NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 30, 2026--
Acker, the world’s largest fine wine auction house and America’s oldest wine merchant, set a new world record in fine wine when a single 750 ml bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti—originally sourced from the personal cellar of Robert Drouhin—sold for $812,500 at Acker’s La Paulée auction this past weekend. The sale surpasses the previous world record of $558,000 set in 2018, cementing the 1945 vintage as the most coveted bottle in the history of wine collecting.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330007067/en/
Acker’s annual La Paulée Auction, livestreamed in New York City at Marea, was held in conjunction with the world’s greatest Burgundy celebration. The event delivered a historic three-day performance March 26–28, surpassing $25 million in total sales and setting an extraordinary 460 new world records.
The 1945 Romanée-Conti represents the final vintage produced before Domaine de la Romanée-Conti replanted its oldest vines—grapes that had survived phylloxera, two World Wars and nearly a century of Burgundy history. With production extremely limited, surviving bottles have long been considered the pinnacle of wine collecting, with many connoisseurs believing the pre-phylloxera vines add an unmatched depth and complexity to the wine.
“We made history this weekend,” said John Kapon, Chairman of Acker. “I’ve had the privilege of tasting the 1945 Romanée-Conti just three times in my life, and it is the greatest wine I’ve ever tasted. This remarkable sale was just one of hundreds of record-breaking achievements at an auction that highlighted the accelerating demand for trophy wines at the highest end of the fine wine market. This weekend’s event exemplified the soul and spirit of Burgundy, bringing together the world’s top producers and collectors and creating the perfect conditions for a truly historic result.”
The 1945 Romanée-Conti has consistently commanded record-breaking prices at auction, driven by its extraordinary provenance, mythic scarcity and status as the last expression of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti prior to the replanting of vines. The provenance of this particular bottle—drawn directly from the cellar of Robert Drouhin, one of the most revered names in Burgundy—added an additional layer of significance for bidders and collectors worldwide.
The blistering La Paulée auction set 460 new world records in total, led by Domaine Dujac with 27, followed by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with 23. Other domaines in high demand included Leflaive (20 new world records), Coche-Dury (19), Duroché (19), Ramonet (16) and Alex Moreau and Bouchard (15 each).
Acker’s 2026 auction season continues with a sale in Hong Kong on April 11, a special Single Cellar auction in the US on April 17, and May sales in Switzerland, Singapore and the US. Consignments are now being accepted for May and June, and weekly web auction deadlines remain every Friday. For more information, please email info@ackerwines.com.
About Acker
Founded in 1820, Acker is America’s oldest wine merchant and the largest fine and rare wine auction house globally. Now in its third century, the company serves collectors worldwide through a full suite of fine wine services, including retail sourcing and auctions, as well as cellar management, storage, and appraisals, investment advisory, bespoke events and tastings, and wine excursions. With a global platform spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia, Acker brings these capabilities together as The World’s Destination for Fine & Rare Wine™. Acker’s annual La Paulée auction remains one of the most celebrated events on the fine wine calendar.
Acker Makes History with Sale of World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine Ever Sold at Auction
Most Transportation Safety Administration officers received most of their backpay Monday for working during the shutdown, the agency said. Weary travelers hope the overdue paychecks will lead to the end of the hours-long security lines that have been seen at several major U.S. airports in recent weeks.
Even before Acting TSA Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said most employees had received at least two full paychecks, wait times at some of the airports that have seen the longest lines, such as Atlanta, Houston and Baltimore, had improved significantly on Monday.
“Working without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA and thousands were forced to call out,” Bis said. It remains unknown how long it will take for airport security lines to normalize — and how long federal immigration officers will stay in airports — as the busy spring break travel season continues.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
After weeks of chaos in U.S. airports, the Transportation Safety Administration said the first paychecks in weeks are being sent as early as Monday to its workers, giving the beleaguered aviation system a boost of optimism.
Wait times at some TSA security bottlenecks, such as the airport checkpoints in Atlanta and Houston, improved significantly Monday morning.
But how long it will take for long security lines to consistently return to normal — and how long federal immigration officers will stay in airports — remains unknown as the busy spring break travel season continues.
The DHS shutdown has resulted in not only travel delays but also warnings of airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stopped going to work. Those workers were just recovering financially since last fall’s extended government shutdown.
Wait times still pushed beyond two hours at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Monday morning. Baltimore-Washington International Airport had minimal wait-times Monday morning, but continued to advise travelers to arrive three hours before their scheduled departure.
President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately to ease the lines plaguing airports. The move came after Trump rejected bipartisan congressional efforts to fund the TSA while negotiations continue with Democrats, who have refused to approve more funding without restraints on Trump’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations.
Democrats are demanding better identification for the officers, judicial warrants in some cases and for agents to refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive places. Republicans and the White House have been willing to negotiate on some points, but the sides have yet to reach a final agreement.
On Monday, there were few signs of progress on Capitol Hill, where the Senate held a short session without considering the House bill and resumed its two-week break. GOP Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota said afterward that Senate Republicans are talking with Democrats and also the House as they try to find a way to funding DHS.
TSA employees had gone without pay since DHS funding lapsed in February. The department’s shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, eclipsing the record 43-day shutdown last fall that affected all of the federal government.
The DHS shutdown has resulted in not only travel delays but also warnings of airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stopped going to work. Those workers had already endured the nation’s longest government shutdown last fall. Multiple airports experienced greater than 40% callout rates, and nearly 500 of the agency’s nearly 50,000 transportation security officers quit during the shutdown.
Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to some airports a week ago to help with security as TSA callouts rose nationwide. How long they stay, White House border czar Tom Homan said, depends on how quickly TSA employees return to work. A TSA statement said the agency “has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce,” with paychecks arriving “as early as Monday.”
The overall absentee rate among TSA officers scheduled to work dipped slightly on Sunday, according to DHS. The highest were concentrated at major airports that have seen consistently elevated absences lately.
Those included BWI, both of Houston’s main airports; Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans; Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Associated Press reporters Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed.
A TSA agent hands a passport back to a passenger at the security checkpoint in Pittsburgh International Airport Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A TSA agent hands a passport back to a passenger at the security checkpoint in Pittsburgh International Airport Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Travelers wait in long security checkpoint lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A traveler reaches for a bottle of water being handed out while waiting in a security checkpoint line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Friday, March 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Airline passengers make their way through the security lines, next to a closed screening area, in Terminal C at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A traveler moves in view of an air traffic control tower at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
