Chinese wine corks not yet popping abroad (2)

But, while it is relatively easy to distribute alcohol to European markets, China-produced wine is still rarely seen in the continent, Zhen said.

In order to spread Chinese wine culture, Zhen told Xinhua, he always treated his foreign guests with bottled wine with the brand names Great Wall and Dynasty, which were carefully chosen and bought from China.

"Many foreign guests praised the taste after drinking it," the former ambassador claimed. "But China-produced wine is rarely recognized by foreign consumers."

Conesa Didier, French manager of Maxim's restaurant in Hefei, capital city of central China's Anhui Province, said that Chinese wine tastes light but has much room to improve.

France is a country with a long history of wine and pays a lot of attention to the quality and the process of making it, Didier stressed.

"France only sells a small sum of China-produced wine," he said. "The quality and producing process is of great importance and Chinese wine should do more on that."

Guo Yalu, of the China branch of Italia Wine Alliance, explained that China only has a short history of developing wine, and foreigners' lack of recognition for the product restricts exports of Chinese wine.