How to spread Shaoxing Huangjiu culture?

On the afternoon of November 23rd, I went to Shaoxing People's Hospital to visit Professor Guo Hangyuan, a domestic cardiac and cerebrovascular expert and the dean of Shaoxing People's Hospital. Mr. Guo left a deep impression on me when I was a journalist. He is wise, refined, firm and diligent. He is not only a famous domestic cardiac and cerebrovascular expert, but also a famous humanities scholar. Surprisingly, he is also an expert of Shaoxing Huangjiu.

Mr. Guo said that the hospital has cooperated with China Shaoxing Yellow Rice Wine Group Co., Ltd. in scientific research for more than 10 years. At present, the number of research papers on Huangjiu published by the hospital ranks first at home and abroad. Shaoxing people should know about Huangjiu and understand it in a scientific and in-depth way. It is worth mentioned that the newly recruited masters of the hospital will learn about Huangjiu in the research lab which is co-established by the hospital and China Shaoxing Yellow Rice Wine Group Co., Ltd..

The scientific research team led by Professor Guo has been committed to the research on the correlation between Shaoxing Huangjiu and arteriosclerosis since 2006. The team has successively won more than 10 projects, namely, the project jointly supported by the province and ministry, the provincial natural science foundation project and so on, published 40 scientific research papers (nearly 20 papers were included by SCI), and won 11 awards, namely, the provincial science and technology progress award, the provincial medicine and health science and technology award and so on. In addition, cooperated with China Shaoxing Yellow Rice Wine Group Co., Ltd., the team has published Shaoxing Huangjiu and Health Care, and obtained a series of research results which were cited by domestic and foreign research institutions. The team is the most authoritative scientific research team at home and abroad to study the correlation between Huangjiu and diseases. It is worth mentioning that a basic study of polyphenols in Shaoxing Huangjiu was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation this year.

Professor Guo said that Shaoxing Huangjiu has a history of thousands of years. And we should find out reasons why Huangjiu has such a strong vitality. For many years, the research team led by Professor Guo has been committed to the research on the protective effect of Huangjiu on atherosclerosis of coronary heart disease and its mechanism. The team found that as drinking red wine in a moderate way, drinking Huangjiu in a moderate way has the same effect on reducing the incidence of atherosclerosis. The team has further analyzed the functional ingredients of Huangjiu, such as polypeptides and polyphenols, which are beneficial to human body. And the team suggests that cardiac patients who are fond of drinking can drink a small amount of Huangjiu with the low alcohol content intermittently. According to research, people who drink a small amount of alcohol are 40% less likely to have myocardial infarction than people who don't drink alcohol. Thus, cardiac patients should drink a small amount of Huangjiu or red wine with the low alcohol content, should not drink strong liquor, avoid drinking every day or every meal, pay attention to the frequency of drinking, control the amount of drinking (about 300 ml per day), and do not drink when you are in bad mood or on an empty stomach.

And Professor Guo said that compared with wine and white liquor, there is still a lot of work to do to promote Shaoxing Huangjiu. We should analyze Shaoxing Huangjiu in depth, narrate stories of Huangjiu, and make Huangjiu wholeheartedly.

First of all, we should analyze Huangjiu in depth. To be specific, we should analyze the taste, color, fragrance and physical and chemical indicators of Huangjiu. In addition, we should also analyze the correlation between various functional components in Huangjiu and the improvement of human function, such as the improvement of intestinal function and the prevention of cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases.

Secondly, we should narrate stories of Huangjiu sincerely. Why do so many literati like Huangjiu? We should narrate stories of Huangjiu in an organized way to win confidence and the market. In addition, we should lay emphasis on the form and target audience. In terms of the form, in addition to the traditional media, we should pay attention to the experience marketing. And we should attach importance to the younger generation. Professor Guo said that there are too few people who drink Huangjiu nowadays. We should persuade people who can drink into drinking Huangjiu in a moderate way, rather than persuade people who can`t drink into drinking Huangjiu. In this regard, he suggested that the free wine tasting can be held, and small bottles can be promoted in important occasions.

Thirdly, we should make Huangjiu wholeheartedly. We should not only make consumers know about Huangjiu, but also make Huangjiu meet the needs of more people. For example, we can reduce the alcohol content of Huangjiu and design fashionable packaging to meet the needs of young people. Professor suggested that high-end Huangjiu should be filled into traditional and fashionable ceramic bottles, not glass bottles. In addition, the taste of Huangjiu can also be improved. There are many fresh alcoholic drinks which are popular in the market nowadays. Can we make Huangjiu more fresh? And we can also weaken the sour and bitter taste of Huangjiu.

At the end of the interview, Professor Guo also suggested that Huangjiu enterprises should promote Shaoxing Huangjiu with the big-picture view. In this respect, we have to learn from Japanese sake enterprises. To be specific, we should set up a good Shaoxing Huangjiu brand together, promote Huangjiu together, avoid cutthroat competition, and avoid spoiling the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar.