California wine in China: vintners work to crack Asian market (US)

California winemakers think the days of rice wine in China are waning as vintners find success marketing high-end cabernets to a new generation of upscale consumers. Wine exports crushed international sales records in 2011, due in large part to growing demand for California wines in China and Hong Kong. Lower quality California appellation wines have sold well to middle-class consumers in recent years, but the increasing demand for top quality vintages is evidence of China’s growing upper class, reports the Huffington Post.