The predecessor of Moutai in China. In 1704, "Gaisheng Shaofang" officially named its wine Moutai

2010-08-07 14:48

Moutai is the most perfect sauce-flavored liquor It is a typical example of Daqu wine, so "Maotai-flavor type" is also called "Mao-flavor type". The wine is bright and transparent, with a slight yellow color, and the sauce aroma is outstanding and intoxicating. If you don't drink it with the cup open, the aroma will be fragrant. Drink it happily, and the mouth will be full of fragrance. After drinking, the cup will be empty, the fragrance will be bigger and last longer. The taste is elegant and delicate, the wine is full and mellow, the aftertaste is long, and the fragrance of grass is endless. Moutai liquor is pure, transparent, mellow and fragrant. It is composed of three special flavors: sauce aroma, cellar bottom aroma, and mellow sweetness. There are now more than 300 known aroma components. The alcohol content is 53 degrees.

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Origin

Moutai is produced in Moutai Town on the Chishui River in Renhuai City, Guizhou Province. It is surrounded by mountains and the situation is dangerous. It is Sichuan Province. The chokepoint of Guizhou's water and land transportation. The water quality of Chishui River is pure, sweet and contains a small amount of minerals, which is perfect for making wine.

Moutai liquor is named after it is produced in Moutai Town on the Chishui River in northern Guizhou. Since Maotai Town is located in a river valley, the wind speed is low, which is very conducive to the habitat and reproduction of microorganisms that make Maotai liquor. More than 30 years ago, our Premier Zhou gave Fang Yi, the then Vice Premier of the State Council, a task to copy Moutai. It is said that at that time, Vice Premier Fang Yi led a group of people to take away all the processes and equipment of Moutai liquor, and even the old wine-making masters. Even the dust from the Moutai distillery was packed into a box and taken away (it is said that there are rich in microorganisms, which are necessary for making Moutai). I searched around and found 50 places. Finally, I found a place in Zunyi with beautiful mountains and clear waters and no industrial pollution. I unfolded all the processes of Moutai and used local special methods. Pure water was recreated using microorganisms in dust. Nine cycles and 69 experiments were carried out in one day, and it was finally declared a failure in 1985. It also fully proves that Moutai is inseparable from the place of origin and that Moutai cannot be cloned. For this reason, in 2001, Moutai became the first Chinese liquor to be included in the country's protected area of ??origin product.

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Variety

The trademark of Maotai liquor was originally printed with woodcut. It just wrote "Guizhou Province" within a petal-shaped pattern. "Maotai Liquor" is just a few words in regular script. Later, it was changed to Lianshi paper type printing. Trademark naming: Chengyi Winery is "Shuangde Brand", Ronghe Winery is "Maisui Brand", and Hengshi Winery is "Shanying Brand". In 1952, the name was changed to "Workers and Peasants Brand". After 1954, there were two types of trademarks: domestic sales and export: "Jinlun brand" (also known as "Gongnong brand") for domestic sales, and "Feitian brand" for export. During the Cultural Revolution, it was once changed to "Sunflower Brand", and then restored to "Golden Wheel Brand" and "Feitian Brand", which are still in use today.

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A brief history

The earliest record of the history of winemaking along the Chishui River is Sima Qian's "Historical Records". "Historical Records·Biographies of Southwest Yi" records: In more than 130 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che drank the famous wine "Goji Sauce" from Yelang (today's northern Guizhou area) and couldn't help but praise it: "It's sweet." Later, there was a history that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent General Tang Meng to Guizhou to open up a barbarian road, specifically detouring through Renhuai, where Maotai was located. There is a saying: "What is the Han family's wolfberry sauce? It earns Tang Meng's Yi tribe." Maotai was called the Yi tribe in ancient times, and Maotai was called the Yi tribe. Goji sauce, according to research, is a wine produced in the Chishui River area of ????Renhuai, which is made by fermenting fruits and adding grain.

In the history of Chinese wine-making, liquor brewed entirely from grains began in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The Daqu wine produced in the Moutai area along the Chishui River has become a tribute to the imperial court. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, brewing workshops of a certain scale were successively built in Yangliuwan, Maotai Town (today’s workshop area of ??Maotai Distillery). It is worth noting that Maotai’s brewing technology at that time had created a unique "return" Sand” craft.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the winemaking industry in Renhuai area reached the point where every village had a workshop. During this period, the Maotai area's unique Huisha sauce-flavor liquor has taken shape. By 1704 (the 42nd year of Kangxi), the brand of Moutai liquor began to appear.

A batch of Moutai wines marked by "Huisha Maotai", "Maochun" and "Maotai Shaochun" have become the finest products of Kweichow liquor.

