China growing a powerful thirst for wine drinking

Wine has not often been something associated with China in the recent past. While Chinese spirits, like baijiu, are incredibly popular, grape wine had traditionally not held much interest among Chinese people. During the last few years, however, there has been increasing curiosity surrounding wine and the market itself has significantly taken off as a result.

Since favorable tax conditions were enacted in Hong Kong two years ago, the region has become the hub of the fine-wine world. Sotheby's auction house made 60 percent of its total worldwide sales this year in the region, with their total 2010 wine sales through Hong Kong reaching $52.6 million.

It's not just fine wine that's enjoying significant growth in the Chinese market, with the affluent keen to supplement their new wine cellars with affordable varieties. Asia's wine consumption is predicted to rise by 25 percent across the next five years, with China playing a big part in those figures.