The Côte des Bar, which forms the southern part of Champagne on the way to Chablis, was long considered the stepchild of Champagne. The Drappier house was one of the most important representatives of a high-quality Champagne that was otherwise rather rare there, as most grapes were mainly delivered to cooperatives. That has long since changed, and the region is one of the most dynamic in the appellation with many small producers, often working organically and biodynamically. The Drappier winery has also gradually switched to organic and partially biodynamic cultivation. The family is also committed to preserving rare grape varieties such as Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Fromenteau, and Blanc Vrai. Voltis, the new, eighth, fungus-resistant grape variety of Champagne, is also being intensively tested. Drappier is a flagship of the Côte, consistently setting sail towards climate-neutral, future-oriented viticulture.

The family's winery goes back to François Drappier, who planted the first vineyard in 1808 in Urville on the Côte des Bar. Viticulture itself is about 2,000 years old and originated when a Gallo-Roman villa was built on a slope near today's winery and planted with vines. This gave rise to Urville in the Middle Ages. The current vineyards date back to the year 1116, when Saint Bernard of the Abbey of Cîteaux (near the famous Clos Vougeot) came to Urville.

He brought the Morillon Noir, the predecessor of Pinot, from Burgundy and had several wine cellars built, including one in Urville in 1152, which belonged to the Grangie Bavin-Sainte Eulalie farmstead. These lands belonged to the Abbey of Clairvaux, which he founded and which would become one of the most important monasteries of the Middle Ages, located only 13 kilometers from Urville.

The Vins de Bar enjoyed high esteem among the Counts of Champagne and in Paris. After the French Revolution, Napoleon transformed the Abbey of Clairvaux into a prison, while the wine cellar in Urville became part of a parsonage. After World War II, the Drappier family acquired it. Today it serves as a wine cellar for the estate's best wines.

In the early 1930s, Georges Collot, Michel Drappier's maternal grandfather, was the first in the region to cultivate Pinot Noir again. Today, this grape variety accounts for 70% of the estate's vineyard area. 1952 was another milestone when André and Micheline Drappier filled the first Carte d’Or cuvée, which became the flagship of the house. In 1968, Drappier launched the first Rosé made from pure Pinot Noir, which developed into the Rosé de Saignée and became a model for this type of Champagne. Since 1979, Michel Drappier has been responsible for winemaking, while André Drappier – with the experience of 74 vintages – has managed the extensive vineyards with 62 hectares of own vineyards and another 50 hectares under contract.