Different raw materials will produce different quality styles. The terms "sorghum flavor, corn sweetness, pure rice, wheat madness, glutinous rice pine and highland barley rush" in the wine-making industry summarize the important relationship between several raw materials and wine quality. The quality requirements of raw materials mainly include: sorghum is waxy sorghum, with more amylopectin, higher viscosity, strong water absorption and full particles; The content of starch in rice is above 70%, and the content of protein is 7%-8%. Rice is pure in quality, loose in structure and low in protein, fat and cellulose, which is beneficial to gelatinization. Glutinous rice is almost all amylopectin, which can make the wine look beautiful and sweet and taste mellow after fermentation. Wheat requires high protein content, strong adhesion, rich nutrition, easy gelatinization, high wine yield and high fermentation heat production; Corn is required to be nutritious, full of grains and naturally mature in color.

The main grains used for wine-making in China are rice, sorghum, millet, millet and wheat. There is a saying in liquor industry that "sorghum is fragrant, corn is sweet, barley is dull and rice is pure". The relationship between several raw materials and liquor quality is summarized. Most of the famous wines in China are Daqu liquor. Except for Wuliangye and Jiannanchun with appropriate amount of corn, rice, glutinous rice and wheat, others are mainly sorghum (for example, Maotai-flavor liquor is mainly sorghum).

kaoliang

According to the different starch structure, sorghum can be divided into japonica sorghum and waxy sorghum. Liquor industry is known as "sorghum fragrance", which has a great relationship with trace tannins and anthocyanins in sorghum. A small amount of pigment components such as tannin and anthocyanin, after cooking and fermentation, their derivatives are phenolic compounds such as vanillic acid, which can give liquor a special aroma; However, if the tannin content is too much, it will inhibit yeast fermentation and bring it into the wine when steam distillation is started, making the wine bitter. On the other hand, it will hinder the digestion and absorption of food after tannins and easily cause constipation. Therefore, it is necessary to choose sorghum with appropriate tannin content to make wine.

corn

Corn is divided into yellow corn and white corn by color, waxy corn and japonica rice by starch content. Usually, the starch content of yellow corn is higher than that of white corn. Corn germ contains a lot of fat, which will make fermented grains sour quickly and greatly, and the odor components formed by fat oxidation will affect the quality of wine. Therefore, corn must be pre-treated by germ removal before it is used for brewing. There is a saying in liquor industry that "corn is sweet" because corn contains more phytic acid. Phytic acid can be fermented into cyclohexanol and phosphoric acid, and phosphoric acid can also promote the production of glycerol. Polyol has obvious sweetness, so corn wine is mellow and sweet.

rice

Rice is also divided into japonica rice and glutinous rice according to starch content. But there are high-quality japonica rice and indica rice, and the viscosity is between glutinous rice and indica rice. There are many kinds of hybrid rice now. All kinds of rice are divided into early maturity and late maturity. Generally, the rice of late-maturing rice is soft and glutinous after cooking. Composition of rice: The starch content of rice is high, and the protein and fat content are low. Therefore, it is beneficial to slow fermentation at low temperature, and the finished wine is relatively pure. Therefore, there is a saying in the liquor industry that "rice is pure".

wheat

Wheat mainly includes barley and wheat. Wheat contains 67% starch, 9.5% protein, 2. 1% fat, 2.5% ash and high starch content. The components of wheat protein are mainly gliadin and glutenin, and gliadin has the most amino acids. Therefore, wheat contains more gluten. These protein can form flavor components during fermentation. Therefore, Wuliangye, Jiannanchun Liquor and Xufu Daqu Liquor all use a certain amount of wheat. However, the dosage of wheat should be appropriate to avoid generating too much heat during fermentation. The protein content of barley is slightly higher than that of wheat, and its viscosity is poor.