Buyers from around the world are bidding to become owners of French vineyards - but the most significant new market for the sales of French chateaux in the future will be China, according to vineyard experts Maxwell-Storrie-Baynes.
'The nationalities that we sell to are not in the same proportion as the nationalities that we are seeing the greatest interest from,' said Michael Baynes, who sells country houses, estates and vineyards in the southwest of France for Maxwell-Storrie-Baynes.
'The number one buyers at the moment are Americans, second are South Africans and then Chinese, followed by Europeans including the United Kingdom. The number one potential buyer, however, is China - by a long margin.'
The French agricultural land regulatory body said that of the 35 chateaux vineyard properties sold in the Bordeaux region last year, more than 20 were sold to Chinese buyers (in 2010 only three chateaux were sold to Chinese).
Typical of the foreign buyers now beating a path to country France, are chateaux aficionados Patricia and Philip Hawkes, who bought the listed 18th century Chateau de Missery some 64 kilometres west of Dijon in Burgundy in August 1979.
Philip had first spotted it as a young man during his frequent travels around France. 'He was mad about country houses,' said his wife, Patricia. 'And the chateaux in France are the very nicest country houses in the world,' adds Philip.