(AFP) - On paper it seems as obvious a pairing as a glass of spicy Gewurztraminer with crispy duck and pancakes.

Yet Italy, the world's biggest wine producer, is lagging in the fight for sales in China, tipped to become the world's second biggest importer of wine by 2020.

ales of Chianti, Pinot Grigio and other samples from Italy's 300-plus wine denominations accounted for barely five percent of the $2.4 billion dollars worth of wine that the world's most populous nation imported in 2016.

Of that total, 44 percent by value was sourced from France. Australia, Chile and Spain are also ahead of Italy in seducing the palates of China's burgeoning middle class.

"It's a pity. Italian producers have been slow to get into the market," says Andrew Tan, a Brunello di Montalcino enthusiast in charge of procurement for 1919, one of China's biggest liquor retailers.

With a network of more than 1,000 stores and an online platform, 1919 sent Tan to last week's Vinitaly trade fair in Verona.