French wine: China does Bordeaux

Although climate change might be having a negative affect on wine, France still managed to come out on top for 2007. The land of wine and cheese saw record scores for exports, $13.8 billion to be exact. Where were the big buyers? China.

China purchased a whole $364 million worth of French wines, cognac and other spirits, encouraging us to ask, is China going à la francaise? The country’s growing middle class discovering the delights of wine has made China France’s 11th largest market. And the Chinese aren’t just sitting at home sipping on Bordeaux; many are investing in French vineyards.

A company from Qingdao, an eastern port city famous for its beer, recently paid $3 million for a Bordeaux chateau. This isn’t child’s play; the company outbid a countess from Luxembourg to put its name on the chateau’s Bordeaux bottles. Seems like we will be looking forward to truly globalized vino.