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Trend and market of traditional alcoholic beverages from China |
R. LIN, Shanxi Academy of Agriculture, White Agriculture Research Center, Taiyuan, China Alcoholic beverages in China have a long history. Wine was said to have been invented in Xia Dynasty, about 21st century B.C. Traditional alcoholic beverages can be classified as follows: White liquor, Yellow wine, Fruit wine and Flavored wine. The White liquors are distilled from fermented grains, usually sorghum. They have alcohol contents of 50-60%. The most well-known white liquors are Mou-tai, Wu-nia-yeh and Feng wines. The Yellow wines are the name for all grain-based, non-distilled wines. They have alcohol contents of 15-20%. The famous yellow wines are Shao-xing and Mi wine. The Fruit wines are fermented from fruit juice, including plums, tangerines, lychees, crabapples, and cherry. They have alcohol contents of 10-20%. In addition to the above alcoholic beverages, an important class is the one fermented or distilled from grains or fruits with the addition of medicinal materials. The medicinal alcoholic beverages, a kind of flavored wine, have been valued by Chinese for centuries as a health beverage. This beverage is recognized as the king of drug. In ancient China, using wine or liquor to prevent body from disease is very popular. Medicinal wines are tonic or reinforcing wine, which is used for health, rather the enjoyment. However, some medicinal wines, such as Chu-yeh-qin wine and Wu-jia-pi wine, possess a perfectly agreeable flavor. Today, the consumers are health conscious, the demand for alcoholic beverage has been shifting to the medicinal wines in China. Due to the composition of medicinal wine is different with the addition of various herbs, we need to choose the right one for their functions on human body. In this presentation, technology and market of important traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages with the emphasis on selected medicinal wines will be discussed.
Session 26, Traditional beverages from Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and their marketability to the U.S. consumers
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