Xishui Daqu

Xishui Daqu

　　Xishui Daqu is a specialty of Xishui County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. This strong-aroma Chinese liquor from Xishui, Guizhou, boasts a rich, mellow fragrance with well-balanced notes and a sweet, smooth aftertaste, earning it the reputation as the “Second Moutai” of China.

　　Xishui County has a long history of brewing wine. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the locally brewed goujiang wine was considered a heavenly brew, highly praised by Emperor Wu of Han and listed as an imperial tribute. An ancient poem reads: “Enchanting brews stir hearts within the cup; miasma clears over Lychee Beach; the Han’s fermented soy, what treasure it holds, lured Tang Meng to the Xibu land.” Fine wine must come from fine water—water is the essence of winemaking. As the ancients said, “Remarkable mountains nurture fine springs, and fine springs yield great wine.” Along both banks of the Chishui River, rolling hills, lush vegetation, and crisscrossing streams create an ideal natural environment, ensuring abundant water sources for winemaking. The river flows down from the high mountains, its bed rugged, while the karst landscape and red sandy soil on either bank infuse the water with minerals and keep it free from harmful impurities. The Chishui River originates from the northwestern plateau of Guizhou and flows into Sichuan, coursing thousands of miles to become the lifeblood of fine liquors. It gives birth to national famous wines such as Moutai, Xishui Daqu, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, and Langjiu—a marvel unmatched in the world. Such rare, high-quality water is essential to crafting world-renowned liquors.

　　Today, the ancient wine-making traditions of this region have been revitalized. Guizhou Xishui Winery carefully selects premium red grains produced in the Chishui area as raw materials, uses wheat-based high and medium-temperature koji as saccharification and fermentation agents, and employs warm steaming, mixed firing, fermentation in artificial aged pits, layered distillation, double-wheel low-grain fermentation, graded storage, and meticulous brewing techniques to produce “Xishui-brand” Xishui Daqu. This liquor is not only popular in the domestic market but has also found success abroad, being exported to countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Italy, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Currently, Xishui Winery has been designated as a key enterprise in Guizhou for producing premium liquors, leading the province in both liquor yield and qualification rates. In 1985, Xishui Daqu won the Golden Cup Award at the National Commercial System Liquor Quality Competition and was exhibited that November as a national premium liquor at the Asia-Pacific International Trade Fair in Beijing, gaining worldwide recognition.