The berths on either side of Monaco exist largely because Monaco is full. Port de Cap-d’Ail is a few minutes west of Fontvieille, Port de Cap-Martin sits under the Roquebrune headland to the east, Menton Garavan is the last French harbour before the frontier, and Cala del Forte at Ventimiglia — Monaco-owned and a short run across the border — was built for exactly this overflow.

For a yacht working Monaco during the Grand Prix, the Yacht Show or simply the summer, these are the practical berths, and their crews have the same provisioning needs as the ones on Port Hercule without the same access to anybody. We deliver to all of them same day from our cellar near Antibes — it is a straightforward run along the coast and our drivers know every one of these quays.

The two Monaco weeks are the test. During the Grand Prix and the Yacht Show the principality is effectively closed to vehicles, deliveries have to be planned to the hour, and a great deal of the fleet supporting those events is lying in exactly these ports. We plan those deliveries weeks ahead rather than days, and we would always rather bring an order forward than promise a slot in a closed town.

Menton has the mildest microclimate in France — lemons grow here in February — and the Italian border is a walk away, which gives this corner a character that is neither quite French nor quite Ligurian. Rossese di Dolceacqua is grown in the hills immediately behind Ventimiglia and is a lovely, light red almost nobody has aboard; it belongs on a list here.