Rice wine Part 2: Fermented glutinous rice

Not only Zhailai and Penglai, the more expensive glutinous rice (糯米) can also be fermented to produce different grades of wine.

酒釀JiuNiang, in a separate category, is from limited fermentation with 1-2% alcohol, in other words, alcohol-flavored rice. This is a popular winter-time snack, either by itself or served with beaten eggs and/or dumplings. Prolonged fermentation does increase its alcohol content; although for true wine-making, it must be done in a winery.

酒釀, a snack food that appeared in Taiwan in ca 1949 or soon after

HongLu紅露酒-making starts with already-made, raw glutinous rice wine, to which red koji (紅麴) is added for a second fermentation. The final alcohol content is between 14.5 to 22 proof, in between hard liquor and beer, a viable niche.

Source: http://taipics.com/alcohol.php

紅露酒 can trace its origin to Hokkien 紅老酒 that went into industrial scale production in Taipei in the 1910s before the state monopoly took over. After the war, it was out-competed by the always-in-demand Rice Wine and the post-war newcomer Saohsing Wine (紹興酒, see below), and faded away quickly after 1987. It regained some popularity in 2004, through the efforts of folks in Yilan where it was once privately made.

Source: http://taipics.com/alcohol.php

By and large, the Taiwanese were unfamiliar with Saohsing Wine which originated in Saohsing area in ZeJiang, China, and it had quite a number of variations with 13-15% alcohol. The R&D of Taiwan Saohsing actually started in 1949, ordered by the then recently arrived new regime, in Puli Winery (埔里酒廠, established in 1917, nationalized by the Japanese Colonial Gov't in 1922, and again by the ROC in 1945). A small quantity went on market in 1953. This wine was a favorite of Chiang Kai-Shek whose hometown was near Saohsing. Each year, immediately before his birthday, an exclusive collection called 介壽酒 ("long life to Kai") would be prepared under watchful eyes before sending to the Presidential Palace for Chiang's very public birthday celebration; although no common folks ever had the privilege of having even a sip. Ironically, 介壽酒 is now mass-produced to satisfy the demand of visitors from Communist China.

The quality of Saohsing was much improved in 1955 when those refugees evacuated from DaChen (大陳) well-versed in Saohsing-making were invited to participate in its production. As a result, this wine became the bestseller in Taiwan. The quality was further improved in 1965 by using 5-year old stock as the base for more blending, and the wine became the mainstay served at national banquets, official functions, and of course private celebratory parties.

Lesser quality Saohsing is also used in cooking. The most popular is the chilled appetizer, drunken chicken (醉雞).

埔里酒廠 wine storage cellar

Puli Winery was devastated in the September 21, 1999 earthquake. The near total loss of aged stock was a huge blow. The Winery, however, bounced back in 2003 when its surviving 10-year-old cellar stock (十年窖藏精釀陳紹) was made available to the public. The Winery is now very popular with casual tourists and wine connoisseurs alike. Its campus has been re-built complete with a very informative museum and numerous food stalls in the front yard (grilled koji sausage is a must-try).