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{{#seo:
|title=Osmanthus Wine (桂花酒 Guihua Jiu) - Chinese Food Wiki
|keywords=Osmanthus Wine,桂花酒,Guihua Jiu,桂花陈酒,Guihua Chenjiu,osmanthus liquor,sweet osmanthus,Osmanthus fragrans,Mid-Autumn Festival,reunion wine
|description=Osmanthus wine (桂花酒, guihua jiu) is a sweet, floral Chinese wine scented with sweet osmanthus flowers, traditionally drunk with family at the Mid-Autumn Festival as a "reunion wine".
}}

{{Infobox chinese food
| image = Osmanthus Wine.jpg
| caption = Bottled osmanthus wine in Dali, Yunnan
| alternate_name = 桂花酒; Guihua Jiu; osmanthus liquor; Guihua chenjiu (桂花陈酒, aged osmanthus wine)
| pinyin = Guìhuā jiǔ
| type = Flower-scented wine or liqueur (rice-wine, grape-wine or spirit base); usually low to medium alcohol
| course = Beverage (festival drink)
| country = China
| region = Osmanthus-growing regions such as Guangxi (Guilin), Zhejiang (Hangzhou), Jiangsu and Hubei; also Beijing (guihua chenjiu)
| other = Associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival and the moon legends
}}

'''Osmanthus Wine''' (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 桂花酒; Pinyin: ''Guìhuā jiǔ'') is a Chinese wine flavoured with the flowers of sweet osmanthus (''Osmanthus fragrans''), a tree that blooms in autumn with small, intensely fragrant golden or orange flowers. It is usually sweet and low in alcohol and is best known as a drink for the '''Mid-Autumn Festival''', when families gather to admire the full moon.<ref name="osm">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmanthus_fragrans English Wikipedia: Osmanthus fragrans]</ref>

== Origin and region ==

Sweet osmanthus has been cultivated in China for well over two thousand years, and its flowers are used in sweets such as [[Osmanthus Cake]], in tea, and in syrups poured over [[Jiuniang]] and [[Tangyuan]]. Wines scented with ''gui'' appear in early literature: the ''Nine Songs'' of the ''Chu Ci'' mention offering "gui wine" (桂酒) to a deity. In early texts ''gui'' can also mean cassia (a cinnamon tree), so these references are not certainly osmanthus.<ref name="ninesongs">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Songs English Wikipedia: Nine Songs]</ref> Osmanthus wine is made today in Guilin (whose name means "osmanthus forest"), Hangzhou, Suzhou and other osmanthus-growing areas; a well-known Beijing style, '''guihua chenjiu''' (桂花陈酒, "aged osmanthus wine"), uses a grape-wine base.

== Raw materials ==

* '''Sweet osmanthus flowers''' — fresh, or preserved in sugar or salt
* '''Base alcohol''' — rice wine ([[Mijiu]] or [[Huangjiu]]), white grape wine, or a clear spirit
* '''Sugar''' or honey

Overview only — not a recipe.

== Production (overview) ==

Most osmanthus wine is made by steeping the flowers, often preserved in sugar, in a base wine or spirit, then filtering, sweetening and ageing it. Some producers ferment glutinous rice with the flowers so that the aroma develops during fermentation. Commercial versions range from light rice-wine styles to sweet fortified wines.

== Style and taste ==

Osmanthus wine is golden, sweet and floral, with an aroma often compared to apricot and honey. Rice-based versions are soft and mild; grape-based and fortified versions are fuller and sweeter. It is usually served at room temperature or slightly chilled.

== Culture ==

Chinese moon folklore links osmanthus to the Mid-Autumn Festival: the legend of '''Wu Gang''' tells of a man condemned to chop forever at an osmanthus tree on the moon that heals as fast as he cuts it, and the moon itself is poetically called the "osmanthus palace" (桂宫). These are '''folk legends'''. Osmanthus wine is therefore a traditional "reunion wine" (团圆酒) drunk with family on the night of the festival, together with [[Mooncake|mooncakes]] and seasonal fruit.<ref name="osm" /><ref name="maf">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival English Wikipedia: Mid-Autumn Festival]</ref>

== Notes ==

* "Osmanthus wine" on menus may also refer to sweet osmanthus rice wine served warm with jiuniang; these are related but different preparations.
* This page makes no health claims and gives no prices.

== See also ==

* [[Chinese Alcohol]]
* [[Osmanthus Cake]]
* [[Mooncake]]
* [[Jiuniang]]
* [[Chinese Plum Wine]]
* [[Chinese Drink]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

Osmanthus Wine - Revision history

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