Yacht · provisioning · Antibes, Cannes, Monaco
Wine for a Mediterranean charter: how much, what, delivered to the quay
Ten guests, seven nights, an owner who wants his Pauillac and guests who want rosé and champagne at lunchtime. This calculator gives the order by colour, the magnums and the great-growth dinners, so the chief steward places a single order before departure. Transvins, a wine merchant (négociant) in Bordeaux, prices it and prepares it with Le Paradis du Vin, its sister shop in Vallauris, between Antibes and Cannes.
The order for a cruise
Average consumption on Mediterranean summer charters, safety margin included: at sea, you can't pop out to the wine shop. Unopened cases are not taken back; what is left over serves the next cruise.
What matters on board
A yacht is not a function room. Three constraints change the order.
Space
A case of six bottles takes up about 20 litres of hold space. A wooden case of twelve, nearly double. Tell us in the quote what the on-board cellar and fridges can take: we deliver in cardboard cases if space is short, and the wooden cases stay for the great growths.
Heat
A deck at 35 °C damages a wine in a few hours. The reds go into the on-board cellar as soon as they are delivered, never in full sun on the quay. A red Bordeaux is served at 16–17 °C: on board, that means taking it out of the fridge twenty minutes beforehand, not the other way round.
The roll
Old vintages hate being shaken. A bottle more than thirty years old is brought up and stood upright 24 hours before dinner and decanted at anchor, not under way.
Great growths, magnums, birth-year vintages
A charter order comes down to three lines the harbour wine shop rarely has in stock.
- Great growths ready to drink. A 2016 first growth is too young for a dinner at sea; a 2008 or a 2011 is drinking. The Bordeaux vintages to drink in 2026 page says which to open this year.
- Champagne in magnums. Twelve glasses per magnum, and an effect on deck no bottle can match. Prestige cuvées and vintage champagnes: see champagne, prestige cuvées. Formats are confirmed according to stock.
- A guest's year. A birthday on board, a wine from the birth year: the birth-year vintage tool says what is still drinking, from 1945 to 2010.
Pickup in Vallauris, delivery to the quay, VAT
The order is prepared at Le Paradis du Vin, 2720 chemin de Saint-Bernard in Vallauris, a quarter of an hour from the ports of Antibes and Cannes, with parking in front of the shop. What is on the shelves can be taken away the same day, Tuesday to Saturday (9:30 am–1 pm, 2:30–7 pm). Great growths, older vintages and magnums coming from the Bordeaux stock take several days: send the list as soon as the contract is signed. Delivery to the quay, in Antibes, Cannes or Monaco, is confirmed in the quote with its time: the wine arrives in the yacht's name, with the name of the person taking delivery.
A yacht operated commercially, on charter, and sailing on the high seas can be provisioned without VAT (article 262 II of the French General Tax Code, Code général des impôts), on supporting documents provided by the captain or the yacht's agent. A private yacht pays VAT. The quote says what Transvins can invoice excl. VAT in your case; it does not decide the vessel's status.
For a palace-hotel or concierge client looking for a specific bottle, the concierge services and palace concierges page describes the search for a rare wine.
How many bottles of wine for a week's charter?
For ten guests at the usual pace, about 55 bottles for seven nights, 20% margin included: a third champagne, a quarter rosé, the rest white and red. A festive pace goes up towards 85. The calculator above redoes the count with your figures.
Does wine come out of the APA?
Yes. On a charter under a MYBA contract, the guests' wine and champagne are paid from the advance provisioning allowance (APA), along with food and fuel. The Transvins quote is in the yacht's name, in euros, line by line, so the chief steward can reconcile it with the APA.
Can you order on the day?
For what is on the shelves in Vallauris, yes: pickup at the shop Tuesday to Saturday. For a great growth, an older vintage or a magnum coming from Bordeaux, no: allow several days. The quote says what is already on site and what has to come.
Is wine left over at the end of the cruise taken back?
No, Transvins does not take back unopened cases. That is why the calculator counts a margin and not a surplus: what is left goes to the next cruise or to the owner's cellar. A river cruise fleet in Bordeaux is priced for the season: see river cruises.
Do you have large formats?
Sometimes: magnums mostly, more rarely double magnums or jeroboams, depending on the château and the vintage. The price list flags them; the quote confirms what is actually available.