At China's sixth international wine exposition, Western winemakers are offering hundreds of wines for sampling and experts are demonstrating the art of wine and food pairings, Xinhua News Agency reported.
They hope to infuse the increasingly affluent Chinese with a culture of wine, and boost sales in this booming market as their business in the other parts of world struggles.
The growing personal wealth, the need to impress and a perception that red wine has health benefits have caused the Chinese market to grow at a remarkable 20 percent per year, much faster than the world's average of 1 to 2 percent, according to the International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR). Having overtaken the United Kingdom as the fifth largest market in 2011, the country will become the largest wine consumer over the next 20 years if the growth rates remain unchanged, the news agency reported IWSR as saying.