Importers · wine shops abroad · trade
Importers and wine shops abroad: a Bordeaux wine merchant, direct
Classified growths, second wines, old vintages and fast-selling Bordeaux, on mixed pallets, ex Bordeaux. What needs settling before the first order: the Incoterm, excise duty, VAT, temperature-controlled transport. And a calculator to fill a pallet without paying to ship empty space.
Filling a pallet
Orders of magnitude for a Euro pallet (120 × 80 cm), stacked to about 1.50 m: around fifty cases of twelve bottles. The carrier confirms the weight and the exact number according to the actual cases.
What we supply to the trade
- Classified growths in stock, several vintages, in the original wooden case where there is one.
- Second wines of great châteaux, the line that sells between €20 and €40 on the shelf: see second wines of great châteaux.
- Old vintages, from the 1970s to the 2000s, for a clientele of collectors: the grands crus and old vintages page gives the details.
- Champagne, including prestige cuvées, and a selection of Burgundy, Rhône and Loire. Mostly Bordeaux.
Prices excl. VAT per bottle, ex Bordeaux, on the trade price list. The minimum order, the export price list and en primeur are discussed at the first quote: tell us your market, your volume per year and the appellations that sell for you. In France, the wine for wine shops page describes the same arrangement.
Who pays for what: the Incoterm
The Incoterm, written on the quote, sets where the goods change hands and who pays for transport, insurance and formalities. The four you come across in wine (Incoterms 2020):
| Incoterm | Where the wine is handed over to you | Your responsibility | For whom |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | At the warehouse in Bordeaux, not loaded | Everything: loading, transport, export clearance | An importer with a freight forwarder in Bordeaux. Outside the EU, prefer FCA: under EXW, the export is in your name. |
| FCA | Loaded onto your lorry, cleared for export | Main transport, insurance, arrival | The simplest for groupage: your forwarder collects, we do the departure paperwork. |
| DAP | At your premises, not unloaded | Duties, excise and VAT in the country of arrival | A wine shop with no freight forwarder: the transport price is in the quote. |
| DDP | At your premises, everything paid | Nothing | Rare in wine: the seller would have to pay your excise and your VAT. Avoid unless there is a precise agreement. |
Excise, VAT and documents
Within the European Union
Sale excl. VAT between businesses, on your VAT number checked in VIES: you reverse-charge the VAT in your country. The wine travels under duty suspension, with an electronic administrative document (e-AD), to an authorised warehousekeeper or a registered consignee; excise is paid in your country. Without that status, we talk about it first: you need a fiscal representative.
Outside the European Union
Export sale, with no French VAT or excise, with an export declaration at departure. The country of arrival may require a certificate of origin, lab analyses, a label in the local language: list them with your freight forwarder before ordering, and we supply whatever depends on us.
The United Kingdom and Switzerland
Both outside the EU: customs, duties and VAT on arrival. For Switzerland, the allowances and rates for a private individual are on the Swiss collectors page; an importer goes through their own customs clearance.
Transport, without cooking the wine
- From June to September, temperature-controlled: a refrigerated lorry or container set at about 14 °C, or at the very least an insulated cover on the pallet. A container in the sun goes above 50 °C.
- In groupage, the pallet goes through loading docks: shrink-wrapped, strapped, labelled “fragile”, with the wooden cases in the middle.
- Ad valorem insurance for grands crus: the carrier's basic insurance pays out by weight, not by value.
Belgian-owned châteaux have their own page: the Belgian châteaux of Bordeaux, useful for a wine shop in Belgium.
How many bottles fit on a pallet?
About 600 bottles of 75 cl in cartons of twelve on a Euro pallet, around fifty cartons, for 800 to 850 kg. Fewer in wooden cases, which take up more room. The calculator above does the count for a mixed pallet.
Can you order less than a pallet?
Yes, as parcels or in groupage, but transport per bottle costs more. The calculator tells you how many cases to add to fill the part-filled pallet; that is often the best moment to add a fast-selling line.
Do you sell en primeur?
On request. Allocations of grands crus en primeur go through the Bordeaux trade (la place de Bordeaux) and are discussed case by case; tell us which châteaux interest you.
What currency is the quote in?
In euros, prices excl. VAT per bottle, ex Bordeaux. Payment for a first order is made before collection.
Do you provide the excise documents?
For a shipment under duty suspension within the EU, the electronic accompanying document is issued by the dispatching warehouse. Give us your excise number and your VAT number with the quote request; without them, the quote cannot be made out excl. VAT.