Page 13 - Issues131-133

WARNING: DO NOT OPEN!

Many of you will have bottles
similar to these. They are a real
novelty and, although a ‘cottage
industry’ in several Asian countries,
there are some larger companies
that make these. BEWARE!

A woman in China had to receive
hospital treatment after a snake
preserved in rice wine jumped out
of the bottle and bit her hand.
According to the Global Times, the
surprise attack happened when the
woman, from Shuangcheng, went
to top up the bottle with more wine.
Remarkably, the snake, which had
been pickling for three months, was
still alive and bit her (The snake
was probably annoyed at being given more rice wine
rather than some nice NZ Sauvignon Blanc). The
woman had bought the snake wine to try and cure her
rheumatism as it is a widely held belief in China and
SE Asia that such wines have medicinal properties.
This one certainly did as it got her to the
hospital!

This is not the first incident of a pickled
snake seemingly coming back to life. A Mr
Zhang of Hubei Province was bitten by a
snake in 2009 that had been preserved in
a bottle of rice wine for two months, whilst
in 2001, a villager from Guangxi Zhuang
died a day after being bitten by a pickled
snake.

The bottle on the right is Asian and from
my own collection. Viper Brandy is unusual in that it is French. This is
also a bottle from my own collection. Under NZ Agriculture laws I
probably should not have these but they are clearly pickled and no
danger to anyone – OR ARE THEY? I will not be opening either of them
to find out.

David Smith

- 12 -
= 12 =
= 12 =