(BBC) - High demand for wine has driven the price up 10% over the past year. With its fairytale turrets and a 15th-Century tower, Chateau Latour Laguens is surrounded by vineyards in a region steeped in European tradition. But this chateau, south-east of Bordeaux, is also at the cutting edge of Asia's growing economic might. The staff who tend the vineyards and make the wine are still French, but this is now a Chinese-owned domain. It has been taken over by the Longhai group based in eastern China, which has created a subsidiary to run it called Chateau Latour-Laguens (Qingdao). The Chinese are developing a new taste for French wines these days. And in addition to buying them by the bottle or the case, the Chinese have also started buying the vineyards where their favourite Bordeaux vintages are produced.