Xiushui Hongniang Guojiang Wine

Xiushui Hongniang Guojiang Wine

　　Xiushui Hongniang Guojiang Wine

　　 The areas around Xiushui Huangsha, Huanggang, Shangfeng, and Heshi are respectively known as Anxiang and Fengxiang, which are regions abundant in grain. The people of Anxiang and Fengxiang enjoy brewing a type of sweet glutinous rice wine. This wine has a rich red color, a strong aroma, and a sweet taste. Don’t mistake it for grape wine, and certainly not for something with added food coloring and saccharin — it’s their specially made “Hongniang Guojiang Wine.”

　　 The name of this Hongniang Guojiang Wine is said to have been given by Wan Chengfeng, the teacher of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty. Wan Chengfeng was from Tangqiao in Xiushui Huangsha Town, which in ancient times belonged to the thirteenth district of Anxiang. The glutinous rice wine brewed in Tangqiao has long been famous for its color, aroma, and mellow, refreshing taste. Wan Chengfeng loved drinking the glutinous rice wine from his hometown. One year, a friend of his in the capital invited him to a banquet. During the meal, the host served “Nuer Hong” (Daughter Red) to entertain him and the other guests, repeatedly praising how good their “Nuer Hong” was. After tasting it, Wan Chengfeng felt it was just average and thought it wasn’t as good as the sweet glutinous rice wine from his hometown. So he said, “Thank you for your hospitality, my dear brother. I’d like to invite you to my humble home someday to try some ‘Hongniang Guojiang.’ How about that?” Hearing the name of the wine, the friend readily agreed. A few days later, Wan Chengfeng invited the friend to his home, where he scooped out a large bowl of the red glutinous rice wine from the wine vat. The aroma immediately hit them. The friend took a sip and kept praising, “Good wine, good wine!” But then he asked, “I wonder why this wine is called ‘Hongniang Guojiang’?” Wan Chengfeng scooped up a lump of red fermented glutinous rice from the bottom of the vat and said, “Look, this is red brew from my hometown in Xiushui, Jiangxi. It traveled across the Yangtze River with my family to reach the capital. Isn’t that what you call ‘Hongniang (brew) crossing the river’?” The friend suddenly understood and kept saying, “What a great name — ‘Hongniang Guojiang’ — what a great wine name, and what a great taste!” From then on, the name of Hongniang Guojiang Wine spread throughout the capital.

　　 There are many particularities involved in brewing Hongniang Guojiang Wine. As the saying goes, “Making wine and tofu — it’s hard to call anyone a master,” meaning it’s very difficult to get it exactly right every time. The people of Anxiang and Fengxiang brew Hongniang Guojiang Wine, first by choosing the time around the Double Ninth Festival in the ninth lunar month, which is called brewing “Chongyang Wine.” By the following year, it is referred to as “Winter Wine.” The wine brewed during the Double Ninth season has a high yield, beautiful color, fragrance, and taste, and is especially delicious. The wine made in the first year, when sealed and stored until the second year, usually turns the ferment into a red color — and that’s Hongniang Guojiang. If the wine turns this color, it signifies that the household has good fortune, many happy events, and is auspicious. Second, great emphasis is placed on hygiene before brewing. First, they thoroughly clean the front and back of the house, clear the drains and wells, and wash kitchen utensils and the wine vats with boiling water, then fumigate them with camphorwood and maple berries for disinfection. Third, there are technical nuances. First, soak the glutinous rice in clean water for 24 hours, rinse and steam it in a steamer basket. Then, soak the wine starter in water according to the proportion and pour it in, mixing it well and letting it cool. Then place it in the wine vat, and press a small pit in the middle, cover the vat, and seal the opening. Surround the vat with straw and cotton for insulation during fermentation, and paste a piece of red paper on the vat to signify joy. Place a kitchen knife on top of the vat lid, believed to ward off evil. Around the twelfth lunar month, it’s time to start releasing the wine, boiling it, and processing it. Releasing the wine means opening the vat and scooping the “mother liquid” from the ferment pit into jars to seal. Boiling the wine means adding water and sugar to boil the ferment. Processing the wine means pouring half-cooked grain into boiling water, letting the water cool, filtering out the grain, and pouring it into the vat to stir. After about three to five days, filter out the ferment using a wine strainer or cheesecloth, pour the liquid into the vat, and then add prepared ginger, cinnamon, and goji berries wrapped in gauze into the vat. Seal the wine jar with yellow mud, place them together, and then pour a lot of rice husks around the jars. Light the husks and burn them for two to three days to bring the wine to a boil. After cooling down, place the jars in a cool place or bury them underground. By the next year, it becomes Hongniang Guojiang Wine.

　　 Hongniang Guojiang Wine is a low-alcohol sweet wine made purely from glutinous rice. It has a rich, mellow aroma, a full-bodied flavor, won’t cause dizziness even if consumed in large quantities, and won’t harm the body if one gets tipsy. Especially the wine processed with medicinal ingredients also offers health benefits.