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Rice Wine classifications

Sweetness categories 干型 · 半干型 · 半甜型 · 甜型

National standard GB/T 13662-2018 · 2018

Dry: up to 15 g/L · Semi-dry: 15.1–40 g/L · Semi-sweet: 40.1–100 g/L · Sweet: over 100 g/L

China's national standard divides traditional huangjiu into four categories by total sugar. In Shaoxing they correspond to four classic styles: yuanhong (dry), jiafan (semi-dry), shanniang (semi-sweet) and xiangxue (sweet). The standard also distinguishes traditional huangjiu from a lighter 'qingshuang' (清爽) type.

Three regional styles

Shaoxing style (Zhejiang) · Northern style (Jimo laojiu, Shandong) · Southern style (red qu wine, Fujian)

Scientists group traditional huangjiu into three major regional styles, based on the raw materials and starters used.

Shaoxing wine, a protected name 绍兴酒

National standard GB/T 17946 (geographical indication product: Shaoxing wine) · 2008

Yuanhong (元红) · Jiafan (加饭) · Shanniang (善酿) · Xiangxue (香雪)

Shaoxing wine is protected as a geographical indication. It must be brewed in the Shaoxing area from glutinous rice and wheat qu, with water from Jian Lake, and aged in clay jars. The four classic styles of the sweetness scale, yuanhong, jiafan, shanniang and xiangxue, all come from this tradition.

Quality grades and types 优级 · 一级 · 二级

National standard GB/T 13662-2018 · 2018

Premium (优级) · First grade (一级) · Second grade (二级)Traditional (传统型) · Qingshuang (清爽型)

Within each sweetness category, the national standard sets quality grades. It also separates traditional huangjiu from the lighter qingshuang type, made for a fresher, easier style.

By starter 麦曲 · 红曲 · 小曲

Wheat qu (麦曲) · Red qu (红曲) · Small qu (小曲)

The starter shapes the style. Shaoxing uses wheat qu, Fujian's red wines use red qu, a rice mould that gives a ruby colour, and many sweet country wines use small qu made from rice.

Chinese rice wine, huangjiu, is classified in two main ways: by sweetness, under a national standard, and by regional style. The sweetness scale matters most at the table. A dry yuanhong is closer to a fino sherry, a semi-dry jiafan is the classic Shaoxing wine for drinking, and semi-sweet shanniang and sweet xiangxue are made by replacing part of the water with wine or spirit, which stops fermentation and keeps more sugar. The standard also sets quality grades and separates traditional huangjiu, rich and amber, from the lighter qingshuang (清爽) type made for easy drinking. Shaoxing wine is a protected geographical indication: to carry the name it must be made in the Shaoxing area with glutinous rice, wheat qu and water from Jian Lake. Many names on a label are not legal categories but traditions. Huadiao (花雕) refers to the carved and painted jars of old, nü'er hong (女儿红) to the wine once buried at a daughter's birth, and an age such as 3, 5 or 10 years tells you how long the wine has rested in clay jars. Older wines are deeper in colour and nuttier in taste.

All styles

Sources

  1. Physical and chemical standards for rice wine (GB/T 13662-2018) — Wuhan University
  2. Changes in the national standard for huangjiu (GB/T 13662) — Liquor-making Science & Technology, 2001
  3. Aged red rice wine (Hongqujiu): flavour and functional components — Journal of Fungi (MDPI), 2025