Bird in Hand winery of South Australiato open a new cellar door in Dalian

In China's booming Dalian city a slice of Australian wine country is set to appear.

The Bird in Hand winery, based in Australia's wine-growing state of South Australia, will open a new cellar door in the northeastern Chinese city of more than six million people next month, showcasing its wine to an expanding Chinese middle class with a palate for wine.

"We're a global brand and we're certainly interested in having a presence in major markets like China," said Justin Nugent, Bird in Hand's global sales director and a part-owner of the family-run winery. "It has a large population with a rapidly growing wine interest."

China, which already has a healthy appetite for Australia's coal, copper and iron ore, is now developing a thirst for the Pacific nation's wine, becoming its fastest growing market. 

According to agribusiness bank Rabobank, China and Hong Kong combined overtook Canada last year as Australia's third-largest wine export market.

Figures from the Australian federal government's wine industry body, Wine Australia, show that in the 12 months to March, Australia's wine exports to China increased 30% to 55 million liters, while for Australia's two biggest markets, the U.K. and the U.S., exports fell 4% to 261 million liters and 16% to 193 million liters, respectively.