Is the wine brewed in winter unique to Jiangnan?

In Suzhou, there is a famous wine, also called nameless wine. It is a household name, because in old Suzhou, every family drinks this wine from winter to Sunday. Little-known because once winter comes, you will never see this wine again. It is a best-selling winter wine in Suzhou every winter to the day before. This is Suzhou local wine, which is hard to find outside Suzhou. Winemaking in winter is only about 5 degrees, better than nothing. Both children and the elderly can enjoy several drinks and wine. Winter brewing was originally called Dongyang wine, because after the winter, the sun rose and everything began to recover slowly, hence the name.

Winter wine, brewed only once a year, is a low-alcohol rice wine brewed with osmanthus. Sweet taste, golden color, and faint osmanthus fragrance, is an unforgettable "old Suzhou" taste. "Old Suzhou" believes that wine can be made from August of the lunar calendar to March of the following year, but only the wine that has gone bad for 60 days is the best, which is called "winter wine making". In the past, there were many famous winter wines, such as "made of herbs, placed in the wall for more than a month, with fragrant color, called" clear wall "and" brewed in October, called "white in October". In addition, there are special wines such as "osmanthus wine".

Winter brewing can be divided into "original wine" and "cooked wine". The "original wine" will be fermented step by step without high temperature sterilization, and the storage time will be about one month. "Cooked wine" is sterilized at high temperature to stop fermentation, and can generally be preserved for about three months. Fresh winter brewed "original wine" has just left the factory. The bottle is soft to pinch, transparent and clear in appearance, and tastes sweet like a drink. Wines brewed in winter gradually ferment three to five days after leaving the factory, with slightly turbid color, increased alcohol content and the freshest and sweetest taste. However, in the winter brewing one week after leaving the factory, the bottle body became hard, the wine color became turbid, and the taste was sour, which was not very good.

Winemaking in winter is like a symbol of the winter solstice in Suzhou. It has been deeply integrated into the memory of Suzhou people, so that every winter solstice night (the night before winter solstice), you may not feel deep after drinking a cup, but you can't adapt without it. Even I, a new Suzhou native, will do as the Romans do on the winter night of the solstice. When eating, I will sit around a table with my family, open a bottle of winter wine and enjoy a sweet-scented osmanthus reunion dinner in my room.