In Maotai Town, brewing places usually have a special kind of koji. This kind of koji has a hard shell and is about the size of a millet grain. It plays a decisive role in the process of making koji. This kind of koji mosquitoes carries the pollen from all over the field into the koji medicine, and then lays eggs and reproduces in the koji patches. The better the koji medicine will attract, the more koji mosquitoes will be attracted. The more koji mosquitoes will be, the better the koji medicine will be. The wine is more fragrant. However, many customers went to the winery and saw that the koji used for winemaking had so many insects, which looked really scary.

Quyi, using his life to empower Maotai wine

The ancestors of Moutai’s winemaking chose to make koji during the Dragon Boat Festival. It was the result of long-term practice and exploration, and the experience formed is by no means accidental.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, the temperature in the Maotai Valley begins to rise. The vegetation on both sides of the valley is lush, and various wild flowers are blooming. The air is filled with the fragrance of countless flowers. An excellent advantage of making koji at this time is that the unique koji mosquitoes here can carry the pollen of various wildflowers on both sides of the river valley into the koji, lay eggs and reproduce, which not only adds the fragrance of many wild flowers, but also uses their lives to make wine. Created a code that we cannot decipher.

This kind of koji flies into the koji-making room, gets into the koji blocks and feasts on the koji medicine. After eating and drinking, it will use the koji medicine as its own home, where it reproduces and gives birth to larvae. Live and work in peace and contentment.

Cupid mosquito larvae contain a large amount of proteins, which play a vital role in the flavor of the wine during the brewing process. There is no scientific explanation for this yet. We can only judge based on observation results and experience. The koji medicine eaten by the mosquito larvae has a special aroma, and the wine brewed is much more fragrant.

It seems that the reason why Maotai Town has become a high-quality production area of ??Maotai wine is that the unique Qu Mosquito is the unsung hero who has contributed.

Quyi is the best "quality inspector" of Quyao

Many winemakers in Moutai have a highly similar understanding. They believe that Quyi is the aroma of Quyao. The better the koji medicine will attract, the more koji mosquitoes will be attracted, and the more koji mosquitoes will be attracted, the better the koji medicine will be, and the more fragrant the brewed wine will be.

Some winemakers stubbornly adhere to this tradition and specifically use this "worm-eaten koji medicine" to make wine, and do not use the "worm-eaten medicine". According to their understanding, if there are no mosquitoes to visit, then this kind of medicine will not be used and it will be a failed product. It will not produce wine and the fragrance will not be reflected.

Therefore, Quyi has become a good friend and helper of winemakers, and is the "quality inspector" who identifies the quality of Quyao.

Generally, the koji medicine is stored for three months to half a year before being put into use. If the koji medicine is stored for too long, more than one year, the koji medicine will be eaten by the koji mosquitoes and only an empty packet of powder will be left. It cannot effectively help fermentation, but when used as a koji mother, the effect is particularly good.