bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

SHAOXING RICE WINE

Wing Sang, $14

About 20 years ago, I went to a wine tasting at the venerable Shaoxing Winery in Zhejiang province.  The winery makes more than 17,500 tons of sweet rice wine a year.   One version of  the wine is Wing Sang.  Like many of the genre, this is an undistinguished brownish liquid with a whiff of ripe sweetness.  It is sold in almost every grocery shop. Splash in a drop when cooking Chinese chicken or duck dishes.

Wing Sang Winery (tel: 2420 0941)

Chia Fan Chiew, $31.40

It's claimed this wine is served at banquets in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. If anyone can really tell one sweet rice wine from another, then they have a palate of a genius. This has a pleasant fragrance and is a bit smoother than some, admittedly. If you close your eyes and have a vivid imagination, a taste  brings to mind a decent sherry.  Sip this with a bowl of peeled lychees or perhaps some unsalted cashew nuts.

Wellcome (tel: 2299 3838)

Hua Diao, $39.80

Two months ago, archaeologists digging near Xian found a bronze jar shaped like a phoenix head filled with light-green rice wine. They think it was made in the Western Han dynasty about 2,000 years ago. Not a bad vintage, I'm told. This Hua Diao is not bad, either. It comes from Zhejiang. It goes well with hot peppers, spices and heavy oily dishes. But if you get involved in Bottoms Up toasts, you will pay a fearful penalty the next day.

Park'n'Shop (tel: 2606 8833)



SHAOXING RICE WINE