From Cheval Blanc to Zinfandel

For much of her adult life, British-born Walker was a lecturer in Chinese at the prestigious Cambridge University, a fairly remarkable achievement given that she only started learning to speak, read and write the language in her late teens. Walker has a formidable intellect and learns quickly – assets that proved useful when starting a wine consultancy business in China with husband Edward Ragg two years ago.

Both had a keen interest in wine – Walker was captain of the university's wine-tasting team and Ragg's brother was and still is in the wine trade. Despite a lack of hands-on experience in the rough-and-tumble world of commerce - or possibly because of it - the pair plunged in headfirst ......later taught classical Chinese at Cambridge for six years."

It was at Cambridge, in eastern England, that Walker first became interested in wine. Boyfriend - and later husband - Edward Ragg introduced her to the Cambridge University varsity wine-tasting team, where she proved to be something of a star.

Recalls Walker: "He knew I was a good cook, and knew I had good taste buds, yet I knew bugger-all about wine, which he thought was a disgrace. When I joined, the membership had dwindled, but because I received the top tasting marks I was invited to be captain. I made it more inclusive, wrote a handbook for people, and went out on the streets and asked people if they wanted to learn about wine. I really hate people being snotty about wine, to me wine is like food, something to enjoy for the pure pleasure."