Really? I've almost never had trouble finding American imports there, up and down the country. Ask your wine retailer and they'll probably refer you to stores that do carry it. Off the top of my head, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Partridges, Whole Foods UK, and that one store in Manchester that might have closed down a decade ago.
The last time I was in a Waitrose, there was an entire aisle dedicated to American import beer (craft) and fine wines from California's Napa Valley to the Santa Barbara coastline, to Oregon and Washington wines, and even a few from the eastern seaboard in Virginia.
Canada and Europe (including UK), are our biggest (California wines) importers of wine. The import of other US wine occurs, too, but not at the same rate as California wines. The Asian market is growing with each passing year.
It was probably 10 or 11 years ago that a woman I know who lives or rather lived in Darlington at the time asked what I thought about a specific somewhat obscure wine made by a private winery. Nothing terribly expensive, but good wine. Gave my thoughts and asked why she asked me about something like that. Apparently American wines were a thing then. The concept of American wine being sold in Europe was relatively new to me then. The first time I was in Europe? You'd be laughed at for even asking.
It's a bit odd, really. I don't keep up with my old wine circle, but the current European tends to prefer the strong and sometimes tannic fine wines we produce over its European counterpart. California, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Canadian, etc. chardonnay or chardonnay heavy wines taste radically different than chardonnay in Europe. Even then, the individual wineries have their own method of imparting a particular quality in their wines versus the winery 'next door.'
These days, I find myself reaching for South American wines more than anything else.
[doublepost=1507024656][/doublepost]
Ahh that is very good to know for my next visit to the US. Mind you I have family in NYC and my brother in law works in fine wine sales and knows many good restaurants and food shops in the city. I have always had the opportunity to have good cheese when visiting.
You should try out that cafe in NYC I posted a video of a few weeks ago. As for the fruit, yes, fairly common in NYC or it was the last time I was there in November a few years ago. I absolutely detest the pear shaped hachiyas. It's a texture issue for me. The giombo variety is similar, but easier for me to eat. It's stringy though, but still very good. I love the fuyu, mildly sweet, a bit starchy but so very versatile. I'll eat one as a snack, slide it up for a morning fruit salad, or slice it up for a traditional salad and skip the dried fruit or the sweetened nuts. At the tail end of the season, the sweet pumpkin variety hits the store. Low to medium starch, very sweet but can be tannic if not ripe enough. Becomes gelatinous when overly ripe, still edible, but a texture issue for me. The green leafy peel is thicker on these than the fuyu. The flesh is also darker and redder compared to the fuyu's tangerine-turmeric color.
If you can find them where you are, all varieties would be good for a persimmon pudding. It's like a sticky toffee pudding except more moist and not as sweet. Wonderful stuff.
