Ship wine internationally to ease the crisis: how and why

Ship wine internationally: regardless of the many difficulties currently facing the wine industry, shipping wine internationally is never a bad idea. Compared with the almost 10% fall in exports of Italian-made products, the wine sector has held firm, maintaining its business volumes, value and prices and also gaining market share from its competitors. The Istat data on wine exports in 2020 shows that Italy suffered a downturn of 2.4% but also overtook Spain to reassert its global leadership of the sector. In other words, the Covid-19 pandemic has not negatively impacted on the export markets of Italian businesses, now increasingly focused on international wine shipping.

That said, the absence of trade shows and the difficulty in sourcing importers has altered sales dynamics, making the analysis, choice and assessment of product shipping methods in Europe and the rest of the world even more important.

Yet the main problem currently, as it has been for two years, is unsold stock. According to the data of the Electronic Register of the Icqrf, as summarised in the report “Cantina Italia”, the first of the year, there is 61.4 million hectolitres of unsold wine in Italian cellars, 3.6% more than on the same date in 2020, and this is joined by 6.9 million hectolitres of must (-4.3% vs. 31 January 2021) and 710,256 hectolitres of newly-produced wine still undergoing fermentation (-26.9%).

In fact, the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has had a serious effect on the viticulture and wine industry. International wine shipping is more difficult. It is more difficult to get around, travel is limited by binding restrictions and social distancing has not only impacted on our personal lives but has also temporarily closed off important wine product markets. In short, the lockdown effect has negatively affected the ability of cellars to reduce their stocks and market restrictions have led to an increase in unsold products.

During these long weeks of the pandemic various measures have been proposed in an attempt to overcome and find a solution to this problem. Yet these measures have not been welcomed by the numerous small, medium and large Italian winemakers united in their defence of the quality and distinctive reputation of Italian wine.

Exporting to overcome the crisis: how to find the ideal international wine shipping partner

The foreign market therefore represents fertile ground for exports not only in terms of business expansion but also as a solution for surplus stock. In this context, it is essential to identify a reliable partner that is able to guarantee the best conditions also for the transport of bulk wine in tank trucks or containers.

The health emergency has led to rapid changes in sales practices and forms of interaction with the end customer: the digitalisation of the wine industry, through greater recourse to e-commerce, but also the modernisation and modification of traditional sales practices have made it necessary to transport wine more quickly, but just as safely, towards Europe and the international market in general.

International wine shipping in Europe: a quality issue too

On one hand importers in love with Italian wine, on the other hand the cellars: although the internet and digital technology have resulted in the development of new sales practices, the connections guaranteed by a company specialising in the transport of food industry liquids with its own bimodal tank trucks and tank containers remain just as important, if not more so. Our lengthy experience and the close attention we have always focused on the customer and the finer details have enabled us to work on this type of transport – more environmentally friendly and economical – for some time. Modern combined transport guarantees the optimum association of different transport systems – heavy goods vehicles, railway and sea – while maintaining the high quality of domestic wines and wines from southern Italy in particular.

The challenge of safeguarding the quality of Italian wines is therefore not only played out in the vineyards or cellar, but also in the logistics plan and in terms of the conditions in which our wines are transported. Conditions which, inevitably, can alter the properties of the product. For this reason we guarantee a service that first of all safeguards quality, a service which aims to shorten distances and ensure that the quality of the products doesn’t diminish during transit.

How to ship wine internationally: tanks or containers?

Intermodal transport (150 single-compartment tank containers of 28,000, 32,000, 34,500 and 35,000 litres which can transport all food liquids also in accordance with the Atp, heated and at pressure, with ground control) or road transport (20 tanks with capacity from 35,500 litres in 4 compartments, equipped with auxiliary heating system, at pressure and with fixed washing system): we have the perfect solutions, with real time traceability, to guarantee safety, reliability, competitiveness, punctuality, hygiene and the maintenance of the product’s quality standards.

International wine shipping times, from southern Italy to the rest of Europe, vary from 72 to 96 hours between collection and delivery. Timeframes made possible by our investments in intermodal transport to connect southern Italy with other destinations in northern Italy and Europe more efficiently than traditional road transport.

In short, shipping wine internationally remains one of the best ways of overcoming the crisis in the industry and shipping it in containers is one of the most effective ways of doing so.

Transport of bulk wine via intermodal tanks – Rubino RS