The surge in demand has led to the proliferation of Chinese fake Maotai

The United States "New York Times" February 14 article, the original title: The surge in demand caused the proliferation of well-known Chinese liquor fakes in this isolated place in southern China, Guizhou is indeed very lucky. In 1935, the Red Army took refuge here and used the high spirits in this small town to cleanse wounds and treat dysentery. In 1949, the Chinese Prime Minister designated Maotai as China's "national wine," which made Moutai liquor an undeniable market advantage compared to other white wines.

But last month, the retail price of Moutai reached nearly $200 per bottle, a 50% increase over two years ago. Chinese drinkers began to rage and accused the state-owned Maotai brewery of losing its revolutionary character and asking for prices. Some media disclosed that the price of the same bottle of Moutai in the United States and Europe is only half of the domestic market.

In Maotai Town, the smell of alcoholic fermentation rushes to the side, and almost every resident works for the Maotai Distillery. The rising prices are high to the local people. However, high prices have also made the population of imitation maotai proliferate.

Although the country is cracking down on fake Maotai, the government seems to have lost in this battle with counterfeiters. The appearance and taste of these fake wines are very similar to those of real wines. In Moutai Town, many stores sell white porcelain bottles for maotai, and some stores also sell chemical additives that can convert hand-made white liquor into liquid gold.

Taxi driver Ren Longmei boasted: “We can put any label on any bottle. How much do you want to buy?” Almost every family in Maotai opened a winery, and her home is no exception.

The officials of the Maotai Brewery attributed the increase in prices to insufficient production, but experts said that the more important reason is that China’s economic growth has led to an increase in market demand and the approach of the Lunar New Year. Maotai has become China's Louis Vuitton. Due to the limited output and the high prices, it is an excellent tool for official gifts and wealth for the rich. A 30-year-old Maotai can also cost you more than 3,000 US dollars. Some Moutai official sales shops even set strict limits and can only buy two bottles per person per day.

As people's income increases and tastes change, the sales of imported red wine and spirits rise. However, the Chinese are still extremely obsessed with domestic liquor. Last year, Chinese consumers consumed 1.8 billion gallons of domestic liquor, while imported and domestic wine consumed only 264 million gallons.

Maotai Town, with a total population of only 4.9 million people, seems to be trapped in the intense pain of liquor. In recent months, 15,000 people have been evacuated to make way for more production. In the next few years, 16,000 people will be evacuated. Most people will be resettled in high-rise residential buildings in the "National Wine Village". Even if the Maotai Distillery turned most of the towns into rubble, people rarely complained. Wang Yi, a 25-year-old warehouse keeper, is enthusiastically showing his living room to a foreign delegation. The three-storey building in his house is a testament to the prosperity created by Maotai Distillery, although the building is also planned to be demolished.

When asked how he saw the relocation, he shrugged and said: "We can do nothing." Then he took out the business card of his own liquor workshop. Someone asked him if he had a brand. Mr. Wang said with a smile: "What brand do you want? We can make a brand."