Shazhou Youhuang

Shazhou Youhuang

　　Shazhou Youhuang is a specialty from Jin Gang Town, Zhangjiagang City, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The brewing process of Shazhou Youhuang is unique and meticulous. The finished product features an orange-red hue, is clear and transparent, boasts a mellow and refreshing taste, and is rich in nutrients. The production technique of Shazhou Youhuang has been included in the first batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage lists.

　　Shazhou Youhuang is produced in the Houcheng area of Jin Gang Town, Zhangjiagang City. Due to its proximity to the Yangtze River, the water here is clear, providing abundant and high-quality water sources for brewing. In addition, the area is abundant in rice and wheat, making it a land of fish and rice in southern China, which supplies ample raw materials for brewing.

　　Shazhou Youhuang adheres to the traditional production techniques passed down through generations over the past hundred years. The process—from selecting high-quality rice, sieving, soaking, cooling, fermenting in vats, pressing, clarifying, distilling, to master blenders crafting the final Youhuang product for market—is intricate, strictly regulated, and subject to specific seasonal requirements.

　　The traditional production technique of Shazhou Youhuang has remained unchanged and has now formed a complete production process with specific rules: wine medicine is made in the seventh lunar month every year, wheat koji in September, yeast in Minor Snow, and fermentation begins in Major Snow. The entire fermentation period spans less than 100 days, with different procedures arranged according to seasonal and temperature changes. In the following year, at the beginning of spring, the wine is pressed, then heated to a boiling point of 100 degrees Celsius before being poured into clay jars. The jar openings are tightly wrapped with fragrant lotus leaves and sealed with sticky yellow clay mixed with pig blood or glutinous rice. The jars are then stored in cellars.

　　Currently, most of the over 80 varieties of Shazhou Youhuang are semi-sweet yellow wines, with a small portion being semi-dry types. In the semi-sweet yellow wine market, Shazhou Youhuang holds a dominant position and is also exported to countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom. Through decades of dedicated effort by several generations, Shazhou Youhuang has become a nationally exempted product inspection item, a China Famous Brand product, and is certified as a green food by the China Green Food Development Center. Zhangjiagang Brewing Co., Ltd. has also grown into a key enterprise in China’s yellow wine industry and a time-honored Chinese brand.