The Return of Draft Horses to Champagne: Sustainable or Simply Symbolic?

Words by Lucy Edwards

Few images are more romantic than a draft horse walking slowly between the vines of Champagne. Leather harness creaking, chalk dust rising in the morning light, hooves pressing gently into ancient soils. The Champagne-Ardennes region is, after all, home to the Trait Ardennais, one of Europe’s oldest draft breeds. Before tractors and mechanisation reshaped viticulture in the 1960s, horses were essential to the region. Today they are almost extinct. But since the 2010s, some smaller producers have decided to bring horses back into their domains. For some families, that return carries a certain irony.

“My grandfather was crazy when my brother said he wanted to reintroduce the horses” - says Charline Drappier, eighth generation of the illustrious Champagne Drappier “My grandparents were pioneers as the first winemakers of the Aube, but as quite poor farmers had to save up for ten years to buy their first tractor”.

6th generation of the Drappier family André in the vines of Urville

Champagne Drappier is now one of the most recognised names of the Aube region, and is especially known for their commitment to being the first carbon neutral winery in France. Their champagnes have been lauded by the likes of Charles de Gaulle to Martha Stewart.

“We now have two horses, which are looked after by my brother Antoine”, says Charline “but we calculated that if we wanted to plough everything with horses, we would need to have thirty-five”.

Whilst Antoine is now completely dedicated to making the house’s vineyard management as sustainable as possible, thirty-five is not feasible in the near future. Reintroducing horses sounds romantic, but scaling them across a modern Champagne is something else entirely, even though it does present clear advantages for the quality of wine.

8th generation Antoine Drappier with his Ardennais mare Aster

Despite their slower pace, using horses offers a more precise, gentle, and less invasive approach to tending to the cherished champagne vines. The relative lightness of horses translates to reduced soil compression over the delicate roots, fostering a more abundant growth of mycorrhiza. These fungi, found on the roots of 98% of all plants, play a crucial role in absorbing additional nutrients and contributing to the distinctive minerality synonymous with champagne. Through this exchange, the vines engage in photosynthesis, transporting sugars to the mycorrhiza, creating a harmonious interaction in the vineyard ecosystem.

This is such an important element for the De Sousa family they have isolated a plot of old vines to create a very special cuvee: Mychorize. Within a year of keeping the tractors off this specific plot the soil texture and quality was incredibly different, not only was the soil a lot softer under foot, and all the readings showed better levels of PH, magnesium and nitrogen. These discoveries have cemented their convictions that working with horses is an instrumental part of their development in their biodynamic vineyards.

Julie De Sousa accompanied by Capucine, an Auxois mare, a rare breed with only 30 foals born annually.

“My father first brought in horses in 2010, mostly because we have very complicated vines.“ says Julie De Sousa who now spends over 70% of her time with their four horses. “Our plots are very far away from each other, which means it can take over an hour to drive a tractor from one plot

to another, a trip which takes less than half an hour with the van. Most of our old vines are also not planted in straight lines, with some rows starting at 130cm apart, and very quickly narrowing to 90cm”.

With dense and uneven vines like this, tractor settings would have to be readjusted constantly, while a horse can just walk straight through. Horses are also able to allow tilling closer to the base of the trunks of the vines without any damage and more precision. This was a key argument when Julie finally convinced her family to bring in the first two equine members of the team after hassling them for decades for a pony.

Although the De Sousas had been working with a service provider for a decade, adopting a 17.5hh Percheron and a 18hh Auxois Draft was a transformative decision that not only marked a shift in their vineyard management strategy but also symbolised a return to traditional, more sustainable practices. In 2022, two more geldings joined the herd, and between the four of them they plough around four hectares of the fifteen hectares in the De Sousa estate. Each horse works a few half days a week each for about nine months a year, with most of their work in spring and summer. “When they are not in work, I take great pleasure in taking them on trail rides through the vines and the forests of Champagne, as well as some liberty work” says Julie. Yet the return of horses is not without its tensions.

Marc Augustin inspecting grape maturity with Alouette

Draft horses can be required to work anywhere from two to over six hours a day, a workload dependent on the season and soil conditions. This didn't sit too well with biodynamic winemaker Marc Augustin, whose domain is located in the Premier Cru village of Avenay Val d’Or. He believes that reintroducing horses in the vineyards brings us many welfare questions which will have to be addressed. Upon meeting Alouette, a draft mule that had diligently tended to the region's steep vineyards for nearly a decade, Marc felt an immediate connection with the animal and was moved to grant her a thoroughly deserved retirement. She now works a grand total of ten half days a year, and occasionally helps Marc deliver wines in the village. If you are visiting the Montagne de Reims, you might be lucky enough to spot Marc and Alouette on their stroll down to the “local” Loisium Hotel and Spa overlooking their stunning pinot noir vines.

When asking about draft horses, a winemaker let me in on a little local tale circulating in Champagne about a horse named "Bijou". According to some, he is the hardest working draft horse of the region, whose entire job consists in being driven around from one house to the next for photoshoots and press activations. Now, Bijou does not exist, and this is just an inside joke. But it’s funny because there’s truth in it. Many horses do not live permanently in the vineyards they cultivate. They belong to service providers. They arrive by truck, and often older, diesel-heavy vans. And although a horse may not burn petrol in the vineyard, it eats all year, requires land, feed, veterinary care. It cannot be turned off and left in a garage in winter.

When evaluating how green this transition is, the equation becomes more complex.

Is it lower impact for the soil? Yes. Does it lower a winemaker’s carbon footprint? Not necessarily. Carbon footprint was not part of the decision to bring back horses for the Révolte family, who are also based in Avenay Val'd'Or. Producing around 40,000 bottles a year, and proudly operating without certifications or external rulebooks, Nicolas Révolte's approach is instinctive rather than performative. “No rules. No labels,” he says. For them, the return of the Trait Ardennais was first and foremost about soil.

“Less compaction means more earthworms. More life. Less sickness,” he explains. “A ventilated soil is healthier. It limits problems like mildiou.” Their horses are not transported in for the day. They live in stables in the village and out in their 30 hectares of pasture adjacent to the vines. Today there are two horses, which are also used during harvest.

This is not a symbolic presence, even though an Ardennais can be seen on their logo.

And yet, when asked about carbon footprint, the response is disarmingly direct:

“As grapegrowers, we naturally have a positive carbon footprint.”

The horse was not a climate strategy. It was a farming decision. And that distinction matters.

It cuts through both greenwashing suspicion and romanticism.

The danger lies in assuming the presence of a horse automatically equals sustainability.

The reality, as always in Champagne, is more nuanced.