The title of famous wine is only an innate advantage for the development of a company. Being a famous wine does not mean that you can sit back and relax. Dongjiu and Moutai were once known as the "two treasures of Guizhou". Why is it that now one of the top liquor bosses has been reduced to a regional brand. Some drinking friends said that the Dongjiu now is not the Dongjiu it used to be, maybe it disappeared in a fire.

Before that, what happened to make Dong Jiu, who was so prosperous back then, disappear?

The Glorious Past

During the late Qing Dynasty, there were Xiaoqu distilleries all over Guizhou, the most outstanding of which was the Cheng's Workshop. The "Chengshijiao Liquor" brewed from Baicao Danjiu and Daqu Liquor has the softness of Xiaoqu Liquor, the strong aroma of Daqu Liquor, and the Baicao aroma of plants. This is the predecessor of Dong Liquor. .

During the Anti-Japanese War, Zhejiang University moved westward to Zunyi. Professors from Zhejiang University were full of praise after tasting Dong Wine, and "Cheng's Cellar Wine" was officially renamed "Dong Wine", which means "Wine of Baicao". On the eve of liberation, due to the uncertainty of the situation, Dongjiu was forced to stop production and did not resume production until 1957.

Dong Liquor’s unique brewing process and formula are so precious that it has been listed as a state secret three times, so it has the title of “National Secret”. Houdong Wine has won the National Wine Appraisal Competition for four consecutive times and has become famous all over the country since then. In 1977, Dongjiu was exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Mr. Jin Yong wrote an inscription for it: "A Thousand Years of Fine Wine, Top Secret Formula, Guizhou Dongjiu, China's Famous Wine." In 1992, Dongjiu's production and sales reached 11,610 tons, becoming China's first famous wine to break through the 10,000-ton project.

Breaking a good hand

In the late 1980s, the country introduced policies to restrict the consumption of public funds. The liquor market ushered in the first big wave of price reductions, and many famous wines chose to cut their prices. Buffer the impact of market fluctuations. Fenjiu took the lead in responding to the national call, and the price of a bottle of Fenjiu was directly reduced to 15 yuan. Wuliangye has cooperated with distributors to launch a large number of sub-brands and private label wines, and has stabilized its lineup with the vigorous promotion of distributors.

At this time, Dong Jiu went in the opposite direction and began to expand its scale instead of buffering the impact of the market. In 1990, it successively merged with Zunyi Brewery, Glass Factory, etc. to establish the Dong Distillery Consortium. In 1992, it established the 10,000-ton Project Construction Office.

Subsequently, Dong Jiu made a fatal decision. In the mid-1990s, strong-flavor Sichuan wine emerged. Dongjiu, which had not even figured out its own development direction, gave up the development of Dong-flavor liquor and plunged into the army of strong-flavor Sichuan liquor. It successively launched a large number of sub-brands such as Jindong Liquor and Yindong Liquor. At most, Dongjiu had more than 300 brands. Buying out the brand completely disrupted its position.

Misfortunes never come singly. In 1995, the old chairman of Dong Jiu passed away. The long-term struggle for power within the company caused huge internal friction. Coupled with the accumulated conflicts in the past, Dong Jiu reached the end of his rope and gradually faded out of the public eye. Finally, the local government Dong Jiu was handed over to Shenzhen Zhenye Group.

Although there was a trend of revival for a time, conflicts of interest within the group broke out, and Shenzhen Zhenye didn’t know how to make wine or how to market it. Dong Jiu’s glorious era came to an end.

Dongjiu liquor is clear, rich in aroma, mellow in the mouth and full-bodied. Because the aroma in the wine is too strong, many drinkers say it has a "stinky aroma". It is currently a relatively niche liquor. Nowadays, Dong Jiu keeps shouting slogans of revival, but can Dong Jiu really make a comeback? Let's wait and see.