Chapter 174: Learning to Brew Wine
"They are all brothers and uncles from the same village. They came here to help me." Song Yuntang pointed to the wooden shed where the winemaking tools were placed on the right side of the small pond at the entrance and said, "The winery has not been built yet. I want to build a winery here and use bamboo to directly connect the mountain spring to the winery. What do you think, Uncle Pan?"
Uncle Pan nodded and said, "That's great. It will be much more convenient to get water then."
After Song Yuntang handed the meat in his hand to Chen, he led Uncle Pan to the wooden shed.
"Uncle Pan, if we want to make wine, what is the first step?"
Uncle Pan put his hands behind his back.
"The first step is to select the grains and soak them for twelve hours, then steam them until they are cooked through."
Song Yuntang nodded, "What happens after it's steamed?"
"After steaming, the yeast is put into the cellar for fermentation. This process depends on your pursuit of the taste of the wine and of course the season. Generally, it takes seven or ten days, but if you want the wine to taste mellower, it can be extended to 20 or 30 days, or even a year. After fermentation, you can start steaming the wine."
"The longer the fermentation time, the higher the selling price of the wine, right?" Song Yuntang asked.
"Of course, the wine you spent so much time brewing must be different." He looked at Song Yuntang, "I'll demonstrate it to you in the next few days, and you can learn from me."
"Okay." Song Yuntang continued to ask questions, "Are all wines steamed first and then fermented with koji?"
"Except for some flower and fruit wines, it's almost like this." Uncle Pan said, "We only brewed some ordinary wines in the past, and we don't have the energy to tinker with the rest. If you are interested, you can try it yourself when the time comes."
"Uncle Pan, can you also tell me how to make distiller's yeast?" she asked again.
Uncle Pan smiled and said, "Of course, since you have taken over this business, of course I have to teach you. I don't want that brat Xu Qingye to say that I am a cunning villain."
Song Yuntang smiled.
"He doesn't seem like the type to say something like that."
I chatted with Uncle Pan a little more about winemaking, and Chen's meal was already prepared.
Since Uncle Pan is here at noon today, the meal will be more sumptuous.
A big bowl of braised pork, a portion of cold wild vegetables, a plate of peanuts, and fragrant rice.
Uncle Pan placed the wine he brought on the table and removed the oil paper tied on it. Immediately, a rich aroma of wine wafted out.
"Come on! I brought some wine today, let's all have a drink."
"Uncle Pan, did you brew this wine yourself?" asked third cousin Song Zhiye.
Uncle Pan laughed out loud, "Isn't it? This wine is Uncle Pan's personal treasure at home. Drink it now, because if you miss this opportunity, you won't be able to have it again."
These days I've been drinking alone at home and feeling very bored.
He has always been a lively person.
Seeing so many people eating today, I am really happy.
Qiao Da smelled the tempting aroma of the wine, looked at the jar of wine and licked his lips. This was probably the most fragrant wine he had ever smelled.
He wanted to drink, but was afraid that it would delay his afternoon work.
Song Yuntang took in everyone's expressions and quickly asked Chen to go into the house and get out a few bowls.
"It's okay for everyone to drink in moderation. Let's also try Uncle Pan's cooking."
She poured a small bowl for herself and Chen Xier respectively.
"Sister Xier, please try it. If you want to help out at the wine shop in the future, you have to know a little bit about wine. As long as you don't drink too much, a few sips will be fine."
Chen Xier took it with a smile.
"Okay." She held the bowl of wine and said with a nostalgic look on her face, "Actually, I have drunk alcohol before, but my alcohol tolerance is not very good. However, the wine I drank at that time was not as good as this one."
After saying that, she took a sip of wine with red eyes. The spicy taste passed through her throat and alleviated the sorrow in her heart.
Song Yuntang didn't say anything. He picked up the bowl and took a sip, carefully savoring the taste of the wine.
She seldom drank alcohol in her previous life and was not used to the spicy taste of alcohol.
But the wine in my hand tasted exceptionally mellow after it slid through my mouth.
Although I don't know much about wine, I know that this wine is of good quality.
"Good wine!" Qiao took a sip and looked at Uncle Pan and said, "Old Pan, your cooking skills are quite good. After drinking your wine, I realized that what I drank before was dog urine."
"Hahahaha..." Pan Shule laughed loudly, "I said it's my treasure, isn't it great?"
"Not bad, not bad!" Qiao Da praised without sparing any effort, "This wine is really fucking strong!"
“It’s quite strong, but don’t drink too much. It’s bad for your health.” Uncle Pan said as he raised his bowl again and clinked glasses with everyone.
The men were talking and laughing, and they seemed to be getting along very well.
Song Changbai, who seldom drank, also drank a small bowl. His alcohol tolerance was even worse than that of the two women, Song Yuntang and Chen. After drinking, his head was dizzy and he walked sideways like a crab, and he almost fell to the ground several times.
Song Yuntang didn't dare to let him go to the back mountain to build a granary in this state, so he cooked a pot of sobering soup and gave each person who had drunk a bowl of it. After drinking the sobering soup, he let them go to work.
Qiao Da and Qiao Er were still responsible for collecting food. Song Yuntang gave them twenty taels and let them set off.
Uncle Pan began to teach Song Yuntang how to make wine. Once he started working, he became a completely different person and became very serious.
Song Yuntang thought that Uncle Pan was an uncertain factor.
I don’t know when he will leave with his daughter.
Winemaking is a lot of work.
In addition, there were a lot of trivial matters on the farm. After Chen went to work in the tavern, she had to make and can the shampoo by herself.
Even if she learned how to make wine, she might not have much time to spend on it in the future, so she would have to find two trustworthy people to help her.
But after all, it was a skill she bought with her own money, so she was always worried about handing it over to others.
After much thought, buying a slave is the best option.
With the indenture in his hand, he would not dare to betray his own people.
The two men put the three pots of selected grain into a large vat to soak it, sorted out the wine-making tools under the wooden shed, and built a stove with mud bricks. After the grain was soaked, they could start steaming it tomorrow afternoon.
Song Yuntang also asked Chen to prepare some glutinous rice, intending to try to steam some glutinous rice and make a small jar of glutinous rice wine while steaming the grain tomorrow.
In this way, she could not only get one more kind of wine, but also two more snacks in the tavern.
The weather is getting cooler, and drinking a bowl of rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice and sweet wine with eggs can warm you up when the weather is cold.
…
The next morning, Song Yuntang came to the tavern as usual and made a pot of sour plum soup. After selling it, he tied the mule in the backyard of the tavern and went to Hefeng Yahang first.
This was the third time she had come to this brokerage shop in recent days. The servants and the manager were familiar with her and knew that the Yujun Pavilion at the other end of the street was her property.
From a distance, the servant came out to greet them.
"Miss Song is here. What do you want to see today?"
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