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China's Wine Culture
Aug 31, 2007 02:40
  • LEONARDO
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Wine, as a tangible existence of the world, is not only a kind of drink, but a very important part of culture. Do you know who is the first person brewed wine? Who enjoyed the first sip of wine in the world?

I bet you have no idea. Sorry, me either. The origin of wine is still under controversy. Perhaps, as early as ten thousands years ago, our common predecessors has began to brew wine, and this valuable heritage was spread generation after generation.

To explore the origin of wine-making, we have to find out the origin of grape planting. Some western archaeologists say that grape planting and wine making probably started from Asia Minor and Egypt , and then spreaded to Crete island, Sicily island, Libya, Italy, Provence in France and coastal Spain.

Most historians believe that Anciet Persia ( Today Iran) is the source of wine-making, which implies that wine has a history of 6,000 years.

The origin of wine in China can be traced back to the Han Dynasty( probably only for the origin of grape wine.)

The first recorded evidence about wine-brewing was found in " Shi Ji" (Historic Record) written by Sima Qian in Han Dynasty. The general "Zhan Qian" brought in the grape planting and wine-making skills from the Western Regions of China( Today, Turpan). Wine-making skill was gradually popularized in the inland Chinese nationality.

In Tang Dynasty, wine-making technigues reached a high notch, and there were many who liked to drink wine very much. Li Bai, a famous poet in Tang Dynasty was peculiar to WINE. He usually could find more inspirations when he drunk much wine. Quite a lot of his poems were about wine.

Wine is also a carrier of Chinese people's feelings. When people bid farewell to close friends, wine represents the best wishes, conveying that "I will miss you." At wedding banquet, " ladies and gentlemen, let's raise glasses in a toast to the happinese of the bride and groom" signifies the best wishes to a new couple.

Today, wine is not only a drink at banquet, but also an important part of Chinese etiquette. To some extent, wine has been deeply rooted in the daily life of average Chinese.

However, wine brings people both enjoyment and sorrow. Driving after alcohol has claimed tens of thousands of casualties every year in China. Beer-belly discounts the "handsome " young guys. A little bit clumsy. Wine is a delicacy, but not too much. Take care!
Sep 2, 2007 19:45
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  • GRIZ326
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Ha! Wine...

I bought this in a little shop in Beijing.

I call this wine, "Bad Wine-Beautiful Bottle" because the bottle is cute enough to give as a souvenir but I did not like drinking it.

Sep 2, 2007 19:46
#2  
  • GRIZ326
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I had this wine with dinner in Beijing.

It has a cute bottle and the wine had an unusual, but not unpleasant flavor.....



Sep 2, 2007 19:47
#3  
  • GRIZ326
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I was given this bottle of Moutai when leaving China.

The flavor of this wine grows on you...

Sep 2, 2007 19:49
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  • GRIZ326
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...and I still have not figured out how to open these wine bottles and I am dying of thirst!!! ;-)

Sep 2, 2007 19:56
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  • GRIZ326
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Now a funny story about my first trip to China in 1978:

My first evening that I was permitted off of the ship, I walked to the end of the dock and there was a shop with many beautiful bottles fill with liquids. Of course, everything was written in Chinese but I presumed that it must be a liquor store.

So I bought the two nicest looking bottles in the little shop and proceeded to drink them with my ship mates. Within a few hours we were terribly sick and thought we were dying. Just about then, our only Chinese-American ship mate came by, looked at the bottles and began laughing hysterically!!! And this always quiet and polite young woman was LAUGHING AT US!!!

She told us that we had just consumed two bottles of medicine for farm animals!!! :-)

I guess we were lucky not to have died.
Sep 2, 2007 20:10
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  • ZOEY
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Wow,Griz, you "consumed two bottles of medicine for farm animals". So, is there something wrong with you after taking that stuff. Judging from what you have posted, I guess you are peculiar to alcohol. Do you usually get drunk? What kinds of alcohol do you usually drink? Brandy? Whisky? Grape Wine?
Sep 2, 2007 22:43
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  • GRIZ326
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My ship mates and I consumed the 2 bottles...I didn't drink it all by myself! Even when I was a sailor I never drank to drunkeness and I certainly don't do it now that the gray in my hair has made me a little smarter than when I was a sailor. ;-)

Sep 2, 2007 22:57
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  • JIMMYB
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Griz, are you fond of collecting wine bottles? These bottles really look nice. Maybe you can try to take out the plug of the first white bottle. For the brown bottle, you may screw the top of the bottle. Juding from their appeances, it is not hard to open them.
Sep 3, 2007 07:19
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  • DODGER
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Griz,
funny storey.
Reminds me of when I was in the navy a life time ago.
But we did leave shipmates in "happy valley "who never woke up from their run ashore. They have not grown old as we have grown old...but good times.
Dodger.
Sep 3, 2007 20:20
#10  
  • GRIZ326
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I like to give the empty bottles as gifts, JIMMYB. Many of them are so attractive they can be used as candle holders or flower vases. :-)
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