What if the future of wine cellars was at sea?
Aboard a cargo ship for two months, Maison Bichot barrels were studied to determine the impact of the sea on wine ageing.
A wave of innovation sweeps over Maison Bichot. The Burgundy wine house is experimenting with aging wine at sea. Two 228-liter casks were loaded aboard the cargo-ship Grain de Sail II for a voyage departing from Saint-Malo, with stopovers in New York and Pointe-à-Pitre.
The aim: "to pay homage to 19th-century transport, to see dynamic ageing at sea and to study the impact of the sea on the grape variety ", explains Lucas Przybyla, Marketing Manager. Departure took place on January 18, with arrival scheduled for around March 20. But at the end of January, poor weather conditions forced the yacht to take a break in the Canaries.
Chardonnay, a product of the merroir
inside these barrels is the 2024 Bourgogne Côte-d'Or Chardonnay "Secret de Famille", " a very important cuvée for us ", explains the manager. These bottles were not chosen by chance. Lucas Przybyla clarifies: " To stay in the maritime universe, the Chardonnay is perfect. It's a wine that goes well with seafood, oysters or fish, for example. "
Conducting this experiment is also an opportunity to test a fragile grape variety, more so than Pinot noir, for example. " We wanted to take risks, saying to ourselves that there was surely more interest in maturing this grape variety at sea than with another. "
Lucas Przybyla points out that other companies have already looked into aging wines on the seabed, " and some do it in the holds of boats, like Château Le Puy's 'Retour des îles' vintage. But Maison Bichot has installed its barrels on the deck of the boat. Ocean agitation, salty air and temperature variations can have a direct impact on the wine.
To study these consequences, electronic bungs from the French brand Onatis were installed in the barrels. More than just stoppers, they are equipped with seven sensors that indicate the temperature outside and inside the barrel in real time. The first finding was that night-time temperatures on the sailboat's deck are extremely low. " And it will be very hot during the day, when the boat reaches the West Indies, in about two weeks' time. "
Ecology with a difference
Back in March 2024, a delivery of bottles of the company's wines was made to New York from Saint-Malo. But with a two-week journey, no difference in taste had been noted. "According to the marketing manager, replacing the container ship with a cargo ship reduces "95% of [their] CO2 emissions."The Burgundy wine house thus hopes to continue working with the American market while reducing its environmental impact. All that remains to be done is to keep an eye on the announcements of Donald Trump's new administration concerning the taxation of French exports, and above all, to taste the wine on its return after two months at sea. Will it feel the open sea? "We're already hoping it will be drinkable," smiles Lucas Przybyla.
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Follow the chenin
The king of the Loire grape varieties, also widespread in South Africa, "ch'nin", as the people of the Loire pronounce it, has the extraordinary ability to produce dry white wines as well as semi-dry, sweet, syrupy and even sparkling wines, commonly known as fines bulles. Complex and demanding, it is nonetheless endearing.
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