the network of rice wine merchants

The New York Times offers a fascinating glimpse into the Fujianese trade in home-brewed rice wine in New York's Chinatown. It's illegal, according to New York law, but it's a tradition back in Fujian. Perhaps because the producers fear a New York clampdown, the reporters were able to order the sub-rosa rice wine in restaurants, but were not able to meet any of the people who made the brew, which apparently varies in quality from fine sherry to lousy vinegar.