Five-Flavor Red Wine

Five-Flavor Red Wine

　　By combining traditional brewing techniques with modern advanced equipment, the focus is on a series of Schisandra beverages supplemented by the Yanjing Ancient Wine (Baijiu) series. Scientific research has led to the development of dry, medium, and sweet Schisandra wines fermented from fresh Schisandra berries: “Schisandra,” a perennial deciduous woody vine of the Magnoliaceae family, also known as “face vine” or “mountain prickly ash,” is grown in the shady mountainous shrublands at altitudes of 600–2400 meters. It is a precious medicinal plant with tonic properties. Listed as a top-grade herb in the “Shennong Bencao Jing” (The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica), its fruit encompasses all five flavors—sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and salty—hence the name “Schisandra.” The berries are irregularly round or flattened spheres, resembling bunches of grapes, connected in strands, with diameters of 5–8 mm. Their skins are purplish-red or dark red, wrinkled, and oily, while the flesh is soft. Some surfaces may appear dark red or develop a “white frost.” The flesh has a faint aroma, sour taste, and a hint of spice and slight bitterness. Berries that are large, have deep purple-red skins, thick flesh, and a soft texture are considered premium.

Schisandra berries, used as a traditional Chinese medicine, help replenish qi and body fluids, nourish lungs and kidneys, relieve diarrhea, consolidate essence, and calm the nerves. They can treat chronic coughs and wheezing, dry mouth due to fluid deficiency, nocturnal emission and chronic diarrhea, forgetfulness, and insomnia. Pharmacological tests have shown that they can regulate the excitation and inhibition processes of the central nervous system, promote metabolism, adjust gastric and bile fluid secretion, and reduce elevated transaminase levels in hepatitis recovery patients. The berry skin and mature seed coat contain lignans, the active medicinal compounds in Schisandra, which include various types of schisandrins.