Jiangnan beginning of winter Custom Winter Brewing

Wine has a history of thousands of years in China. It is said that there was a wine-making industry as early as the Yellow Emperor and Yu Xia. During the long years, our ancestors accumulated rich experiences and lessons in brewing, some of which even became the customs of later generations. For example, in the south of China, every family will use surplus grain to make wine when they go to beginning of winter, so let Lao Huangli introduce you to the beginning of winter custom in the south of the Yangtze River: making wine in winter.

In the late autumn, the harvest of the Tian family for one year has been completed. At this time, pay the rent, pay the food, and everything will be fine. Farmers will use the surplus grain to brew wine for worship of gods, ancestors and family banquets during the winter solstice and New Year's Day. The Book of Songs in July sings: "Peel dates in August and harvest rice in October. To this end, people use spring wine to celebrate the longevity of eyebrows. " The custom of making wine in October has been passed down in this yellow land for more than two thousand years.

The winter wine brewed by Tianjia mostly takes coarse grains as raw materials and medicinal materials as koji, and its purity is low, so the people call it "turbid wine" and "miscellaneous wine". Zhu Jun, a poet in the Song Dynasty, also recorded the trick of brewing winter wine in the Classic of Wine. He said, "Winter mash holds an urn, and winter moon makes wine. People hold an urn quickly and it tastes delicious." In order to brew a pot of good wine, farmers have to hold jars by themselves.

In addition to brewing wine in October, there is also the custom of brewing "wax wine" in December. Shen Chu of the A Qing Dynasty recorded: "Sioux City made wine at the bottom of wax, and it was crystal clear in mid-April, with good color and taste." It is said that Suzhou people are used to making wine in late1February and take it out in April next year.

As far as the brewing method of "Tibetan wine" is concerned, it is recorded in Han E's "Four Seasons" in the Tang Dynasty: "On the twelfth day of the first month (the eighth day of December), take a stone of water, put it in a jar, soak it in the end of koji for three times, and then eat rice four times. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the following year, we should plant three buckets of rice. On February 2nd, there were three barrels of rice. It will be open until April 28. " Unfortunately, although this kind of wax wine is named after it was brewed in1February, it will be made into a drink in early summer next year, so it is not a "wax wine" to drink in winter in the old days.

Lu You, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, also mentioned "wax wine" in his poem "Tour in Shanxi Village": "Don't laugh at the muddy wax wine of farmers, and raise enough chickens and dolphins in good years. When the mountain stream twists and turns and there is no way to go, a mountain village suddenly appears among the willow green flowers. The days of playing flute and drums are not far away, and the villagers are still dressed simply. From now on, if you ride leisurely on the moon, the staff will knock on the door all night. "

At the end of the season and in winter, the author got lost in Shan Ye and was secretly worried. Suddenly, the road ahead was clear and a village appeared. When the farmers saw the arrival of the guests, they enthusiastically took out the turbid wine brewed in winter and killed chickens and dolphins to entertain the guests. The author was moved by the sincerity of the farmer's hospitality, saying that if it rises from now on, he will come to the farmer with the bright moon and get drunk.

Interestingly, according to the description in the poem, it can be judged that the season at that time was around the winter solstice and New Year's Day, so his so-called "wax wine" was actually winter wine brewed in October of the lunar calendar.

In addition to common names such as "turbid wine" and "miscellaneous wine", winter brewing also has elegant names such as "autumn dew white", "October white", "Du Maochai", "Zhu", "Dangui yellow" and "Rose red". Among them, the last three may be related to the ingredients added in winter brewing, among which "osmanthus yellow" is probably the "osmanthus winter brewing" that is still very popular in Suzhou today.

Osmanthus fragrans is the city flower of Suzhou, and Guilin is often taken as the scenery in Suzhou gardens. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people collect and pickle the blooming osmanthus, and then they can make seasonal food, such as Osmanthus Jelly, sweet-scented osmanthus taro seedlings and sweet-scented osmanthus Lantern Festival. In addition, it is to brew osmanthus in winter. Today's osmanthus winter wine is not brewed by people themselves, but produced by wineries, so it is more fragrant and pure. Traveling to Suzhou in winter and drinking two cups of seasonal wine can better appreciate the charming flavor of Jiangnan.