Did the Chinese invent wine?

Grape wine is the type favoured in most Western countries and archeological evidence has suggested that grape wine in China originated some 4,600 years ago, longer than the known history of rice wine.

What is Chinese wine called?

Baijiu (sometimes called by the more archaic Shaojiu) is a clear distilled liquor, which can be regarded as the national drink of the People’s Republic of China. Its name translates as “white wine” but it is, in fact, a high-alcohol spirit. Chinese people will generally drink Baijiu with food, rather than on its own.

Are there any Chinese wines?

Notable wine-producing regions include Beijing, Yantai, Zhangjiakou in Hebei, Yibin in Sichuan, Tonghua in Jilin, Taiyuan in Shanxi, and Ningxia. The largest producing region is Yantai-Penglai; with over 140 wineries, it produces 40\% of China’s wine.

Did ancient Chinese drink wine?

In ancient China, since alcohol was regarded as a sacred liquid only when people made sacrificial offerings to Heaven and the Earth or ancestors was it used. In the beginning, millet was the main grain to make alcohol, the so-called “yellow wine.” Then rice became more popular.

When did China invent wine?

The earliest evidence of wine making comes from China: traces of a fermented drink made with rice, honey, and either grapes or hawthorne fruit found at the Jiahu archeological site and dated to 7000 B.C. The previous earliest evidence of wine making comes from artifacts dated to 5400 B.C. from Firuz Tepe in Iran.

What is the strongest Chinese alcohol?

baijiu
Baijiu

A glass and bottle of “Jiugui” (酒鬼) brand baijiu
Type	Distilled beverage
Region of origin	East Asia
Alcohol by volume	28–65\%
Proof (US)	56–130

What wine did ancient Chinese drink?

Regardless of who invented the idea, by the second century, rice wine had become a popular drink in China. Excavations of funerary objects from the Shang dynasty (1750 – 1100 B.C.E.) show that wine vessels make up a significant percent of funerary containers, particularly for royalty.

How good are Chinese wines?

“Chinese wines in the fine wine category compare fairly well with those premium and super-premium wines that can be found in other more established countries of origin. But the very best Chinese wines are still not on a par with the finest wines of the Old World or indeed other New World countries,” says Ragg.

What is the origin of Chinese wine?

Chinese Wines. The real story of wine from grapes begins in China. Residues on pottery shards radiocarbon dated to around 7000–6600 BCE from the Chinese early Neolithic site of Jiahu have been recognized as coming from a fermented beverage made of a mixture of rice, honey, and fruit.

How did China’s winemaking industry become so popular?

Other companies, including China Great Wall Wine Co., Ltd, Suntime and Changyu, have also risen in prominence, and by 2005, 90\% of grape wine produced was consumed locally. Also, as globalization has brought China onto the international economic scene, so too has its winemaking industry come onto the international wine scene.

What are the different types of wine in China?

However, Yellow Liquor (Huang Jiu) and White Liquor (Bai Jiu) have dominated Chinese wine culture for thousands of years. Rice wine is believed to have first been brewed by the sixth emperor of Xia Dynasty Du Kang (1972 – 1912 B.C.E.).

What is the history of wine making?

The Origins and History of Winemaking 1 Archaeological Evidence. 2 Chinese Wines. 3 Western Asia Wines. 4 European Winemaking. 5 The Long Road to New-World Wines. 6 20th-Century Wine Innovations. 7 21st-Century Wine Technology. 8 Sources.