi-dry wine; aged versions are sold as huadiao (花雕), 'carved flowers', after the decorated jars it was stored in. Shanniang (善酿) is semi-sweet, made by replacing part of the water with older wine. Xiangxue (香雪) is the sweetest. Nü'er hong (女儿红), 'daughter red', is linked to the tradition of burying jars of wine when a daughter was born and opening them at her wedding.

From kitchen to table

The wine most people know abroad is cooking wine (料酒), and only a small part of Shaoxing's production is meant for drinking. A new generation of boutique producers is now trying to show that fine Shaoxing wine belongs on the table, not only in the wok.