Kinmen entrepreneur Chen Yongdong and Hualien Fenglin open Mancheng Winery to brew Taiwanese shochu

Chen Yongdong, an entrepreneur who was born in Kinmen, has made achievements in the ultraviolet (UV) light-curing materials and environmentally friendly coating industries. He bought an idle factory in Fenglin Town, Hualien 10 years ago and established Mancheng Winery. After years of research and development, it opened today. Chen Yongdong said that he hopes to use local Taiwanese rice to brew Taiwanese soju and also promote local industries.

Located in Fenglin Town, Hualien County, ⁠Mancheng Winery was a factory of Evergreen Biotechnology 20 years ago. Shortly after its establishment, the company was involved in a lawsuit and the company was dissolved. The factory was idle for many years and was purchased by Pinqing Biotech, the parent company of Mancheng Winery. It brews "Taiwanese Shochu (Shochu)" from Kaohsiung No. 147 fragrant rice grown locally in Hualien and has a taro aroma, as well as produces plum wine, whiskey spirits, bitter tea oil and other products.

The owner of the winery, Chen Yongdong, is from Kinmen and has successfully run Dongzhou Chemical Company. He fell in love with Hualien’s beautiful mountains and waters and bought land in Hualien more than 10 years ago. Chen Yongdong said that although he had tried rice from other regions such as Xiluo, the rice produced by Fenglin's high-quality water and environment was most suitable for brewing Taiwan's representative Taiwanese shochu. After "ten years of hard work," the winery finally opened today.

He believes that Fenglin is located in a remote location, and processing rice into "wine" increases the added value of agricultural products. Unlike fresh agricultural products, which have problems such as immediate sales and high transportation costs. In particular, Hualien is often disrupted by typhoons and earthquakes, but wine is "more valuable the more it is stored" and will not be affected by traffic. It can be transported to the market after traffic is restored.

The winery introduced Japanese professional automated rice washing, rice cooking and distillation equipment, and invited winemakers to assist. After overcoming the brewing technology, the winery officially opened today. Not only did Kinmen folks charter a car to show their support, but legislator Chen Yuzhen also attended.

Chen Yongdong said that the winery insists on using taro fragrant rice and golden rice produced locally in Fenglin, Hualien, to create Taiwanese shochu, Taiwan aromatic alcohol, plum wine, whiskey and other products. The prices are also affordable and have low alcohol content. He hopes that local shochu can be popularized like Japan and South Korea and drive industrial value. In the future, it will also cooperate with local aboriginal tribes to present the local winemaking culture with modern winemaking equipment. The winery will also be open to visitors in the future.

Huang Ronghe, director-general of the Fengrong District Farmers' Association, said that during the trial brewing period, the winery purchased 8 metric tons of Kaohsiung No. 147 rice from the farmers' association every month, which is close to 100 metric tons in a year. The farmers' association purchased the plums on its behalf. He believed that cooperation between the winery and the local area would be a win-win situation.

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