Bottoms up! A healthy wine market

China now is the world's largest Bordeaux wine importer in terms of both volume and value, far ahead of its nearest followers. Chinese people are starting to get used to the drink and are trying to understand more about the culture behind it. Provided to China Daily

Chinese choose fermented grape beverage from France in ever larger numbers

Scan the label with your mobile phone camera and press "OK" and you will get all the information you need - the brand, the chateau or the winemaker - about the bottle of wine in your hand.

This is a smartphone application named "Smart Bordeaux", developed and translated into more than 12 languages by the Bordeaux Wine Council (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, or CIVB in French), a French group that represents more than 10,000 Bordeaux wine producers and vine growers.

More than 55,000 users across the world have downloaded this application since its launch in September, according to the council. Judged by downloads, China turned out to be the second largest user, behind France itself.

Encouraged, CIVB interprets the data as a sign that the Chinese people are starting to get used to the drink and are trying to understand more about the culture behind it.

Sales of Bordeaux wine confirm this opinion. During the 12-month period from June 2011 to July 2012, Bordeaux wine exports surged to a historical high of 2.29 billion euros ($2.9 billion), according to CIVB.

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