The wines of Italy are experiencing a growth in Chinese sales, thanks to the popularity of the region's cuisine.

Castello Banfi, co-chief executive officer Cristina Mariani-May, said that the traditional food of Italy is highly popular in China, ahead of cuisine from France or Spain.

This, in turn, is helping to create a "buzz" around Italian wine, pushing sales of Brunellos and Super Tuscans in Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong is really starting to kick off – there's a big market for Italian wine there, but we're still working on mainland China," Ms Mariani-May told the publication.

The Montalcino-based producer is keen to take advantage of this trend, establishing a foothold in the Chinese market.

Ms Mariani-May explained that connoisseurs are well aware of the qualities of Castello Banfi wines, but the key to growing the brand worldwide is getting that message through to "everyday consumers".

She continued: "Our big aim for 2012 is to expand into other markets – our sights are set on Asia and Eastern Europe, where we're not fully developed yet.

"We want to be the best at what we do – to produce the most outstanding Brunello wines from Sangiovese, that's our main focus."

The wines of Italy will take centre stage at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Wine and Spirits Fair in November.

Trade association Vinitaly will also be pushing the complementary nature of Italian food and wine at the event, in a bid to encourage Asian wine enthusiasts to consider alternatives to the popular Bordeaux and Burgundy labels of Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

Stevie Kim, general coordinator of Vinitaly International, said that the event has proved to be the perfect opportunity to finally bringing the fractious wine producing regions of Italy together for a joint marketing drive.