The historical story of rice wine

Artificial brewing is the manufacture of pottery. Otherwise, there is no way to brew. In Yangshao cultural site, there are both pottery pots and pottery cups. It can be inferred that artificial brewing began about six thousand years ago. Confucius has a saying: "Yao and Shun have a thousand points." This shows that in the Yao Dynasty, wine was popular in society. The word "thousand bells" indicates that this is a primary fruit wine. According to historical records, Emperor Yi created "Imperial Liquor" to worship Dayu, which was the beginning of making wine with grain. Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Qin and Han Dynasties and even the Tang and Song Dynasties, all fruits and grains have been cooked, fermented and squeezed before reproduction. Many westerners think that rice wine was invented by the Japanese, but I'm afraid it was actually the first alcoholic beverage brewed by China people. Japanese technology for brewing sake was imported from China. As early as BC 1500, Oracle Bone Inscriptions in China mentioned offering sacrifices with wine. In the 8th century BC, ancient poets in China also wrote poems to describe people getting drunk. At the latest around 1000 BC, China invented the technology of fermenting wine, which made the alcohol concentration of the brewed wine at least three times higher than that of ordinary beer. China's superior wine-making technology lies in the earliest use of distiller's yeast to make wine, and it is also found that in order to increase the alcohol concentration in wine, only cooked and soaked grains can be continuously added during fermentation. This is a world-class brewing technology, which produces high-concentration beverages. This technology only spread to Japan and other countries in the world centuries ago. So it can be said that the earliest inventor of yellow rice wine was China.

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The preserved wine mentioned by Lu Fangweng in his poem "Shanxi Village Tour" is commonly known as "rice wine". This is a kind of home-brewed local wine with glutinous rice as raw material, which is white and slightly turbid, with elegant taste like yellow wine and full aftertaste. Generally brewed in the twelfth lunar month and drunk in the Spring Festival, it is called "preserved wine" or "spring wine". Since Mr. Lu Fangweng described it this way, it shows that it is a common phenomenon to brew and drink rice wine in rural Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty. The eating habits of Sha people are inherited from Shaoxing, and rice wine is no exception. Many people make one or two jars of rice wine before the Spring Festival to entertain guests during the Spring Festival. Some brew it themselves, and some ask others to do it for them. The production method is as follows: firstly, soak the glutinous rice, wash it, steam it into dry rice in a drum, spread it on a bamboo plaque, pour it thoroughly with cold water to make the rice loose and non-sticky, and then crush the distiller's yeast and mix it in. Before putting wine into the vat, be sure to use a vat with hot water temperature. After entering the can, smooth the surface of the wine and make a dimple in the center. In order to promote fermentation, the jar must be kept warm. Not only the jar mouth should be covered with straw, but also the jar wall should be wrapped with straw, cotton wool and plastic film. After three or four days, the water can be drained (it must be cold water) and the wine will seep into half the dimples. The weight ratio of rice to water should be 50%, so rice and water should be weighed. Even if you want to put more water, you can't exceed 10%. After the water is released for a day or two, fine cracks will appear on the surface of the wine. At this time, stir with a stick, commonly known as "open". It must be stirred once every other day and * * * three times, which are called "first", "second" and "third" respectively. There's no need to move after that. After a month, you can open the jar and drink. When opening a bottle of yellow rice wine, whether the surface of the wine material is cracked or not is the main sign that determines the quality of yellow rice wine. Fine-cracked wine is neither sweet nor mellow, which is praised by good drinkers; On the contrary, it is sweet and greasy, not strong enough. Only women and children can drink it. The time from drainage to fine cracks is shorter. Generally, fine cracks appear overnight, indicating that fermentation is normal; If it hasn't cracked for three or four days, it will be difficult to make wine. Brewing needs good water. Because the water quality in the sand is always bad, people who used to make rice wine always went to the lake in Shaoxing or Lu Jiaquan in Zheshan to fetch water. It is not easy for two people to take turns carrying water, go out in the morning and return at dusk. Doctor's opinion: Rice wine has a wide range of applications and can be drunk all year round, especially in summer. Because of the high temperature, rice is easy to ferment. It is a good family wine to quench thirst and relieve summer heat, and is deeply loved by the elderly and children. Boiling poached eggs with rice wine or adding brown sugar is a good tonic for pregnant women and the elderly. But people who are allergic to alcohol should not drink, and don't get drunk after drinking too much at once, especially in summer. For neurasthenia, trance, depression and forgetfulness, it is better to add eggs to cook soup; For those with irregular menstruation, anemia, nocturnal emission, diarrhea and insufficient essence, longan, lychee, jujube or ginseng can be added as appropriate to make soup, and the effect is better. Therefore, it is most suitable for drinking in winter. As long as there is no alcohol allergic reaction, adults can choose. It is especially beneficial and effective for blood stasis, backache, numbness and tremor of hands and feet, rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic injury, neurasthenia, mental trance, depression, dizziness and tinnitus, insomnia and forgetfulness, dyspepsia, anorexia and irritability, rapid heartbeat, physical weakness, lack of essence, nocturnal emission and drowning, irregular menstruation, puerpera hypogalactia, anemia, etc.