Regional characteristics and discrimination of the fermentation starter Hong Qu in traditional rice wine brewing.

Summary: Hong Qu (HQ) is a fermentation starter used to brew Hong Qu rice wine (HQ wine). The regional characteristics and discrimination of HQ are not fully understood. This study elucidates fermentation characteristics of HQ through sensory evaluation and the analysis of six physicochemical characteristics of HQ wine brewed by twenty‐nine HQ from different regions. Results showed that the complex physicochemical indices of HQ wine would be reduced to three principal components – total acidity, total sugars and non‐sugar solids by principal component analysis. Twenty‐nine HQ samples were classified into four clusters by hierarchical cluster analysis – Cluster A, B, C and D. Cluster B only included Gutian HQ (GTQ) brewing base liquors with a fresh and soft taste, the highest sensory scores and low coefficient of variation (CV). The rest three Clusters mainly included Wuyi HQ (WYQ) brewing base liquors with full‐bodied and tasteful flavours, high CV values and different sensory scores. WYQ could brew more good and less below standard liquors, while the quality of HQ wine brewed using GTQ was more even than that of WYQ. Conclusively, the geographical location and processing technology of HQ are the main external factors contributing to the regional characteristics of HQ wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]