(He likes the pinot gris very much. Must be the Italian bit.)
however bastardized/coopted by the french, indeed.
as far as exports - i can attest that it is absolutely true about newcastle, and the same goes for guinness. and don't ever let me catch any of you drinking guinness out of a bottle or that pathetic 'pub-draught' can, i don't care who developed the technology. on tap you can trust, but don't hesitate to fly over just to taste the Real Thing.
speaking of stouts - Eral, is Sheaf popular down there? or is it the fosters of stout? here it qualifies for the occasional meal-in-a-bottle, but i prefer samuel smith's oatmeal, which seems to make its way to seattle in bottles from england without noticeable ruination (though i haven't had >its< native form)...