I felt like celebrating the other day with a glass of wine. I've already mentioned that Chinese red wines are atrocious -- like new grape juice -- but I had heard varying things (even good things) about some of the whites. So I gambled and bought a bottle of wolfberry wine at my local grocery store. For 38 yuan, I got this bottle from HengSheng Vineyards in Ningxia province.
What is a wolfberry? Known as goji , these small red berries (think of an elongated cranberry -- but the color and size only) native to Ningxia province, are known for supplying all kinds of health benefits, including warding off diabetes and impotence. They are also supposed strengthen the eyes, liver and kidney and the general healthiness of the elderly. Sounds like wonderful stuff, right?
That being said, wolfberries make a terrible wine. The wine was quite yellow -- almost apple-juice like in coloring. It smelled musty and overly-sweet, and the taste was just the same. It's that sickly-sweet melon/litchi sweetness that tastes better concentrated in a sorbet than fermenting in to wine. I drank it with my dinner (sauteed pork, leek and bok choy) and it brought nothing to the table.
I'm going to do some more research to find out if it actually is supposed to compliment certain dishes, or if it is drunk just for health reasons.
>> Great Britain is interested in
importing wolfberry wine
>> Read more about
The Wolfberry Story
>> There are wolfberry
protein bars for sale in the U.S.
Posted by Astrid at October 29, 2004 03:12 AM