A Wines of Portugal roadshow ended last week a tour of China after Portuguese winemakers showed off their products in the country’s capital Beijing and in the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Xiamen, Beijing Business Today reports.

The Chinese-language newspaper says 32 winemakers in 10 regions of Portugal showed off about 280 kinds of wine to Chinese vintners and aficionados of wine.

The report quotes Wines of Portugal Marketing Director Sónia Vieira as saying the Chinese market has huge potential to grow, and that Portuguese winemakers are paying more attention to it.

Ms Vieira said her association had been regularly promoting Portuguese wines in China since 2014, arousing the curiosity of Chinese consumers.

The association might be spending €500,000 (about US$563,198) a year on promotion in China by 2023, or a twelfth of its annual €6 million marketing budget, she said.

The value of Chinese imports of Portuguese wine was US$23.53 million last year, 18.4 percent more than the year before, Beijing Business Today says.