Shaoxing Wine Culture II

Deeply-rooted in Shaoxing social life, Shaoxing wine has developed into a culture covering varieties of wine custom, multi-shaped wine vessels, and couplets and proverbs in praise of wine, etc. In Shaoxing, there is a complete series of wine custom, which varies in different situations. For example, in wedding ceremonies, guests should be served with Nuerhong wine, which represents happiness and harmony. And when the bride and bridegroom are having wedlock wine, those who are to tease the bride should keep silent. With a long history, the wine vessels in Shaoxing have distinctive local color. We can see from the unearthed ancient wine vessels of Shaoxing that in ancient Shaoxing, porcelain or ceramic wine vessels were the main stream. However, in north ancient China, wine vessels were mainly made of bronze. And the multi-shaped wine vessels of Shaoxing were carved or painted, which revealed the development of plastic arts and color painting in ancient Shaoxing. And couplets and proverbs related to Shaoxing wine sprung up one by one when Shaoxing wine became an inseparable part of Shaoxing social life. Men of letters often gathered together in the wine shops and competed to write witty couplets or proverbs for the shops while drinking. Therefore, many couplets and proverbs have been handed down from generation to generation as a part of Shaoxing wine culture. Nowadays, in Shaoxing, you can still see interesting and meaningful couplets in wine shops and ancient-style restaurants. For example, in Xianhen Restaurant, there is an eye-catching couplet. It reads: “Small as the restaurant is, it has great reputation; old as the wine is, it has intoxicated many people.” And in Rongluchun Restaurant, there is also a couplet which sounds quite elegant. It reads: “A low wall enlaced with vine keeps off the busy streets; a small bridge over the flowing water connects the wine shops.”

With the rapid development of Shaoxing wine culture, the local people lay greater stress on wine cuisines, which are specially made for Shaoxing wine. Each sort of Shaoxing wine has its own matched wine cuisines. Jiafan wine and cold dishes make a perfect match. Yuanhong wine tastes best when paired with chicken, duck, or eggs. And Shanniang wine ought to be drunk with sweet-taste cuisines or cakes. In a word, Shaoxing wine has become an important part of Shaoxing social life and the rice wine culture will be more and more flourishing in Shaoxing.