Moët & Chandon (
French pronunciation: [moɛt e ʃɑ̃.dɔ̃]),
[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
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.
[3]
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 Pérignon perfected double-fermentation for creating champagne.
[1]
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.
[4]
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 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
and 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 own Officer's cross of the
Legion of Honor. In honor of Napoleon, Moët later in its history dedicated its Brut Imperial to him.
[1]
After his connections with Napoleon, the company of Moët contained a portfolio of prominent figures which encompassed
Tsar Alexander I 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 Prussia (later to become emperor of Germany) among many more.
[1] Sales during the 1820s are believed to have been on average 20,000 bottles 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 (14 November 1798 - 23 July 1850).
[1][5]
As 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.
[1]
Milestones in the 20th century
During
World War I,
France suffered much destruction. Moët et Chandon lost the offices and
guest houses, where Napoleon 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 by
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.
[1]
Count Robert-Jean de Vogüé, a prominent figure in wine purchasing,
became the leader of Moët et Chandon in the 1950s. Transformed from a
family-owned business into a
Société Anonyme
(or corporation), Moët et Chandon under de Vogüé gained great success
and an expansion rate never before experienced. In 1962 it became the
first champagne house to be listed on the French
stock market.
[6] That same year, the company acquired full rights to France's oldest wine house and main competitor of Moët et Chandon,
Ruinart Père et Fils.
[1] Another rival wine house,
Mercier, was taken over by 1970. Soon afterwards Moët et Chandon purchased an interest in
Parfums Christian Dior, the first out-of-winery investment by the company, which was soon taken over by Moët.
[1] The company took a milestone step in 1971 when it merged with the
cognac producer
Jas Hennessy & Co. to create Moët-Hennessy.
[1] The decision was made as a result of a 1927 statute which limited the champagne growing region to 34,000 hectares.
[1]
De Vogüé believed that the supply of land under cultivation (less than
25,000 hectares) would be exhausted by the demand for champagne by 2000.
Thus it seemed logical to merge with Hennessy who could supply
diversification and a stable future for Moët. Together, both houses grew
greatly financially and were able to, as a group, "stimulate the growth
of their interests abroad."
[1]
In 1973, the company launched
Domaine Chandon, a winery subsidiary in California. The company undertook its final merger; with
Louis Vuitton, a prominent
luxury goods
purveyor whose goods remain renowned as status symbols. This final
merger gave birth to the largest luxury group in the world,
Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton (LVMH), netting over 16 billion euros in
fiscal 2004. In 2006, Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial issued an extremely
limited bottling of its champagne named "Be Fabulous", a special release
of its original bottle with decorative
Swarovski crystals, marking the elegance of Moët et Chandon. Also in 2006, Moët et Chandon illuminated the
Statue of Liberty on its 120th anniversary.
In 2007, the company opened its Grand Vintage 2000 European Launch at the
Musée de l'Homme
