Rice is incomplete unless it is accompanied by a good glass of Italian wine. The Chinese people must think so, because Italian wine exports to China have risen by 96.9% in the first four months of 2006. Italy's total wine exports are up by 6.1%, according to data released by Coldiretti, the Italian farmers' association.

Italian wine has also "conquered" the US (exports are up by 7.8%), the association said, "even if half of the value of our exports depends on the European Union," where the rise was 0.5%. Coldiretti says the results in the first four months of 2006 show the presence of new and relevant opportunities for growth.

Wine is also a heritage to be protected, the association has said, supporting a bipartisan motion by Italian parliamentarians opposing "Pinocchio wines" that are aged using wooden chips. The European Union allowed this practice some time back.

"We must defend [wine] from imitation and unfair competition based on a lack of information," the Coldiretti statement said.

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