China's liquor industry, to use a word from an industry insider, is: "the water is deep and muddy." The various grades and standards are like reading a "book from heaven" for consumers. On the surface, they can understand a thing or two, but they really can't even touch the secrets behind it. Today we will talk about the grades of liquor.
The classification of liquor levels comes entirely from Western thinking. When technology was not yet developed, all the liquors that everyone could drink were pure grain liquors. Whose wine was good depended entirely on word of mouth. Generally speaking, the owner of a winery was a good person, so the quality of the wine must be good. Where there were any advertisements, it was entirely based on word of mouth. It really means that the aroma of the wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley.
With the progress of society and the development of science and technology, first edible alcohol appeared, and then additives appeared. When these two things were mixed together, they became "blended wine". It was delicious and cheap, and of course it was popular. In the early 1990s, it can be said that more than half of the liquor on the market was this kind of "blended wine".
People who are still working hard to make wine will see that this is not the case. If the blended wine is treated as good wine, what about the pure grain wine that has been passed down for hundreds of years? Therefore, Western culture was borrowed to protect traditional pure grain liquor, and liquor standards with different flavors and techniques were introduced. At the same time, pure grain liquor was also divided into grades, divided into superior grade, first grade and second grade according to quality.
How are liquor levels divided?
The ingredients in liquor are mainly ethanol and water. In addition, there are esters , acids and other trace ingredients, which can be as complex as more than 1,700. The flavor and taste of a wine mainly depend on the balance of acid and ester, so it is divided into three levels according to the content and proportion of acid and ester components.
The reason why Tuopai is independent from other liquors and has become a unique premium liquor in China is that it is a national geographical indication protected product, and the total acid content and total ester content are relatively high.
According to the current industry standards, as long as the total acid, total esters and other solids and other components meet the standards, it can be labeled as a premium liquor. However, in the entire liquor field, Tuopai is the only one that can meet this indicator. However, this does not mean that the premium liquor is necessarily better than the premium liquor. It also depends on the comprehensive indicators, especially the taste. You must know that famous liquors such as Moutai, Wuliangye , etc. are only premium liquor standards.
Many wine lovers think that only a few famous wines are premium wines. In fact, many premium wines are very cost-effective, but they are not well-known. For example, you can give the following wines a try.
Maotai Prince
Maotai Prince Liquor , as its name suggests, is not only the "son" of Moutai Liquor , it is simply the "younger" version of Moutai in terms of aroma, taste, texture, and style characteristics.
Moutai Prince has a very typical "Maoxiang" style and is the first choice for many people who like the taste of Moutai but are reluctant to spend "a lot of money" to drink Moutai.
Sanjuntai Collection
Sanjuntai Collection Wine is a local brand "famous wine" in Maotai Town. It is famous because of its high cost performance. There is not much story and history to tell. The only thing that can be shown to consumers is quality and price. Generally speaking, it is extremely cost effective.
From a technical point of view, it is exactly the same as Moutai. They are both Kunsha Maotai-flavor wines brewed by Daqu. The grade is superior. After 6 years of aging, the entrance is very soft and smooth, without the rough and spicy feeling of new wines. It is delicate and silky. The aroma is thick, the front aroma is elegant, the middle is mellow, the tail is long-lasting, the aging aroma is comfortable, the old wine is full of flavor, and the price is only a little over a hundred yuan. No wonder it has such a high rating.
There are basically two types of people who often drink this wine. One is businessmen who often have social events and usually choose one with high quality and reasonable price. The other is Laojiu Puti. There is no requirement for the brand. In short, the only criterion is that it is delicious and not expensive. Sanjuntai Collection happens to meet the requirements.
Mianzhu Daqu
Mianzhu Daqu, like Tuopai, is a well-established Sichuan famous wine and a strong-flavor liquor. It has a relatively high reputation in the mid-to-low-end consumer market, both in Sichuan and across the country.
The difference is that Mianzhu Daqu is superior grade, while Tuopai is special grade. Of course, this is only part of the story, because Tuopai also has superior grade wine, while Mianzhu Daqu also has first-grade wine. Therefore, even if it is the same brand, wine drinkers must distinguish clearly when purchasing, so as not to spend high prices and drink inferior wine.
