The Lunar New Market in Dihua Street is back with decorations, candy and even wine, though some are not too happy with the commercialization of the yearly tradition
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 03, 2016
By: Dana Ter / Staff reporter
It’s 11am on a weekday and my plans to beat the crowds are
An incense burner sits outside of the Xia Hai City God Temple in Dadaocheng so passersby can light an incense stick and make a wish. Photo: Dana Ter, Taipei Times
thwarted. In a lane filled with jostling tourists, shrieking school children and smiling vendors handing out free samples of candy, preserved snacks and gooey delicacies on skewers, I spot a good-looking young man in his twenties with glasses and a shy smile holding a tray of plastic cups. I smell red wine. Finally, something worth sampling.
He pours me a small cup of sweet grape wine from Changhua County and I immediately down it. The wine, which boasts a deep maroon hue, is thick, rich and extremely sweet. Once the initial sweetness dissolves on the palate, the warm grape flavor becomes highly discernible, leaving behind a pungent aftertaste.
After a couple more samples of other wines, I purchase a bottle of the first sweet grape wine I sampled, thank the man and continue walking down the street. A couple of meters away, I spot another young man handing out free samples in a cup.
“Is that wine?” I ask. [FULL STORY]
