About

Domaine Chandon became the first French-owned sparkling wine endeavor in the United States. Moet & Chandon, the world's largest Champagne house, along with Hennessy founded Domaine Chandon in 1971, Their vineyard office is located in Sonoma, California.

Wine Tasting

Chandon offers daily tours and tastings. The tours are fun and educational and include information about the winery, the vineyards and winemaking as well as a tasting. Tastings are conducted in Chandon's Tasting Lounge and Terrace. The Etoile restaurant is also part of Chandon and serves outstanding wine inspired cuisine along with inspirational wines.

Wine Club

Chandon offers membership to Club Chandon which provides home delivery of their wines every other month. Members receive a discount on wine. Also included are invitations to members only events and a members only area at the winery. There are also additional benefits. Contact Chandon to find out more.

Annual Production

Production numbers are proprietary.

Producer Style

Chandon Winery's style is medium to full bodied, yet refined. It is rich and fruit driven.

Producer Type

Chandon Winery has a number of vineyards located in Carneros, Yountville and Mt. Veeder which supply about 30% of their grapes. Additional grapes are purchased from other growers.

People

Current Owner

LVMH Moët Hennessy

Chief Winemaker

Pauline Lhote Didier

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History

Moet & Chandon Champagne began the search for a site for a United States based winery in the 1960s. The partnership of Moet-Hennessy was formed in 1971 and in 1973 they began their procurement with land purchases in Mt. Veeder, Yountville and Carneros. Their first sparkling wines were made at the nearby Trefethen Winery with Chandon's first release in 1976. The visitors' center and winery were opened in Yountville in 1977. The Yountville location has been upgraded and enhanced, but the site has remained the home of Domaine Chandon ever since.
Chandon was the first sparkling winery in California to include Pinot Meunier in their blends. Chandon maintains up to 100 base wines from over 50 vineyard blocks. They introduced the use of smaller containers during harvest to help preserve the grapes prior to processing. With a focus on sustainability, the winery has always been innovative and continually embraces new technology. They have incorporated the use of Mytik technical closures for their sparkling wines to help minimize 'cork taint' and they incorporate practices such as macro-oxidation for pre-fermentation must to obtain the ideal level of oxidation. They have anti-erosion catch basins in vineyards to preserve the natural ecosystems and help keep soil in place. Chandon uses electrodialysis for tartrate stabilization and to conserve acidity. Birds of prey are used for rodent control.
Along with the winery, Chandon brought fine dining to Napa Valley with the only restaurant located in a winery in the area in 1977. The Michelin star restaurant has subsequently been named "étoile" in 2006. The restaurant closed in 2014 after 37 years.