World's biggest wine fair eyes Africa's new tipplers

The world's biggest wine fair opens in Bordeaux, wine capital of France, this weekend, with vintners eyeing new tipplers in Africa as global consumption rises in Asia and elsewhere.

The United States and China are the world's top wine-loving nations, but Africa is the industry's next "future destination", says the Vinexpo wine and spirits fair, in a market expecting 3.5 percent growth over the next three years.

In Bordeaux, 45,000 buyers from 120 nations will hop from luxury chateaux to prestige vineyards partying and guzzling as France, the world's leading wine producer, lays out its best bottles and fare for a five-day get-together starting on Sunday.