Lu Lingwang Yellow Wine

Lu Lingwang Yellow Wine

　　After Emperor Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty was demoted by Empress Wu Zetian to Lingzhou Prefecture, he drank a type of glutinous rice wine made by the local people. Later, when he returned to the capital to reclaim the throne, he brought the Lingzhou glutinous rice wine back as imperial wine. It later became known among the common people as “yellow wine,” from which its name originates.

　　Lu Lingwang was the son of Empress Wu Zetian — Emperor Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty, also known as Emperor Zhongzong. In the first year of the Tang Sisheng era (684 AD), Emperor Li Xian was demoted to the title of Lu Lingwang and exiled to Fangzhou (modern-day Fang County in Hubei). During his thirteen years in Fang, Li Xian had a great love for wine and was referred to as the “Wine-Tasting Noble.” Among the more than 700 people who accompanied Lu Lingwang to Fang were imperial brewing artisans. Using the world-renowned natural Shennongjia mineral water from the Qingfeng Fault Zone, they specially selected local rice (glutinous rice) to brew an aromatic and premium yellow wine. After Li Xian was restored to power, he specially honored this wine as “Imperial Sealed Royal Wine,” hence the yellow wine of Fang County is also known as “Royal Wine.” Later, this brewing technique spread to the public and has been preserved for over a thousand years.

　　Yellow wine is one of the three oldest types of alcoholic beverages in the world and is a unique product of China. Its use of starter cultures and complex fermentation brewing methods is considered a marvel in the world. Chinese yellow wine is most famously represented by Shaoxing Yellow Wine, well-known throughout the country. However, deep within the nation lies a “Lu Lingwang Yellow Wine” (from Fang County, Hubei), which predates Shaoxing Yellow Wine by 400 years and continues to thrive to this day. Renowned in the industry for its exquisite brewing techniques and exceptional quality, it is hailed as the finest of all yellow wines.