Longan wine facts for kids

Longan wine is a special fermented drink from Southeast Asia. It's made from a fruit called longan, which is also known as "dark-skinned dragon's eye." Even though it first came from China, longan wine is now a popular drink in places like the Bac Lieu province in Southeast Asia.

A Look at History

The longan fruit has been grown for a very long time in China, especially near the famous Great Wall of China. People there have been making wine from it for centuries in areas like Xinjiang and Hebei.

Longan wine became more widely known in the second half of the 1900s. For example, in 1983, a white wine made from dried longan by China's Greatwall Wine Co. won a silver medal at an international wine tasting event in London. This means it was judged as one of the best wines there!

Since then, making longan wine has spread to other countries in Southeast Asia. Starting around 2015, people in Thailand and Cambodia began making it for sale on a smaller scale.

How It's Made

Longan wine is made by soaking the fleshy part of the longan fruit in alcohol. This process is called maceration.

In Southeast Asia, especially in Northern Thailand, there are often lots of longan fruits when they are in season. Because there are so many, people dry them and turn them into different products, including longan wine.

For making the wine, a temperature of about 30°C (86°F) is often suggested. This temperature helps the fermentation process happen faster.