Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Origins of Moët & Chandon
2. Headquarters and Its Grand Château
3. Architecture and Scale of the Cellars
4. Logistics, Technology, and Everyday Life Underground
5. Challenges, Discoveries, and Modernization
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Origins of Moët & Chandon
The story begins in Épernay’s most fashionable district, the expansive and prestigious Faubourg de la Folie—today’s Avenue de Champagne—home to the cellars of one of Champagne’s most prominent producers.
The Moët et Chandon brand, renowned and respected worldwide, has its roots in the mid-18th century. A historical document confirms that as early as 1743, Claude Moët was already transporting wines from the Champagne-Ardenne region to Paris.
However, it was Jean-Rémy Moët, born in 1758, who is regarded as the true founder of the modern champagne business. Through his drive and intelligent vision, wines from the banks of the Marne, once reserved for the elite, gained global recognition.
In 1833, due to his advancing age, Jean-Rémy Moët retired and transferred the flourishing business to his son Victor Moët de Romont and his son-in-law Pierre-Gabriel Chandon, who descended from newly ennobled lineage in the Mâconnais.
The brand, known since 1807 as Moët et Cie, became Moët et Chandon.
The Headquarters and Its Grand Château
The company's headquarters were established in Épernay, in a magnificent château built on the edge of Rue du Commerce and surrounded by beautiful gardens extending toward the Marne. Directly across the street stood the entrance gate to the production facilities.
Cross-sectional architectural drawing: multi-level underground structure carved in chalk beneath the historic production buildings. (J.Roubinet, G. et M.T.Nolleau, Jean-Rémy Moët, Paris, 1996)
Though the entrance to the cellars appeared less imposing than expected, it opened into an extraordinary network: eleven miles of underground passages stored enough wine to inebriate the entire German army that had invaded France during the late stages of war.
A golden inscription on a black marble plaque proudly commemorated Napoleon Bonaparte’s visit to Jean-Rémy Moët’s cellars on July 26, 1807—just three weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit.
Architecture and Scale of the Cellars
A grand staircase led into the cellars—the most fascinating part of the facility. These underground galleries were arranged on two superimposed levels, forming two distinct subterranean cities with their own streets, squares, and intersections.
The upper level featured both high and low cellars. The oldest cellars (A), dating to around 1720, were dug into a layered chalk bank 0.50 to 0.60 meters thick.
The more recent Museux cellars (C) shared similar composition. The nearby Augrette cellars, built in 1868, were carved from chalk layers between 1 and 1.50 meters thick.
Farther on, the Tirage cellars (D), cut in 1872, were excavated in compact chalk measuring between 1 and 1.50 meters below, and from 0.40 to 1 meter above.
The Chaudon cellars (B), the last to be built, were isolated from the rest and accessible only by special staircases.
The total length of upper galleries measured 4,297 meters, covering nearly 3 hectares.
The lower galleries stretched 6,623 meters, occupying about 2.5 hectares.
While excavation posed no major difficulties, some areas with insufficient limestone thickness required reinforcement of vaults and walls. Notably, no serious collapse ever occurred.
Detailed plan of historic cellar network: intricate spatial layout and expansion strategy of its underground galleries. (P. Ferrouillat - M. Charvet, Les Celliers construction et matériel vinicole, Paris, 1896)
Unlike the picturesque cellars of Reims, often housed in old abandoned quarries with grand arches and irregular shapes, Moët’s galleries were starkly uniform.
Though colder and more monotonous, their vast scale and prodigious wine reserves made a powerful impression.
Logistics, Technology, and Everyday Life Underground
As one walked through these extensive galleries, lined with uniformly cut chalk passages branching in all directions, thousands upon thousands of barrels were stacked along the walls, separated intermittently by enormous vats.
In these narrow corridors, where foudres and barrels hugged the walls, bottled wine was piled in compact stacks over two meters high, with just enough room left for a person to pass.
The floor, saturated with wine and scattered with broken glass from exploded bottles, was regularly swept clean. Central gutters collected spilled wine, which was sold for 7 francs per 200 liters and used to make white vinegar.
Numerous staircases linked the two levels. Openings later replaced by elevators allowed communication between vats and surface buildings for moving barrels and bottles. Decauville tracks crisscrossed the space, enabling carts loaded with baskets of bottles to move efficiently.
Initially lit by kerosene lamps, the cellars were later equipped with full electric lighting. Incandescent lamps were powered by electric cables affixed to the vaults.
Challenges, Discoveries, and Modernization
The newer cellars were excavated under the chalk of the upper Faubourg de la Folie.
Walking here was far from pleasant rainwater filtered through the street above, forming puddles that had to be waded through ankle-deep.
During earlier excavations, workers had discovered a spring that initially flooded part of the cellars. It was eventually diverted through pipes into a large reservoir 6.20 feet deep. Water from this tank was pumped to the surface and primarily used for bottle-washing during the spring season.
The impressive setup of Moët et Chandon’s cellars was particularly noteworthy for the dual-level structure, the surface area of both buildings and galleries, the use of electric lighting underground, and the implementation of Decauville hoists and rails for efficient wine movement.
Moët & Chandon’s Épernay estate stands as a landmark of Champagne heritage—not only for its historic significance and global influence but for the scale, innovation, and engineering embedded deep beneath the Avenue de Champagne.
Source
The Pall Mall Budget, London, 1872-1873, v. 9
P. Ferrouillat - M. Charvet, Les Celliers construction et matériel vinicole, Paris, 1896
J.Roubinet, G. et M.T.Nolleau, Jean-Rémy Moët, Paris, 1996
TAGS MOET & CHANDON CHAMPAGNE CELLARS AVENUE DE CHAMPAGNE WINE HISTORY EPERNAY NAPOLEON CHALK
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