With enormous market potential and cut-throat competition, the wine bureau of Bordeaux in France, or Le Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), is striving to put itself at the forefront of the Chinese market with a special focus on South China's Guangdong province.

Among its tactics is the promotion of wine-related training programs by the Bordeaux Wine School in China.

Founded by CIVB in 1989, the Bordeaux Wine School has modern, established branches in 19 countries and regions worldwide, with 205 accredited tutors.

The wine school in China has 58 accredited tutors and four accredited schools across the country.

The training programs target general consumers with little knowledge about wine, as well as enthusiasts and experts, according to Yang Wei, a project director of Bordeaux Wine School in China.

And the school will soon launch a redesigned website for learners to book training courses online, as well as an e-learning APP designed for professionals so that the programs will be more conveniently available throughout the country.

Yang Wei, a project director of Bordeaux Wine School in China, briefs the media on the country's wine school. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Yang said that demand for know-how has been intensifying in tandem with the rise of living standards and the development of the wine market in China.

Industry insiders have claimed that the training programs, while helping to cultivate a wine culture, will arouse the interest of more potential wine consumers in China, promoting the Bordeaux brand, and developing domestic consumers' affinity for Bordeaux products amidst the competition of wine suppliers from different countries for China's market.

"In the long term, that might help the Bordeaux brand gain in popularity and fortify its foothold in this competitive market," noted Zhang Jiansheng, a wine dealer in Guangzhou.

Thomas Jullien, CIVB's representative for the Asia-Pacific region, said that CIVB has always deemed China as a strategically crucial market, especially the market in Guangdong, which is home to nine out of the 58 certified tutors in China, and one of the four accredited schools.

Bordering Hong Kong and Macao, Guangdong has long been a major wine consuming province and one of the top destinations for imported wines in China.

"Guangdong is well known for its cuisine; its cooking style and wines are a perfect match, " said Jullien.

Reliable sources say that more than 100 chateaus in Bordeaux have Chinese owners, topping any other country except France.

And China imported 410,000 kiloliters of wine in the January-August period this year, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent, customs statistics indicate, while the country imported 554,000 kiloliters of wines last year, up 45 percent from 2014.