Winemaker Notes
CHANDON is a global community of winemakers, rooted in a domain on which the sun never sets.
They have been crafting exceptional sparkling wines since our founding in 1959 in Mendoza, Argentina. In 60 years of excellence, the pioneering spirit that’s embedded in their DNA has taken them all over the globe to California, Brazil, Australia, China, and India.
CHANDON is now made up of six personalities under one identity, all making outstanding quality wines, united by their shared personality and values. The mission has always been to open a world of possibilities in sparkling wine. It is as relevant today as it was six decades ago.
In the late 1950s, Robert-Jean de Vogüé, a maverick and non-conformist, had the vision, courage, and stamina to redefine luxury sparkling wine. He was convinced that the road less traveled led to an exciting future for quality sparkling wine, so he set off on an epic journey to find unexpected new lands in Argentina. What he found there, in Mendoza–a high-altitude semi-desert in the Andean foothills – was the perfect terroir for pure, expressive, fruit-driven world-class fizz.
He decided his hunch – export the savoir-faire, not the bottles – was right.
And so, it began in 1959, when Maison CHANDON was founded on the tradition of innovation.
CHANDON Argentina, born of Robert-Jean de Vogüé’s original vision, broke ground in 1959 in Mendoza in the Andean foothills. From there, a world of unique sparkling wines opened up.
Napa, California was the next territory to beckon, after Robert-Jean became convinced of the potential of this region for quality sparkling. The idea was considered revolutionary both in France and in America. The United States had always been a minor market for wines and US demand for California sparkling wines even smaller.
CHANDON California was founded in 1973, betting the emergence of a sparkling-wine maker, and began producing under the direction of Dawnine Dyer in terroirs identified by John Wright.
That same year, 1973, Brazil’s Serra Gaúcha was pinpointed. Then in 1986, Yarra Vally was found for CHANDON Australia, and legendary winemaker Tony Jordan was tasked with producing there. CHANDON China arrived on the scene in 2013, in Ningxia, China, the country’s top premium winemaking region. The most recent member of the family is CHANDON India, founded in 2014, in Nashik, Maharashtra.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.