Moët et Chandon (French pronunciation: [moɛte ʃɑ̃ˈdɔ̃]),[1] or Moët, is a French winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. The company holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Queen Elizabeth II.[2] Moët et Chandon was established in 1743 by Claude Moët, and today owns more than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of vineyards, and annually produces approximately 26,000,000 bottles of champagne
Foundation
Moët et Chandon began as Moët et Cie[1] (Moët & Co.), established by Épernay wine trader Claude Moët in 1743,[4] and began shipping his wine from Champagne to Paris. The reign of King Louis XV coincided with increased demand for sparkling wine. Soon after its foundation, and after son Claude-Louis joined Moët et Cie, the winery's clientele included nobles and aristocrats.
Moët began business in 1750 with Madame de Pompadour, who supplied the Royal Court at Compiègne with Moët's champagne.[1] Also in 1750, Moët began establishing business in Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe, and colonial British America.[1] In 1792, on Claude Moët's death, grandson Jean-Rémy Moët assumed control of Moët et Cie,[1] and expanded the business buying the vineyards of the Abbey of Hautvillers, where Benedictine monk Dom Perignon perfected double-fermentation for creating champagne
Moreover, the Moët surname was prestigious before the winery's establishment; King Charles VII ennobled brothers Jean and Nicolas Moët (Claude's ancestors) in 1446
Into the 19th century
The company truly attracted a loyal international following after it initiated an account with Napoleon.[1] Jean-Rémy, who had become mayor of Épernay in 1802, met Napoleon in 1804.[1] Within the new guest houses at Moët's headquarters on 20 rue de Champagne, Napoleon I and his entourage were lavishly dined and wined. Historian of champagne Patrick Forbes wrote: "everybody who was anybody in Europe was passing through the Champagne district en route from Paris to the Congress of Vienna
nd they all wanted to visit the celebrated champagne maker. ... His 10 years in the Napoleonic limelight had made him the most famous wine-maker in the world and orders for his champagne began pouring in with such profusion that he hardly knew how to fill them."[1] In appreciation for Jean-Rémy's generosity, the Emperor of the French gave Jean-Rémy his, Napoleon's, Officer's cross of the Legion of Honor. In honor of Napoleon, Moët later in its history dedicated its Brut Imperial to him
After his connections with Napoleon, the company of Moët contained a portfolio of prominent figures which encompassed Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Emperor Francis II of Austria (Napoleon's father-in-law), the Duke of Wellington, Madame de Staël, Queen Victoria, and the Prince Royal of Russia (later to become emperor of Germany) among many more.[1] Sales during the 1820s are believed to have been on average 20,000 bottle annually.[1] Leadership of the company changed in 1832 when Jean-Rémy retired and left the company in the hands of his son Victor Moët and son-in-law Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles.[1] As M.Chandon became incorporated into the company as co-owner, the name was officially changed that same year to "Moët et Chandon."[1] Following the introduction of the concept of a vintage champagne in 1840, Moët marketed its first vintage in 1842. Their best-selling brand, Brut Imperial was introduced in the 1860s.
The Marne Valley fell under the ownership of Moët et Chandon in 1879, expanding the company's operations.[1] The introduction of more flavorsome grapes from Cramant, Le Mesnil, Bouzy, Ay, and Verzenay also followed.[1] As expansion grew, so did the employee count. At the time, about 2,000 people were under the employment of Moët et Chandon and a type of "social security" was formed which gave free medical attention, housing assistance, pensions, maternity benefits, sick pay, and free legal aid. Job holders included cellarmen, cork cutters, clerks, vineyard farmers, tinsmiths, needlewomen, basketmakers, firemen, packers, wheelwrights, and stableboys.[1] Sales in 1872 are reported to have been at 2,000,000 bottles and at 2.5 million by 1880, while consumers continued to consist of the upper social hierarchy.
During World War I, France suffered much destruction. Moët et Chandon lost the offices and guest houses, where Napoleon I had stayed, to bombing raids.[1] After the war, the company re-established its position in the market by introducing the Dom Pérignon brand of vintage champagne in the late 1920s.[1] The introduction of the Dom Pérignon label set a trend in which many other champagne houses came to introduce their own premium label of champagne intended to surpass their regular vintage champagne. Nevertheless, it was Dom Pérignon which came out to be the most successful brand. Dom Pérignon was recognized by connoisseurs as the most perfect champagne available, and was also the most expensive on the market.[1] During World War II in which France fell under occupation of Nazi Germany, business was negatively affected.[1] However, due to the modernization of operations within the firm, it managed to recover well.[1] The goals of fairness and efficiency were emphasized in all aspects of production, from the installation of new wine presses to a comprehensive system of work incentives
Dom Pérignon (French pronunciation: [dɔ̃peʁiɲɔ̃]; English: /ˌdɒmpɛrɪˈnjɒn/) is a brand of Champagne produced by Moët et Chandon. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the champagne method for making sparkling wines.[6] Dom Pérignon was the first prestige cuvée, an idea proposed by Englishman Laurence Venn.[7] The first vintage of Dom Pérignon was 1921 and was only released for sale in 1936. Dom Pérignon is a vintage champagne, meaning that it is only made in the best year, and all grapes used to make the wine were harvested in the same year. Many champagnes, by contrast, are non-vintage, which means that the champagne is made from grapes harvested in various years.
