Drinking is a form of tonic for the body—Matsu residents have their own brewing secrets.

By Li Xinyi, reporting

Alcohol has many uses for island residents. Aside from keeping warm during fishing trips, it’s also used to “nourish the body.” In Matsu, women even use aged rice wine for postpartum recovery. Why is Matsu’s aged wine so nourishing? It turns out locals have long been using red yeast rice—beneficial to health—along with rice and water to brew their wine. The finished aged wine, when mixed with ginger, fried eggs, and brown sugar, becomes part of the traditional Matsu postpartum diet. And for those with a higher alcohol tolerance, it can be enjoyed straight.

Matsu’s aged wine is brewed annually between the Winter Solstice and the following Qingming Festival. This year’s brew can only be consumed next year, making the success of each batch particularly important to locals. To ensure a successful brew for the coming year, elders have passed down numerous taboos, including avoiding careless speech during brewing and choosing an auspicious day. Huang Kewen, owner of Hongli Vinegar Brewery, explained that in the past, brewing often failed due to the sensitivity of red yeast rice to environmental and temperature changes. Now, with the use of highly active red yeast strains and environments optimized for fermentation, brewing can be done year-round. Since last year, Hongli Vinegar Brewery has introduced a DIY aged wine experience, allowing visitors to Matsu to bring a taste of the local specialty back to Taiwan.

Matsu’s aged wine is available on both Nangan and Beigan. Nangan’s Matsu Distillery also produces its own aged wine, which is stored in the climate-controlled Bajia Cave. The wine stored there has aged for at least 17 years, with some vintages reaching up to 35 years. Despite the long storage time, the wine jars visitors see in Bajia Cave remain spotless. To protect the wine while maintaining a clean cave environment, brewery staff use spring water—not tap water—to clean the jars.

Besides brewing their own, residents in Kinmen and Matsu are also allotted government-distributed liquor. Local distilleries provide high-proof liquor to households during three major festivals. This allocated liquor is not sold on the market and is of higher quality, so savvy locals often seek out the versions sold publicly by residents—an interesting quirk.

Excessive drinking is harmful to health.