传统绍兴黄酒的酿造基本遵循"天有时，地有气，材有美，工有巧"的规律。以精白糯米、上等小麦和鉴湖原水为材料，每逢农历七月制酒药、八月做麦麴、九月糟酒酿，等到立冬便投料开酿，用老绍兴独特的复式发酵工艺发酵九十余天。来年立冬开始压榨、煎酒，然后泥封贮藏，经过数年乃至数十年的存贮，才会有如花雕女儿红、善酿等酒中佳品。
chuántǒng Shàoxīng huángjiǔ de niàngzào jīběn zūnxún "tiān yǒu shí ，dì yǒu qì ，cái yǒu měi ，gōng yǒu qiǎo "de guīlǜ 。yǐ jīngbái nuòmǐ 、shàngděng xiǎomài hé Jiànhú yuánshuǐ wèi cáiliào ，měiféng nónglì qīyuè zhì jiǔyào 、bāyuè zuò màiqū 、jiǔyuè zāo jiǔniàng ，děngdào lìdōng biàn tóu liào kāi niàng ，yòng lǎo Shàoxīng dútè de fùshì fāxiào gōngyì fāxiào jiǔshí yú tiān 。láinián lìdōng kāishǐ yāzhà 、jiānjiǔ ，ránhòu nífēng zhǔcáng ，jīngguò shǔ nián nǎizhì shǔ shí nián de cúnzhǔ ，cái huì yǒu rú huādiāo Nǚérhóng 、shànniàng děng jiǔ zhōng jiā pǐn 。
The brewing of traditional Shaoxing huangjiu essentially respects the rules governing "the difference in the seasons and in the local environment, the quality of material and the level of skill in any craft," as referred to in the Book of Rites. They use pure white glutinous rice, top-grade wheat and unpurified water from Jian Lake as raw ingredients. In the seventh month of the lunar year they make the brewer's yeast. Then in the eighth month of the lunar year they make the wheat yeast or "qu". And in the ninth month they ferment the glutinous rice wine, and it is not until the start of winter that they put in the grain to start the brewing process, using the traditional Shaoxing compound fermentation craft for over ninety days. At the start of winter in the following year, they start to press it, then heat the alcohol, then they seal it in jars with clay and store it away. Only after several years, or even several decades of aging, do you get a high-quality alcohol like the Huadiao, Nuerhong or Shanniang varieties of huangjiu.