VERONA, Italy-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.

Sales of chianti, pinot grigio and other samples from Italy's 300-plus wine denominations accounted for barely 5 percent of the $2.4 billion worth of wine that the world's most populous nation imported in 2016.