During the Qianlong period, Guizhou Governor Zhang Guangsi petitioned the imperial court to dredge the Chishui River to facilitate the flow of Sichuan salt into Guizhou, which promoted the prosperity of the Moutai brewing industry. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years, Moutai town specialized in brewing Huisha sauce. There were more than 20 lemon Maotai wine-making houses, and the most famous ones at that time were "Gaisheng Liquor House" and "Yamato Shao-house". By 1840, the output of liquor in the Maotai area had reached more than 170 tons, setting a scale that was second to none in the history of Chinese winemaking. "The family only stored wine to sell, and the ships carried a lot of salt" became a historical portrayal of the busy scene of Maotai during that period.

Before 1949, the production of Maotai liquor was in decline, and there were only three distilleries, namely: "Chengyi Distillery" funded by the surname Hua, known as "Huamao"; "Rong Maotai" funded and established by the surname Wang. He Winery" is called "Wang Mao"; "Hengxing Winery" funded by Lai is called "Lai Mao". "Huamao" is the predecessor of Moutai. In 1704, "Gesheng Shaofang" officially named its wine Moutai.

As soon as Guizhou was liberated at the end of 1949, the central government called, requiring the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee and the Renhuai County Party Committee to correctly implement the party's industrial and commercial policies, protect the production equipment of the Moutai Distillery, and continue production. In accordance with the instructions of the central government, Guizhou Province has provided strong economic support to Chengyi, Ronghe, and Hengxing houses to help them develop. His bosses were also given political treatment and were given positions in the people's government. In 1951, Guizhou Province acquired the largest Shaofang in Chengyi and merged the other two Shaofangs to establish the state-owned Maotai Distillery. The government immediately transferred capable cadres and invested a lot of money to expand production scale.

In October 1949, on the eve of the founding ceremony of the People’s Republic of China, Maotai liquor entered Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, and the founding fathers of the Republic of China congratulated each other. According to China News Service: The first banquet of the founding of the People's Republic of China was held at the Beijing Hotel on the night of the founding ceremony. From the selection of chefs to the menu and wine products, all were personally approved by Zhou Enlai. The main wine was Maotai. As the country's fortunes flourished, so did its national wine. Moutai, which healed the wounds of the Red Army, finally became the "founding wine" of the Republic of China.

By the end of the 1990s, Moutai liquor had won 14 consecutive international gold awards.

Brewing

The special climate, water quality and unique brewing technology in the Moutai area have long been known and summarized by the ancients. "Zunyi Prefecture Chronicles" during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty records: "Moutai liquor is made in Moutai Village west of Renhuai City, and is ranked first in Guizhou Province. The ingredients are pure sorghum, followed by miscellaneous grains. Preparation method: boil the ingredients and mix it. In the cellar, bake it out of the cellar in the middle of the month. The koji is made of wheat, which is called Baishui koji. People in Guizhou call it Daqu wine, which is also called Maotai Shao. The land in Renhuai is barren and the people are poor. There are no less than 20 Maotai Shao houses, which costs a lot of food. No less than 20,000 shi." This record accurately describes the brand, wine quality, production technology and production scale of Moutai liquor at that time.

Moutai uses high-quality sorghum as raw material and high-temperature koji from wheat, and the amount of koji is more than the raw material. The use of koji, long fermentation period, multiple fermentations, multiple wine extractions and other unique techniques are important reasons for the unique style and excellent quality of Moutai. Brewing Moutai requires adding raw grains twice, eight times of fermentation, and nine times of distillation. The production cycle is as long as eight or nine months. It is then aged for more than three years, blended and blended, and then stored for another year. The quality of the wine is more harmonious and mellow, soft and soft. It is ready for bottling and leaves the factory. The entire production process takes nearly five years.

Tasting

The method of sensory identification of authenticity of Moutai is as follows:

(1) Manufacturer identification

Moutai does not have It has entered into a joint venture with any other manufacturer, nor has it shared its trademark licensing rights with any manufacturer, nor has it established a first factory, a second factory, or a branch factory. Any "Moutai" marked as being produced by an associated factory, the first factory, the second factory, or a branch factory is absolutely certain to be fake.

(2) Registered trademark identification

The entire bottle of Moutai is affixed with the registered trademark "Kweichow Moutai", which is printed on imported 100g stencil paper and is used for 500ml bottles. The size of the trademark paper is 90 mm x 125 mm.

