FYI, US customs will bust if you if you try to bring porchetta back. They don’t care about wine or cheese, but meat is a big no-no. But maybe you’re just talking about having it over there.
I have a six pack and 12 pack Wine Check that I can loan you. I am still not sure which I am taking to Portugal.
we’ll just bring it back in our bellies then. I can’t imagine a way i’d be able to get SC BBQ out either… so its really a pipe dream. maybe I can just get someone there to teach me how to MAKE it, then i’m good to go.
hmm… I might have to take you up on that! btw when do you leave and get back again so we can figure out some dates for dinners?
I will text you the dates.
p.s. in answer to the title of the thread… It depends. In major wine producing European countries, almost impossible. A combination of strong local supply, and a lack of demand there is a negligible market for wines that once transported will cost quite a bit more.
In other EU countries (e.g. UK , Holland, Belgium) there is a tendency for the market to split. At the bottom end the industrial producers have a foothold. You will find the likes of Gallo Turning Leaf and other massive brands in supermarkets (more here than in Holland). Then if you want to trade up, there is typically a big jump (excepting a couple of producers e.g. Ravenswood) to much more pricey serious producers. Ridge and Au Bon Climat are a little more widely seen amongst the sort of wines drunk on these pages, but beyond these and maybe a couple of others it appears to be a labour of love to bring them in.
Two big problems seem to inhibit the market.
- Demand is low to start with
- Prices achieved in the US, once factored up for shipping, duty etc. make shipping the small volumes demanded unviable
… and if I was a US producer, would I cut prices to try and break into a resistant European market, or sell at full price locally?