Even as Chinese consumers further develop their taste for fine French wines, producers in China itself are upping their game with wines that have made great strides over the last decade. Chinese demand for imported wine remains massive, but the country is now also among the top five growers of grapevines in the world. Most of China's wine is sold to the domestic market and the vast majority of it remains less than impressive - thin, acid and a bit astringent, according to a Wine Master. Demand for wine in mainland China has grown rapidly over the last few years, and remains strong. Imports into Hong Kong, for example, surged 57% in the first 9 months of 2011, year on year, to $940M, with imports seen from all major wine-growing regions including France, Italy, Australia and South Africa. European nations, including France, Spain and Italy, remained at the top of the list of global grape growers in terms of vineyard area in 2009, according to industry data.
