[1] The Chinese mijiu (most famous being huangjiu), Japanese sake, and Korean cheongju, dansul and takju are some of the most notable types of rice wine.
The first known fermented beverage in the world was a wine made from rice and honey about 9,000 years ago in central China.
[3] In the Shang Dynasty (1750-1100 BCE), funerary objects routinely featured wine vessels.
[5] As a result of Alexander the Great's expedition to India, the Roman Empire had begun importing rice wine by the first century BCE.
In the traditional Chinese rice-wine-making approach, the glutinous rice is soaked for several days before being steamed, and subsequently is left to cool in a ceramic vat at near room temperature.