Jiafan Huangjiu (加饭酒)

Jiafan is one of the principal styles of Shaoxing huangjiu, the yellow rice wine of the Jiangnan lowlands around Shaoxing in Zhejiang, where brewing beside Jian Lake and its soft water is a tradition of very long standing. The name means 'added rice': more steamed glutinous rice is put into the fermentation than in the plain yuanhong style, so that the wine is richer and fuller. Fuchsia Dunlop, in Land of Fish and Rice, places Shaoxing wine at the centre of the Jiangnan kitchen, as both the drink of the table and the seasoning of its braises and drunken dishes. It belongs to the family of Shaoxing huangjiu, a Chinese Geographical Indication, and the Shaoxing brewers carry it.

Jiafan is a fermented, unspirited wine made from glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa), wheat qu as the saccharifying starter, and water. The rice is steamed, mixed with qu and water, and fermented in open vessels, then pressed, clarified, and matured in sealed earthenware jars. The finished wine is amber to deep brown, with aromas of caramel, dried fruit and nuts, and a flavour of marked savoury depth. Among the Shaoxing styles it is the semi-dry one, between the dry yuanhong and the sweeter shanniang and xiangxue, and it is the style most often aged for years.

Jiafan is drunk with the dishes of Jiangnan: braised pork, freshwater fish, drunken chicken, salted and cured meats, and river crabs in autumn. Tradition counts it a warming wine and serves it gently heated in winter, sometimes with ginger or dried plum. Its savour and mild sweetness meet the soy, sugar and fat of red-braised dishes, and its acidity and aroma cut through richness and soften fishy notes, which is why the same wine goes into the pot.