Yellow rice wine thrives as Chinese tastes turn to ancient booze

Sydney

FORGET beer and wine made from grapes. In China's booze market, it's all about another, equally old alcoholic beverage.

Yellow rice wine, sometimes known as liquid cake, dates back to the Shang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago. It is the fastest growing mass-market alcoholic drink in China, with sales volume estimated at 8 per cent last year, according to China International Capital Corp (CICC).

The brokerage known as the Goldman Sachs of China likes Anhui Kouzi Distillery Co and Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery Joint-Stock Co in the broader beverages sector, and highlights the three listed yellow rice wine producers: Zh…