When we talk about wine, we often mention one word – terroir. Traditionally, terroir refers to a specific area of land, but nowadays it refers to much more than just land, but encompasses a series of natural factors that create the unique environment of a given place, namely: climate, weather, prevailing winds, precipitation, rivers and other waters, topography, landforms, altitude, geographical location, temperature, sunlight, soil and surrounding vegetation, etc.
What is closely linked to the terroir is the flavor. The so-called "heaven and earth, earth, material, beauty, workmanship", flavor is a synthesis of these four aspects. Everything related to eating and drinking is basically the flavor produced by these four aspects combined.
The new Umemi original fruit original brewing series that has just been launched is the culmination of Umemi's ability to let the terroir speak for itself: 10 kinds of Chinese native ancient early green plum as raw materials, 2-year-old handmade single sorghum wine as the base wine, the whole brewing process does not use any additives, and it is aged for more than one year in the container that can best accommodate the acidity of green plums - Rongchang pottery jar. In this way, the original fruit is pure soaking, and the plum aroma is slowly extracted at low temperature, the fruit aroma is bright, the sour taste is soulful, and the oriental flavor is best presented.
Umemi's choice of green plum varieties is an attempt to taste different terroirs.
Sichuan Dayi is not only one of the six recognized plum producing areas in mainland China, but also one of the few major production areas of Gaoshan plum. Rich in more than 100 kinds of aromatic substances such as acids and lipids, Takayama plum has a strong fruity aroma, and is the high-quality green plum that makes plum wine.
Guangxi Puning Mountain is vast, the coating is fertile, and the north and south are surrounded by mountains, which can block the marine typhoon and north wind in the south, and provide excellent natural conditions for the growth and development of Puning green plum.
Zhao'an, Fujian Province has a warm and suitable climate and is located in a hilly area, which is suitable for green plum planting. Zhao'an also has a long history of green plum planting, at the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao'an farmers began to plant green plums, "white powder plum" and "green bamboo plum" are unique local varieties.
In Eryuan, Yunnan, where the temperature difference is larger, the iron-containing red soil is a local green plum variety, which is soaked with a trace of unique bitterness.
At the first level concerning the quality of plum wine, the answer given by Umemi Original Fruit Brewing is to use "ingenuity" and "innovation" to lay the "cornerstone of upgrading" high-end products from the source. Considering the various production techniques of plum sake, and the effect of different ripeness of plums on the flavor of sake, the permutations and combinations born of this are almost astronomical.
After soaking nearly 200 different varieties of plum fruits and undergoing more than 1,700 flavor research tests, they finally selected the top 10 "soul plum varieties" by combining multiple perspectives such as appearance, color, aroma, taste and style.
These 10 "soul plum species" are all native to China, with four characteristics: ancient, purebred, wild and high acidity: originated in China, with a long history of nearly 7,000 years, 100% Chinese green plum varieties, after natural selection, strong genes to avoid insect pests, extremely high acidity, one of the most acidic fruits in nature, rich in organic acids.
When these green plums are hand-picked from their place of origin, they are manually selected six times. Within three days, the fresh green plums still with the smell of the mountains and wilderness go through strict cleaning, screening and other processes, these green plums are poured into the pottery jar containing the two-year-old sorghum wine, and then added to the ancient method of yellow rock sugar, without adding any additives, after stirring, and finally sealed the altar for age.
From this moment on, it means the beginning of the butterfly transformation. It's a story of time, of watching and waiting, and it is played out in more than 5,000 pottery altars without interruption. The brewers of Umemi know that letting the terroir speak for itself is the best plum wine story.