A region of northern China that began growing grapes for fine wine just a decade ago has beaten the French wine-producing region of Bordeaux in a blind tasting.

A group of wine experts ranked the bottles from the remote and sparsely populated Ningxia region above those from Bordeaux at the tasting, held in Beijing.

The jury sampled five wines from each region, selecting a cabernet sauvignon from the Grace Vineyard in Ningxia as the top-scoring bottle.

To help mark the 350th anniversary of the Château Rauzan-Ségla vineyard, Karl Lagerfeld has designed the label for the 2009 vintage.

The 2009 vintage wine will feature a special colorful label highlighting the castle found in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux, France.

The booming Chinese mainland is now the largest importer of Bordeaux by volume, driving a jump in exports of the French wine, an industry body said.

Exports from the French winegrowing region rose 34 percent in value and 23 percent in volume between July 2010 and June 2011.

The boom was driven in part by iconic great estates, but the bulk came from little chateaux selling wines for less than 4.50 euros.

A 300-bottle collection of Chateau Lafite Rothschild has sold for almost $540,000 in Hong Kong, setting a world record price for a single wine lot auctioned this year.

The collection spanning 1981 to 2005 was knocked down for HK$4.2 million ($539,250) at Christie’s two-day Autumn wine sale.

The record price, below a HK$4.5 million pre-sale estimate, was “the highest value lot achieved at any wine auction worldwide this year,” Christie’s said.

A 200-year-old vintage from Bordeaux set a new world record for the most valuable bottle of white wine Tuesday when it was sold in Britain for £75,000 ($117,000).

The bottle of 1811 Chateau dYquem was bought by French private collector Christian Vanneque, for his new restaurant in Bali, Indonesia.

The standard-sized, 75 centilitre bottle of wine was sold at London’s Ritz hotel by rare wine specialists The Antique Wine Company.

For one French wine house, when traveling with valuable, vintage wines there is no wrapping bottles in socks and sweaters, cushioning them with towels and nestling them in suitcases.

For Cordier Mestrezat Grands Crus, prized wines travel in style, laid snugly in a custom-made Louis Vuitton carrying case that can house four bottles.

The specially commissioned wine travel case was showcased at Vinexpo in Bordeaux this week, to mark the French winemaker’s 125th anniversary.