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The Zhou Qing brand's lineage is rooted in the "Yunji Xinji Winery" in Dongpu, Shaoxing, during the late Qing Dynasty (Guangxu era). The brand name is taken from Zhou Qing, the fifth-generation head of the winery, a key figure in promoting Shaoxing rice wine to the international market in modern times. At the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, Zhou Qing personally selected his homemade Shaoxing rice wine to participate, winning the first international gold medal in the history of Shaoxing rice wine. With this honor, Shaoxing rice wine opened up markets in Beijing, Tianjin, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Macau, officially gaining international fame. Subsequently, the original Yunji Winery was restructured into the state-owned Dongfeng Winery, the predecessor of the present-day Kuaijishan Winery. The "Zhou Qing" trademark was held by a Hong Kong company for a long time until 2019 when Zhou's descendants invested to reclaim the trademark rights. Zhou Qing (Shaoxing) Yellow Wine Culture Development Co., Ltd. was established, officially reviving this century-old brand that carries the glory of a gold medal.
Region
The revived Zhou Qing Winery is located in Dongpu, Yuecheng District, Shaoxing—the core production area of Shaoxing Yellow Wine's origin protection zone and the upstream water source of Jianhu Lake—preserving the terroir advantages from the very beginning of brewing. The brand adheres to the principle of integrating production, education, and research, collaborating deeply with the Shaoxing University Yellow Wine Research Institute to organize and restore the Zhou family's ancestral brewing manuscripts, compile and publish the historical book "The Biography of Zhou Qing," and establish the Zhou Qing Wine Culture Memorial Hall, systematically restoring the ancestral ancient brewing recipe that had been lost for many years. In the area of product innovation, the brand invited a senior international design team to participate in packaging development, breaking away from the old-fashioned and rigid appearance of traditional Shaoxing rice wine. It has successively launched several co-branded cultural and creative rice wines featuring scenic spots such as Lanting and Lu Xun's Former Residence. In terms of craftsmanship, it has implemented two patented technologies: imported vacuum stoppers and low-temperature cold filling, addressing the shortcomings of traditional rice wine storage. With stable quality and innovative product concepts, Zhouqing rice wine has successfully entered Michelin-starred restaurants in China and the high-end Japanese beverage store ENOTECA, successfully opening up international catering and beverage channels.
Currently, the Zhouqing brand's products are divided into three main lines: a premium line featuring century-old gold medal-winning vintages; a cultural and creative small-bottle line represented by white cylindrical bottles; and a large-capacity line for everyday meals. Among these, the Lanting co-branded white cylindrical cultural and creative rice wine is the main best-selling product in the cultural and creative line, which has long been customized in collaboration with iconic Shaoxing scenic spots such as Lanting and Lu Xun's Former Residence. From a historical perspective, the brand boasts a prestigious gold medal from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It has also received numerous industry certifications, including Zhejiang Province's Outstanding Demonstration Case of Historical Classic Industries and Shaoxing Intangible Cultural Heritage Yellow Wine Innovation Demonstration Brand. Its century-old brewing craftsmanship continues to gain recognition from both the market and authoritative institutions.
Winemaking
This cultural and creative yellow wine comes in a small 250ml bottle, with an alcohol content ≥14% vol. It belongs to the national standard semi-dry yellow wine category, with a sugar content maintained between 15.1g/L and 40.0g/L. It follows the classic Shaoxing Jiafan wine brewing system. The brewing ingredients adhere to local standards, using carefully selected Shaoxing round glutinous rice and high-quality brewing wheat, combined with natural flowing water from the upper reaches of Jianhu Lake. No external edible alcohol is added throughout the process; only natural caramel color and body color are used. It has a shelf life of up to five years under normal temperature and light-proof conditions.
In terms of outer packaging design, the product uses a milky white, three-dimensional cylindrical paper can as the outer box. The body of the can is decorated with line drawing prints, meticulously depicting cultural landscapes such as the ancient buildings of Lanting, the Wupeng water town, and the old streets and alleys of Shaoxing, paired with the large ink-wash calligraphy of the word "Shaoxing." The dark green color scheme is retro and elegant. The cylinder features a convenient zipper opening structure, allowing it to be reused as a storage container after the wine is finished, combining aesthetics and practicality. The inner bottle is made of thick-bottomed crystal-cut glass, allowing the transparent body to fully display the amber-colored wine. The bottle sticker features a hand-painted illustration of the Lanting Garden, and the neck is decorated with a dark green label and a wooden tag with the seal script word "Huangjiu" (yellow wine), showcasing thoughtful cultural and creative details. The stopper uses imported Italian vacuum sealing components, overcoming the industry-wide problem of traditional bottled Shaoxing wine easily turning sour and spoiling during long-term storage by removing air from the bottle.
The brewing process strictly adheres to the traditional Shaoxing winter brewing method, following the ancient rhythm of "brewing at the beginning of winter and pressing wine at the beginning of spring." It involves a complete set of processes including soaking rice, steaming, natural fermentation in vats, staged filtration, and base wine storage. After bottling, a low-temperature rapid cold-filling technique is used to preserve the original aroma of the new wine to the maximum extent. The finished wine is crystal clear, with a golden-brown amber color. Upon opening, the sweet aroma of glutinous rice and yeast immediately fills the air, with a hint of dried fruit and honey, free of any off-flavors or stale sourness. It is smooth and mellow on the palate, with a moderate sweetness from the semi-dry process, sweet but not cloying. The mid-bottle is characterized by a fresh and crisp wheat yeast flavor, and the finish is clean and restrained, with a balanced sweet and sour ratio, representing the classic style of Shaoxing semi-dry yellow wine.
