The global wine and spirits industry is worth around £311 billion a year, according to experts at Bordeaux-based trade fair Vinexpo, remaining resilient even in the face of the financial crisis.

Last year, Italy alone took €4 billion (£3.6 billion) from its wine exports, marking 14 per cent annual growth for the country's industry, while France remained the biggest exporter at €8 billion (£7.2 billion), Agence France-Presse reports.

While some of the growth, particularly at the higher end of the market, has been attributed to China's relatively recent thirst for fine wine like Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Vinexpo chief executive Robert Beynat said it would be a "fundamental error" to concentrate solely on this country.

"The Americans are going to be the biggest consumers in volume by 2013-2014 … the future is unquestionably the United States," he told the news agency.

Vinexpo ran between June 19th and the 23rd, and attracted an estimated 48,000 wine lovers and industry professionals - including a record number of non-French visitors.