Antinori does this for a lot of other wineries, not just for themselves.
You mean the producer just has to be willing to deliver the wine to middleman who handles the shipping, tax, customs clearance, etc.? I read your post as saying that wineries would handle the whole process, which is not my experience.
Others mentioned Côte D’Or which seems to be a great option for France. Wondering what similar options are for Italy? A lot of the wineries I have been to their use Mail Boxes Etc. to handle shipping and the VAT has always been charged. I sent an email to the winery I am trying to purchase from to inquire about shipping without the VAT and they said they needed to check with their accountant. So it is definitely more work for them to do so.
That seems odd. My one winery purchase in Italy they used MBE, but they did not charge VAT. I’m guessing your winery just isn’t familiar with the process.
Most of my buying is from retailers not wineries. And they are familiar with the process as the internet has created an explosion of overseas orders over the past decade plus.
Large companies with their own importing branch will sometimes piggy back orders onto their exports.
Definitely call or email and ask them. I don’t remember the details but I have had wines shipped from Italy with no VAT before and I’m no big fish nor did I jump through any difficult hoops.