Piper-Heidsieck chief executive Damien Lafaurie, whose name is written in Mandarin on his business card, dreams of making China follow in the footsteps of Japan and South Korea by falling in love with champagne.

The champagne house is an official sponsor of the Australian Open and Mr Lafaurie hopes to sell 80,000 flutes at Piper-Heidsieck’s Melbourne Park bar, up from 52,000 last year and 25,000 in 2023. But the big prize remains China.