Portofino is the most photographed harbour in Italy and one of the smallest. The port itself takes very few yachts alongside, most of the fleet lies on the buoys or at anchor in the bay off Paraggi, and the tender does the work. Santa Margherita Ligure, ten minutes round the point, has the marina, the road access and the space — which is why most provisioning for Portofino actually happens there.

We plan deliveries for this stretch accordingly: to Marina di Santa Margherita Ligure where a pallet can be handled properly, or directly to the Porto di Portofino when the berth and the timing allow it. The coast is inside our own van’s zone, so our driver brings the wine down from Antibes rather than a carrier collecting it — normally within 48 hours, and we agree the drop point with the crew rather than assuming it.

The season here is short, intense and almost entirely about lunch. Portofino fills from June, empties by late September, and the drinking is rosé, Champagne and crisp Ligurian whites in daylight rather than long dinners. We stock accordingly and will happily weight a delivery toward what actually gets poured in this bay instead of shipping a cellar built for a different coast.

Because the harbour is so tight, timing beats volume here. A yacht spending three nights on the buoys does not want a season’s stock arriving; it wants the right two pallets on the right morning. Tell us the dates and the berth and we will build to that. If you are moving on down the coast we deliver in La Spezia and Viareggio as well, so the cellar need not dictate the itinerary.