Moet Hennessy, the wine and spirits division of the French luxury group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), has opened a new winery at Deqin county in Yunnan province of China.

The move is backed by the strong sales for Moet Hennessy in China in 2012, which surpassed the sales in the US.

Located about 2,400 metres above sea level, the winery at Deqin is the third for Moet Hennessy in the country.

Moet Hennessy Asia Pacific managing director Mark Bedingham was quoted by chinadaily.com as saying, "China is expected to stay as our largest market this year, especially from a revenue viewpoint."

The 30ha Deqin winery is jointly built by VATS Group, a Chinese wine and liquor business, and Moet, where the French drink giant owns around 66.7% of the winery.

VATS Group spokesman told the website, "We want to learn their grape cultivation techniques as well as winery management expertise."

Though the exact figure for the construction of winery is not revealed, it is expected to be around $19.5m.

Moet Hennessy initially intends to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes in the vineyard, followed by Petit Verdot and Malbec grapes later.

Bedingham said the winery will also plant grapes from the region and will initially supply the wines in China, followed by other markets in the world.

The winery is expected to release its first wine in around three year time.