China recently overtook the traditional strongholds of Germany and the UK to become Bordeaux's largest export destination. This transformation is particularly remarkable given the country's short history of mass wine consumption. According to the manager of Scarlett, a prominent wine bar in Beijing, "The Chinese are big fans of Bordeaux and not very curious about other wines."

In the past few years, China, the world's second largest economy, has risen to become one of the world's most important wine markets, offering both high growth potential and generous profit margins. By volume, the country is currently the seventh-largest consumer of wine, with sales of 1.6 billion bottles in 2011. In contrast, the US and France, the first and second largest consumers of wine, are expected to consume 4.0 billion and 3.9 billion bottles, respectively.

Since 2006, the Chinese market has experienced more than 20 percent annualised growth, and experts predict it will further double by 2014 to become the world’s sixth largest purveyor of wine.