Rice wine in the context of "Dansul"

A guang or gong is a particular shape used in Chinese art for vessels, originally made as Chinese ritual bronzes in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1046 BCE), and sometimes later in Chinese porcelain. They are a type of ewer which was used for pouring rice wine at ritual banquets, and often deposited as grave goods in high-status burial. Examples of the shape may be described as ewers, ritual wine vessels, wine pourers and similar terms, though all of these terms are also used of a number of other shapes, especially the smaller tripod jue and the larger zun.

The guang has a single thick foot, and a thick hollow body that represents one or more stylized animals (some have a head at both ends). Guangs have a vertical handle at one end and a spout at the other, both zoomorphic, and were often highly decorated with taotie. The handle of the guang is of often in the shape of the neck and head of an animal with stylized horns, and the spout of the vessel is in the form of the head of a creature whose mouth constitutes the end of the spout. The back and animal head at the pouring end usually are a removable lid, lifted off for pouring.

Sake, saké (Japanese: 酒, Hepburn: sake; English: IPA: /ˈsɑːki, ˈsækeɪ/ SAH-kee, SAK-ay), or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name Japanese rice wine, sake, and indeed any East Asian rice wine (such as huangjiu and cheongju), is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars that ferment into alcohol, whereas in wine, alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes. This process is called Multiple Parallel Fermentation.

Although similar, the brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, in which the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps. Like other rice wines, these conversions occur simultaneously when brewing sake. The typical alcohol content also differs between sake, wine, and beer; while most beer contains 3–9% ABV and wine generally contains 9–16% ABV, undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV (although this is typically lowered somewhat by diluting with water prior to bottling).

Huangjiu (Chinese: 黃酒; lit. 'yellow wine') is a type of Chinese rice wine (mijiu) most popular in the Jiangnan area. Huangjiu is brewed by mixing steamed grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with qū as starter culture, followed by saccharification and fermentation at around 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) for fortnights. Its alcohol content is typically 8% to 20%.

Huangjiu is usually pasteurized, aged, and filtered before its final bottling for sale to consumers. The maturation process can be complicated but important for the development of the layers of flavors and fragrance. A few brands of premium grade huangjiu could have been aged for up to 20 years. As huangjiu's name suggests, its typical color is typically light yellow and orange, but it can in fact range from clear to brown. Many famous huangjiu brands promote the quality of water used in brewing in their advertising, and some consider it to be the most important ingredient.

Cheongju (Korean: 청주; Hanja: 淸酒; lit. clear wine), sometimes romanized as Chungju, is a clear, refined rice wine of Korean origin.

Mijiu (Chinese: 米酒; pinyin: mǐjiǔ; Wade–Giles: mi-chiu; lit. 'rice wine'), also spelled michiu, is a Chinese rice wine made from glutinous rice, with the alcohol content ranging between 15% and 20% v/v. It is generally clear in appearance with a balanced taste of sweetness and acidity, similar to its Japanese counterpart sake and Korean counterpart cheongju, and is usually drunk warm like sake and cheongju. A particularly popular category of mijiu is huangjiu or 'yellow wine'. An unfiltered form of mijiu containing whole rice grains is called jiǔniàng (酒酿) or láozāo (醪糟), with extremely low alcoholic content and often consumed by children. A type of baijiu (Chinese liquor) called rice baijiu (Chinese: 米白酒; pinyin: mǐ báijiǔ) is made via further distillation from mijiu.

Beverages similar to mijiu are noted on oracle inscriptions from the late Shang dynasty circa 1200–1046 B.C.E., and archaeological evidence confirms that the production of alcoholic beverages containing rice as part of a mix of fermentables (often including honey and/or fruit) dates back to over 8000 years ago. Rice wine production then spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other East Asian countries around the Sinosphere during the height of the Han and Tang dynasties. It played an important cultural role in historical Chinese life, with prominent poets such as Li Bai being some of the most famous drinkers. Although largely overtaken by the much stronger baijiu since the Mongol Yuan dynasty, mijiu is still a traditional beverage in parts of southern China and some of the families still follow the custom of homebrewing rice wine. It is sometimes served as an aperitif believed to be beneficial in improving metabolism and skin and is also frequently mixed with herbs and made into medicinal wines such as snake wine and dit da jow.

Makgeolli (Korean: 막걸리; pronounced [mak.k͈ʌɭɭi]; lit. 'raw rice wine'), sometimes anglicized to makkoli (/ˈmækəli/, MAK-ə-lee), is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance. As a low proof drink of six to nine percent alcohol by volume, it is often considered a "communal beverage" rather than hard liquor.

In Korea, makgeolli is often unpasteurized, and the wine continues to mature in the bottle. Because of the short shelf life of unpasteurized "draft" makgeolli, many exported makgeolli undergo pasteurization, which deprives the beverage of complex enzymes and flavor compounds. Recently, various fruits such as strawberries and bananas have been added to makgeolli to create forms with new flavours.