SanBai Wine Workshop

 

-why the well-known wine is called "Sanbai" (Three White) -- It means that the wine is made from "white rice" (glutinous rice), "white flour" (distiller's yeast), and "white" (clean) water.

The process of making the wine is the following: First, steam the glutinous rice until it is well cooked. Then pour cold water on the rice to cool it down. Next, smash the distiller's yeast and mix it evenly with the steamed rice. Afterward, put the mixed rice into a wine jar, press flat, make a small "pond" in the middle of the rice, and seal the jar, using straw or batting to cover the jar to preserve the inside temperature.

You may enjoy the demonstration in the traditional workshops district of such famous traditional crafts as the printing and dyeing of blue printed fabrics, the primitive technique of cloth shoes and tobacco-planing, and operate the machines yourself to get an idea of how the original work was carried out over 200 years ago. One may also walk amongst the picturesque moss-covered streets and walls, the houses decorated with exquisitely-carved wooden and stone doors and windows, and the leisurely and quiet life of the local people in the district of traditional local-styled dwelling houses. Sink into the atmosphere of traditional culture, have a cup of chrysanthemum tea and relax by bargaining on various kinds of handicrafts and local products.

After four to five days, uncover the wine jar and examine the rice. If the "pond" in the middle of the rice is filled with wine, then the rice has been fully fermented. Pour cold water in the jar till the rice is fully covered by water, and reseal the jar. One week later, uncover the jar, remove the rice material, and distil it till the wine is done.

Sanbai Wine is noted for being pure, sweet, and tasty. Local people used to entertain guests with the Wine during the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year). In Wuzhen, people also call it Duda wine.

"Wuzhen" is a tranquil town that sparkles with vitality. The poetic dreams permeating the land easily wafts you to the atmosphere of the poem created by US poet Henry Longfellow: "Often I think of the beautiful town / that is seated by the sea / Often in thought go up and down / the pleasant street of that dear old town / and my youth comes back to me / and a verse of Lapland song / is haunting my memory still / "a boy's will is the wind's will / and the thought of youth are long, long thoughtsĄ­" Why not come here to have a taste?