by Igor Serdyuk and Olga Tchernyak

Long labelled a vodka-drinking country, Russia is rapidly developing as a fine wine market. Despite restrictions on advertising, wine has become a fashionable product and its conspicuous consumption continues to grow, observe Igor Serdyuk and Olga Tchernyak, especially in wine bars.

by Robert Joseph

After the first wine boom ebbed following the bursting of the Japanese financial bubble in 1990, eyes turned to the Chinese and Indian markets. Yet Japan is by far the largest and most upscale Asian wine market, as Robert Joseph discovers in his discussion with Carl Robinson of specialist importer Jeroboam.

by Jung Yong Cho

Until only recently, few exporters looked seriously at Korea. However, since its market was opened in 1987, wine has shown some of the fastest growth in Asia, with young, upwardly mobile consumers drinking not only more, but better, finds Jung Yong Cho.

by Subhash Arora

Gordon’s, London’s oldest wine bar, serves wine to up to 400 customers a night – some of which is Grover’s Cabernet Shiraz ‘La Reserve’, from India. Kapil Grover exported 750 cases to the UK last year and wants to grow that to 2,000 cases in 2008.

by Abi Duhr

Although domestic wineries account for almost one in every three bottles sold, Abi Duhr knows that the wealth and thirst of the average consumer in Luxembourg make it an attractive market for producers everywhere.

by Hervé Lalau

Beyond the Manekin Pis, most foreigners remember Belgium primarily for its excellent Trappist ales. That leads many to believe that Belgium is primarily a beer drinking country, but as Hervé Lalau notes, wine plays a predominant role in the market - and its influence is on the rise, while that of beer is waning.