Wine transport from Italy to Switzerland
Behind the scenes of a shipment for a Swiss freight forwarder: 32 pallets from 5 Italian wineries delivered to Zurich in 5 working days
1. The context
A freight forwarder based in German-speaking Switzerland had received an order from its own client, a large wine retailer in the Zurich area, covering five Italian wineries spread across Piedmont, Puglia, Tuscany and Sicily.
The operation involved several challenges:
- pickups in four regions, from the Langhe to western Sicily
- fragile, high-value goods worth around €250,000 in total
- transport at the height of summer, with the wine to be kept at a controlled temperature
- a tight delivery deadline for the client.
To handle the shipment, the forwarder turned to Transuisse, aiming to entrust pickups, transport and paperwork to a single partner while continuing to manage its own client directly.
2. The logistics challenge
he project involved collecting 32 pallets from five wineries:
- Barolo (CN): 5 pallets
- Northern Bari area: 8 pallets
- Scansano (GR): 5 pallets
- Suvereto (LI): 9 pallets
- Marsala (TP): 5 pallets
Delivery was agreed directly at the forwarder’s client, in the Zurich area.
The entire operation, from the first pickup to delivery, had to be completed within 5 working days.
Three factors made it particularly complex.
- The distance between the wineries. More than 1,500 km separate the Langhe from Marsala, with pickups to be fitted into a single week, including a stop in Sicily.
- The nature of the wineries. Often small, family-run businesses in rural areas, with access routes to be checked and owners with whom to agree the pickup date and time.
- The temperature. In July, wine must be protected from the heat throughout the journey: during pickups, during consolidation and on the way to Switzerland.
In a shipment like this, every pickup depends on the one before: a single winery running late is enough to push back the entire delivery.
Do you have a wine order from several Italian wineries?
Pickups in different regions, high-value goods and a fixed delivery date call for a single point of control in Italy.
3. The TRANSUISSE solution
Transuisse took charge of the entire shipment, from the first contact with the wineries to delivery in Zurich.
The main activities included:
COORDINATION with the wineries
The Transuisse team contacted each winery directly to check when the goods would be ready, collect weights, package counts and documents, and agree the pickup date and time with the owners. The forwarder delegated all communication with the Italian shippers to Transuisse, receiving updates at every stage.
Temperature-controlled PICKUPS
All pickups were carried out with temperature-controlled vehicles, with the temperature logged along the route. The rounds were planned in sequence, from north to south and then the islands, to complete pickups across the four regions in the shortest possible time.
CONSOLIDATION near the border
Goods from the five wineries were consolidated in a refrigerated warehouse near the Swiss border, maintaining the cold chain, and loaded onto a single vehicle bound for Switzerland.
DOCUMENT and customs management
Transuisse gathered the required documentation with the wineries, handled the e-AD, the export declaration and the closing of the document at the border, and checked alcohol content and applicable duties for customs clearance in Switzerland.
Want to entrust the Italian side of your wine shipments to a single partner?
The Transuisse team handles wineries, pickups, temperature and paperwork, while you look after your client.
The operation in numbers
the numbers of the operation
5 wineries
4 regions
32 pallets
around €250,000 in total value
5 working days from first pickup to delivery
over 1,700 km from the furthest winery to Zurich
Handling the UNEXPECTED in wine transport
As often happens with small Italian wineries, the operation also involved dealing with an unexpected event.
The winery in Scansano, in the Maremma, is located in a rural area reachable only by a dirt road. Heavy rain had fallen in the days before the pickup and the ground had turned to mud, a condition that had not been flagged during planning.
On arrival at the winery, the articulated lorry got stuck.
Thanks to the driver’s quick response and the help of the winery, which stepped in with an excavator, the vehicle was freed and resumed its round shortly afterwards. Delivery times stayed on schedule.
It’s in moments like these that a direct relationship with the wineries counts, built call by call during the coordination phase.
The result
Pickups and delivery were completed in 5 working days, the wine travelled at a controlled temperature throughout, and the forwarder was free to focus on its client, with constant updates from a single point of contact.
Transuisse directly managed:
- contact with the five wineries
- organising the pickups and choosing the vehicles
- temperature-controlled transport
- consolidation of the goods near the border
- customs and excise documentation
- delivery to the forwarder’s client in the Zurich area.
The value of an operational partner in Italy
This project shows that in wine transport, what makes the difference is how the Italian side is organised: knowing the wineries, choosing the right vehicle for each one, maintaining the temperature and arriving at the border with the paperwork in order.
For loads of this value, we always recommend pairing transport with all-risk cover, which we arrange on request: a service the forwarder can also offer to its own client.
This is exactly where Transuisse supports freight forwarders as an operational partner in Italy, not just a carrier: behind the scenes, while the client relationship stays in their hands.
Have a wine shipment to organise?
Send us the list of wineries: your Transuisse contact will reply within 24 working hours.