A Partnership Proposal · April 2026

For the vineyards and distributors we'd like to build something with.

Berthe & Moritz · sommelia · Zurich, Switzerland · sommelia.ch

We're sommelia. A short introduction.

Business: Exclusively online · Exclusively within Switzerland
Founded: 2025
HQ: Badenerstr. 434, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Domain: sommelia.ch
Languages: EN · DE · FR · IT
Category: AI-curated online wine retail

What we are

Founder-led. Swiss-based. Built for drinkers who want guidance — and for producers whose wines deserve more than a row on page 17 of a discount site.

Switzerland's AI-powered wine retailer. We combine a curated cellar with a conversational AI system that recommends bottles by fit — occasion, food, taste, budget — rather than by whichever SKU carries the fattest margin that week.

Online wine retail hasn't changed in 30 years.

We think three shifts have changed what producers and drinkers need from a retailer. Most stores haven't caught up.

A race to the bottom.

Most online wine stores compete on discount codes and two-for-one deals. The wines best-suited to a drinker's actual table lose to whatever is cheapest this week.

Great producers get buried.

A small estate with a remarkable story disappears next to 4,999 other SKUs. The shelf has no room for character.

Drinkers want guidance, not a catalog.

'What should I drink with this?' has become harder to answer, not easier — as the online selection has exploded.

sommelia.ch is live today.

Visit the site, talk to it, try it yourself: sommelia.ch →

The conversational sommelier

A wine advisor that asks what you're eating, celebrating, or in the mood for — then recommends from our cellar. In English, German, French and Italian.

Cellar

The curated selection

A tight catalog — not a warehouse dump. From celebrated estates to emerging talents, chosen because we'd open the bottle ourselves.

Swiss

The Swiss storefront

CHF pricing, Swiss checkout, Swiss logistics, Swiss VAT. Fully compliant end-to-end — we handle import into Switzerland.

We're a registered, licensed Swiss operator.

Every compliance box a wine importer has to tick in Switzerland — we've ticked. The paperwork is done so our conversation with you doesn't have to start there.

Swiss Company

Company Registration: CHE-239.806.363

Alcohol trade license

Federal alcohol business registration (SWK-Betriebsnummer) issued.

Cantonal food-business

Kantonal Lebensmittelbetrieb registration — Zurich.

Swiss alcohol import license

General Import Permit (GIP, GEB) for wine, required for import into Switzerland, granted for our company.

Customs & duty

Every shipment cleared with full Swiss duty and VAT paid on import.

Legal domicile: Zurich

Office: Badenerstr. 434, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland

A small cellar, chosen with intent.

We don't want 5,000 SKUs. We want the right few hundred — each one we can speak about with conviction. Three principles guide what we list.

Quality over breadth

Fewer partners, deeper relationships. We'd rather represent 15 producers properly than 150 carelessly.

Story over shelf-space

We sell the producer, not just the bottle. Every wine gets editorial copy, tasting notes and context — in four languages.

Character over consensus

Wines we'd pour for a friend — from celebrated estates to emerging talents. If it has a point of view, we want to talk.

Three things we offer producers that most retailers don't.

AI discovery, not a price war.

Our recommendation system matches drinkers to wines by fit — occasion, food, taste, budget. A CHF 24 bottle and a CHF 240 bottle sit at the same table. Smaller estates get equal visibility with prestige names.

Your wine is recommended because it fits — not because it's cheapest.

Swiss premium market access.

Switzerland has one of the world's highest per-capita wine spends and the greatest tolerance for quality pricing. We position in the premium tier — not the discount aisle — and protect your price architecture.

Your brand reaches Swiss drinkers at the price point you actually want.

No sales.

We do not discount wine. Period. Our position is not to compete on price, but rather on curation and recommendation. Should we unexpectedly be unable to sell a product, we may sell on to a café in Zurich.

Your price stays your price.

Simple, low-risk terms for a first order.

These are our defaults — everything is negotiable in good faith.

Incoterms

EXW

Ex Works. We arrange onward logistics into Switzerland — you ship from your cellar.

Payment

100% T/T pre-payment

Full bank transfer before shipment. Zero credit risk for you.

First order size

300–600 bottles

Mixed pallets. SKU mix stays flexible so we can match the portfolio to our audience.

One point of contact

Moritz

Founder-led. No purchasing bureaucracy — you talk to the person who decides.

The next twelve months.

We're building the business carefully. We'd rather grow with the right partners than scale on the wrong ones.

Now

Core catalog live

sommelia.ch in market. AI recommendation system live in EN, DE, FR, IT. Swiss compliance complete.

Q2 / Q3 2026

Supplier expansion

Direct partnerships with 15–25 estates and distributors across Europe and beyond.

Q4 2026 / Q1 2027

Swiss market activation

Larger marketing activities, scaling the business on a curated selection that sells.

We'd love to hear from you.

Two ways to start a conversation — whatever fits.

A 20-minute intro call

You tell us what you make; we tell you who we are. We're happy to set up the call.

Email Moritz to schedule

Send an email, share a price list

Send us info about yourself and EXW pricing. We'll come back with honest feedback within a week.

moritz@sommelia.ch