Chinese Wine

In China, the history of wine is longer than that of tea. In 1986, a pot of wine excavated in Henan Province was found to have been made more than 3,000 years ago.

China has many famous brands of wine——Maotai, Five-Grain Liquor, Fen Liquor, Bamboo-Leaf-Green Liqueur, Luzhou Liquor, Gujing Tribute Wine, Rice Wine, Zhangyu Grape Wine, and Grape Wine of the Great Wall——that enjoy a worldwide reputation.

There are more stories about wine in Chinese history. Tao Yuanming, a poet in the Jin Dynasty, could not live without wine for a day. The great poet Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty could “write 100 poems after drinking wine”; the more wine he drank, the better the poem would be. Wu Song, a brave man from Liang Shan in the Song Dynasty, drank 18 bowls of wine without a break, and then, barehanded, fought a fierce tiger to the death.

At the 1915 Panama World Exposition, China wanted to display Maotai, but the American organizers did not think the yellow porcelain bottle was very attractive and refused to allow the spirit to be displayed. The Chinese delegation was very angry. As they were quarreling strongly, a Chinese delegate, having a sudden flash of inspiration, deliberately dropped a bottle of Maotai on the ground. Immediately the bottle was broken, the spirit was sprayed, and the whole room was filled with an exceptional fragrance. Delegates of all countries were amazed. Finally, Maotai was appraised as a “World Famous Brand”, winning a golden medal.