The History of Wine Making in China
When you think of the great winemaking cultures of the world, you may think of France and Italy, or perhaps the fertile winemaking regions of California's Napa Valley. What many people don't know is that the Chinese were making wine as much as 3,000 years ago, and the modern wine industry in China is growing. The Chinese have a rich history of winemaking that continues to this day. Does this Spark an idea?
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Early Winemaking
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It is generally believe that the Chinese first began turning grapes into wine during the Shang Dynasty, about 3,000 years ago. The Shang Dynasty is the period between the 16th century BCE and the 11th century BCE. In 1980, a sealed jar of wine was removed from an ancient tomb dating from the latter half of the Shang period.
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Fermentation Methods for Chinese Wine
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The Chinese used two methods of fermenting their wine. One involved natural fermentation: that is, letting airborne yeasts naturally float into the wine to ferment it. The other method was by using a starter known in Chinese as "qu," which is also used to make rice wine.
Wine in the Yuan Dynasty
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The Yuan Dynasty is generally considered to be the height of Chinese winemaking. During this period, which lasted from 1271 to 1368, wine was favored by the ruling classes and was also used in religious services. The production of wine was centered in Xinjiang and Tai Yuan and reached its greatest size. It was also during this period that the Chinese first experimented with making brandy.
Growth of the Chinese Wine Industry
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Since 1994, China's wine industry has been growing. In 1995, there were more than 240 wineries in China, and today there are more than 300. Internationally known Chinese wine companies include Dynasty, Great Wall and Beijing's Dragon Seal.
21st Century Excavations
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In 2003, excavations in southern China revealed that the Chinese may have been making wine for at least 1,000 years earlier than was previously thought. Evidence at the site shows that wine might have been made during the heydey of China's Dawenkou culture (4000 BCE to 2600 BCE).
References
- Photo Credit "downside upside down" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: jenny downing (jenny downing) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
