Chandon
California
Chandon
California
Forever alert to new terroirs, new possibilities and new challenges, CHANDON gravitated in Napa, in 1973. It was the next territory to beckon, after Robert-Jean de Vogüé became convinced of the potential of this region for quality sparkling.
Creation date: 1973
Estate Director: Stéphane de Meurville
Website: www.chandon.com
Identity
One day back in 1968, as Robert Jean de Vogüé was attending a distributors’ conference in California, he inadvertently found himself in the wrong room. Members of the Wine Institute of California were gathered there, discussing and tasting. The wrong room turned out to be the right room.
An idea was born: CHANDON would again lead the way as the first champagne house led sparkling outpost in the USA.
Today, CHANDON California pushes the limits of the state of the art to produce sparkling wines that are US market leaders.
Icon
CHANDON BY THE BAY
CHANDON’s Carneros vineyard is situated at the north end of San Pablo Bay – an ideal location to grow exceptional Chardonnay, with night harvesting to keep the fruit cool. Fresh nose of white flowers, grapefruit, and lemon, with layers of brioche, almond, and honey, define this zesty, elegant and mineral batch. Complex and Creamy.
Insights
“I knew aged 14 that I wanted to be a winemaker, and specifically to make sparkling wines. I grew up in Champagne, so it was all around me.
I chose California because I have a huge love for the place. It was supposed to be a three-month internship, but I ended up staying 14 years, and counting.
I definitely brought a sense of my identity with me here. I introduced a new wine style. It’s very much about expressing the Californian terroirs and the grapes. It’s sunshine, it’s easygoing, it’s fruit expression. Approachable. I wanted to make wines to drink on a Tuesday or Wednesday night. That’s a common thread for all the CHANDON houses: that feeling of friendliness rather than high occasion.”
EVERYONE IS WELCOME AT OUR TABLE
CHANDON’s brand home in Napa is housed in a curvaceous state-of-the-art 4,000m2 building designed in 1977 by ROMA architects.
The feel is authentically northern-Californian and sensitively connected to the environment. It discreetly follows the contours of the landscape and is constructed using environmentally friendly materials with a minimum of disruption; its design and materials echo fermentation tanks and barriques.
Our location is beautiful, so our site is outdoor-focused. We revel in our climate, which even in the middle of summer keeps a freshness that allows the place to be enjoyed in the evening, benefiting from the same cool evenings that our grapes love so much.
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FUTURE
As farmers, at CHANDON California we are very thankful for our harvests. We never take our precious relationship with our land for granted.
Over the years, we have initiated a number of sustainable farming practices that consider the entire ecosystem – vines, insects, animals, other plant species, soil life, soil type, and bordering ecosystems – in order to minimize pests and diseases and create a healthy symbiotic relationship between our crop and the environment. We don’t go in for quick fixes or blanket one-size-fits-all treatments, instead treating each parcel of land and each vine variety individually.
Key figures
-
1973 Date of foundation of
CHANDON California -
92 Points
For our Etoile rosé @ Wine Spectator 2020 -
90 Points
For our CHANDON Brut and CHANDON rosé @ Wine Enthusiast 2020
Drink responsibly.