The consumption and appreciation of fine wines in the Asian region have increased significantly in the past three to five years. This is likely due to a growing number of wine lovers in Singapore and Hong Kong compared to Western countries, and Asian wine lovers tend to go for the best when it comes to investing in them.

Such a trend is expected to continue and include large growth markets such as China, where wine consumption is expected to increase at a rate of about 35% per annum over the next decade. China and Hong Kong will the eighth biggest wine consumer in the world by 2012, according to research commissioned by Vinexpo, with the US leading the list.

Speaking at the opening of the first Hong Kong International Wine Fair 2008, acting financial secretary for the fair, Carrie Lam Cheng, announced that in eight years, the Asian market, excluding Japan, would be worth £800m (€1bn, US$1.5bn). "Global wine demand is shifting from traditional markets like Europe and the US to Asia," said Lam.

AWI currently has around 2,500 clients in the Asia Pacific, with about half from Singapore. They benefit from AWI's decade-long presence in the region and in-depth expertise and contacts within the Australian fine wine industry.