Why This Legendary Burgundy Winemaker Is Sending Its Bottles to America on Sailboats

With all the talk about sustainable farming and a return to old-fashioned vineyard techniques, venerable producer Maison Joseph Drouhin has shipped bottles of its Burgundy and Chablis to the United States by sailboat. Utilizing a form of transportation that fell out of favor when the steam engine was introduced over 200 years ago, the house has taken a new step in its commitment to sustainability and cutting carbon emissions by shipping some cases of 2022 vintage wine in partnership with TOWT (Trans-Oceanic Wind Transport). For wine lovers tired of greenwashing who wish producers would put their money where their mouth is, the bottles have a special back label showing that it is transported to the U.S. by sailboat.

In 2024 the house did three shipments in this manner for a total of 30,500 bottles of its Chablis, Côte de Beaune Blanc, Bourgogne Rouge and Saint Veran, which will mainly be available on the East Coast. Because TOWT is a startup that needs financing and visibility, the cost to ship wine by sailboat is about three times more expensive than standard container ships. “In the future there will be more capacity available and more competition, so prices will go down,” says Frederic Drouhin, CEO of Maison Joseph Drouhin. While there are no monetary advantages to this method, the savings in carbon emissions are impressive. Drouhin explains that while a standard container holding 11,700 bottles emits 1,940 kilograms of carbon dioxide, the same container shipped by sailboat has an output of 190 kilograms. “Regarding the sulfur emission, the savings are greater, with a reduction of 90 percent,” he says.

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While Maison Joseph Drouhin has always had a commitment to the environment, modern-day efforts began in 1988 with a conversion to organic agriculture across all of their vineyards, which today total 250 acres across 60 appellations. In 2008 the house changed its bottles to a weight 10 percent lighter than the Burgundy standard. An internal CO2 audit in 2022 identified two ways to lower our CO2 emissions, bottle weight and method of transport. “We immediately decided to stop all air shipments and to explore other ways to bring wines to a key market like the U.S.A.,” Drouhin says. “Shipments by sailboat fit perfectly our plan.”

There are plans to ramp up shipments in coming years, with three shipments totaling 45,000 bottles on track for 2025 and 60,000 bottles slated to travel under sail power in 2026. A potential increase on tariffs of European products arriving in the United States could alter projections if costs become prohibitive. The maison’s other initiatives include wildlife areas around the winery in Beaune and a plan to reduce water consumption. Drouhin also hopes to be an example to other producers in the region. “We want to be a model for our colleagues in Burgundy so that they also may decide to ship a portion of their wines to the US to sailboat,” he says. Reduced carbon emissions and a good glass of Burgundy? Now that sounds like a breath of fresh air.

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