Genoa is a working port before it is a yachting one, and that is precisely why yachts come: Amico & Co is one of the most serious refit yards in the Mediterranean, and a yacht in a Genoese yard is there for months rather than nights. Marina Porto Antico, in the restored old harbour under the city, handles the visiting traffic and puts a crew within walking distance of a genuinely great Italian city.

This coast is inside our own van’s delivery zone, which is unusual this far from Antibes and is the difference that matters. Wine travels with our driver rather than being handed to a carrier, so it is loaded by us, it is not standing on a hot quayside waiting for a depot, and the delivery is to the passerelle rather than to a gate. A scheduled run is normally within 48 hours of confirmation.

Refit provisioning is its own discipline and we do a lot of it. During a long yard period fine wine should not be aboard at all — power goes down, temperatures swing and dust gets everywhere — so we collect cellars into climate-controlled storage near Antibes, keep the records, and bring them back racked and listed at recommissioning. Owner visits mid-refit still need the cellar to look finished, and we stock for those separately.

Liguria drinks its own wines and they are worth having aboard while you are here: Pigato and Vermentino from the western Riviera, Rossese di Dolceacqua from behind Ventimiglia, and the Cinque Terre whites down the coast. We stock them beside the Burgundy, Bordeaux and grower Champagne that the guest list will expect. Prices are open online and every bottle carries a tasting note.