The pattern of the domestic wine trademark is divided into three parts: in the middle is a 60 mm wide white diagonal strip from the upper right to the lower left, with two thin black lines and four thick black lines at the top and bottom respectively, and the five red "Kweichow Moutai" The words are sandwiched in the middle. There is a 13 mm wide gold strip at the junction of the diagonal belt and the upper left corner, with four black characters on the strip: "famous at home and abroad". In the upper left corner is a red color block, with a white circle with a diameter of 35 mm and a gold edge in the middle. Inside the circle are circular wheat ears, golden gears and red five-pointed star patterns from top to bottom. There is a thin gold line where the diagonal strip meets the lower right corner. On the red color block in the lower right corner, there are eight white words "Produced by China Moutai Distillery", and under the white words there are black words "53% VOL, 500mL" indicating the alcohol content and capacity. The specifications stated on the back of the bottle are 65 mm x 85 mm and are edged in red. There is a 10 mm wide white border around the edge. The date of manufacture is in blue Arabic numerals. The trademark is beautifully printed, with accurate colors and even trimming.

The trademark and back sticker of the fake "Maotai" are printed on ordinary paper. The trademark specification is 100 mm × 140 mm, and the back sticker specification is 133 mm × 85 mm. The color matching of various patterns is confusing, the layers are unclear, the colors are light, and the specifications are inconsistent. The fonts used are also obviously different from the real trademarks. The factory date is written in red or other colors.

(3) Identification of packaging materials

The bottle of Moutai is a milky white glass bottle with a big red threaded twist-off anti-theft aluminum cap and the words "Kweichow Moutai" on the top. It is written in white, and there is no inner stopper in the mouth of the bottle. The whole bottle of wine is wrapped with a piece of high-quality square leather paper and packed in a color box: the outer packaging color box is made of imported white paper plus fine corrugation. The font and color on the box are consistent with the trademark and back sticker. At present, Moutai liquor has used three layers of anti-counterfeiting. The first is the circular five-star gear wheat ear or the flying laser logo, the second is the anti-theft cover imported from Italy, and the third is the watermark reflective label imported from the American 3M Company.

Fake "Maotai" bottles are sealed with red plastic caps of different shades, some are transparent without words, and some have fake "Maotai" characters. The bottle caps are either white or red. The lids also have different wall patterns, including yellow twist-off aluminum caps, and plastic lids with twist-off yellow aluminum caps. There are several types of inner plugs: spiral type, waistline type, flat top type, etc. The outer packaging box is made of unqualified and low-quality leather paper or other materials.

(4) Identification of sensory characteristics

Moutai is made from wheat, fermented eight times, and stored for two to three years before leaving the factory. Its unique sensory indicators are that the wine is colorless and transparent, with a mellow and sweet aroma when drinking, no suspended matter and sedimentation, a prominent wine aroma, elegant and delicate, a mellow body, a long aftertaste, and a long-lasting aroma in the empty cup. No matter how casual the banquet is, as long as a bottle of Moutai is on the table, the quality will immediately look completely different. As soon as Moutai was opened, it first gave people an inexplicable excitement, and then the strange fragrance filled the room, and everyone was shocked by the strange fragrance. After smelling the fragrance, put the fragrance into the cup and take a closer look at its color. It is slightly yellow and transparent, pure and without precipitation. Raise the glass and shake it gently, facing the sun or moonlight, and you can see the thin hops growing along the glass and then disappearing again. Some people summarize it as four steps: opening the seal to test its authenticity, wafting the fragrance to observe its color, sipping the fragrance to appreciate its taste, and smelling the fragrance from an empty cup.

Fake "Maotai" is mostly counterfeited with sorghum wine, Baigan wine, prepared wine, etc. It is difficult to have the color, aroma and taste characteristics of Maotai wine.

(5) Identification of the sipping aroma

There are three ways to taste Moutai, one is sipping, the second is sipping, and the third is drinking. The three styles must be precise, calm and integrated, attentive, focused and relaxed, fully mobilize the taste and smell nerves to capture, appreciate and perceive the aroma of every wine molecule, forming a perfect wine tasting program to obtain a comprehensive aesthetic feeling. enjoy.

To sip is to bring the wine glass to your lips, take a small sip lightly and slowly, and sip it carefully in your mouth.

To sip, you smack your mouth lightly, swallow the wine while slowly tasting it, and naturally make a smacking or clicking sound.

Hehe, he breathed out quickly on the basis of smacking, so that the smell of wine could be fragrant from the nose.

As a summary of the experience and wisdom of winemaking workers of all ages, these three wine tasting styles are the daily work of Moutai wine tasters. Experts can tell the alcohol concentration of the wine, the year and year of the wine. The round of aging and the types of wines it is blended from.

The lingering fragrance in an empty cup is another feature that distinguishes Moutai from other famous wines. Not only is it not inferior to the taste, but for those who are not good drinkers, it is even better than the taste. Smelling the aroma from an empty cup and savoring it by sipping the aroma complement each other and each has its own interest. After a glass of wine has dried, bring the lingering taste in your mouth, bring the wine glass closer to your nose, hold your breath attentively, inhale gently and slowly, then inhale deeply and inhale into your lungs, as if you have entered a new realm.