(SKYNews) - A 10-hour drive northeast of Beijing, China's Liaoning Province is frigid and bleak at this time of year.

It is -15C outside and hardly the place you would expect to find a multimillion pound wine industry.

And yet this remote corner of China is now producing wine so good it has connoisseurs around the world quaffing with excitement.

We pass through downtrodden villages, stunning snowy scenery and row upon row of vines. This is China's "ice wine" country.

On the horizon we spot what looks like a European-style chateau. It turns out to be just that; the Chinese have thrown everything into what has become a serious business which is transforming the local economy.

Among the vines we meet Ji Hongyan. She once worked in a local farm machinery factory until she realised her future was all around her.

The soil, the temperature fluctuations and the humidity in this part of China are perfect for producing ice wine, a particular type of wine made by crushing frozen grapes.

Mrs Ji said: "Every year at January, we pick the grapes. We leave them hanging on the vine late into the winter so that the water evaporates and sugar accumulates making the perfect ice wine."

Mrs Ji is part of a form of co-operative. She supplies her grapes to the vineyard.

She added: "The Changyu Golden Valley vineyard pays us a good price for our grapes so the lives of the ordinary people here has improved."

Six thousand miles away in London's St James Street, the Queen's wine merchant now stocks a range of Chinese wine including bottles full of juice squeezed from Mrs Ji's grapes.

The Master of Wine at Berry Bros & Rudd - Jasper Morris - says Chinese wine has transformed in quality in recent years.

He told Sky News: "The weather conditions in Liaoning prove to be just right to make this type of wine consistently. When we tasted them, it was an easy decision to make.

"Interestingly, we have sold out of the really expensive black label version, which is £65 per half bottle. The gold label at £19 is both excellent and in fact very competitive at that price."

Back at the vineyard in China, Mrs Ji offers a few grapes from the frozen vine to taste. They are crunchy, sweet and delicious.

She said: "What a privilege for me as a farmer to produce such a nice ice wine which is even sold in UK.

"I heard that British Queen may have tasted our wine. I feel so proud!"

Down the valley in Changyu's bottling plant we discover it is not just ice wine they are producing.