How we keep the wine flowing
Uncork another bottle – Thursday 25th May marks National Wine Day in the UK and we’re more than happy to celebrate it!
Whether red, white or rosé, it’s been the tipple of choice for millennia and was a particular favourite of the ancient Greeks and Romans for whom it played a central role in society.
In Rome, wine was considered a daily necessity, and, at GTS, we continue to share the fruits of Italy’s historic past with the UK and the rest of Europe.
Each year, we import over 175 million bottles into the UK helping to fill the shelves of almost every major supermarket.
A trusted name
Given our vast experience in the import of ambient goods, many of the world’s best-known manufacturers turn to us to ensure their products make it to those who enjoy it the most – the Great British public!
Some of Italy’s largest wine producers trust GTS to provide intermodal transport to Benelux and UK markets.
Keeping your bottles intact
From Italy – as well as other wine regions in Iberia and Greece – the wine is transferred into sealed, hard-sided containers to be loaded onto the GTS Group’s network of high-speed trains. This ensures the wine makes it from vineyard to glass with less environmental impact than alternative transport solutions as rail saves 75% CO2 compared to road transport.
Maintaining supply
Wine sales in the UK are consistently good but that’s not to say there aren’t peaks of popularity we have to manage.
Public holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, usually drive a surge in demand while large national events like world cups and jubilees often rush shoppers to the shelves. And that’s where the speed of our network really comes into its own.
After sailing from the port of Patras, Greece, into the GTS hub in Bari, our rail network whisks bottles through Italy with stop-offs in the likes of Piacenza and Milan and railed up to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge to be loaded onto ferries and imported into the UK.
Apart from our last-mile trucking department delivering in the UK, our rail network removes the inconsistencies of road use and ensures a reliable service. We can also manage the Italian and UK Customs clearance.
Are you an importer looking to bring your products into the UK? Get in touch here.