Claude Moët (1683–1760) was a Dutch

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

merchant who founded the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

house that later became Moët et Chandon. Moët was the first winemaker in

to exclusively produce

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

. An expert salesman, Moët advocated the importance of personal contact with customers. During the 1730s, he networked extensively within the royal circles of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

and soon became one of few merchants accredited to serve the royal court. One of his most loyal customers was Madame de Pompadour.D. & P. Kladstrup ''Champagne'' pg 47-48 Harper Collins Publisher Following his death, the champagne house went to the control of his grandson Jean-Rémy Moët.

Family history

For the American journalists Don and Petie Kladstrup, the Moët family can trace its origins to a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

soldier named LeClerc who fought alongside

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

in fending off

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

attempts at preventing the crowning of Charles VII. As a reward for his service, the king changed his name to Moët.D. & P. Kladstrup ''Champagne'' pg 48 Harper Collins Publisher This story is far-fetched, although indeed ''Moët'' originates from a nickname. From 1351, we find in Reims the trace of three échevins succeeding one another from father to son: Colart, then Pierrat and finally Jean Le Clerc, known as Moët (Joannes, dictus Le Clerc alias Moët) (register of the deliberations of the Reims metropolitan chapter, 1402). In the fourteenth century the family was called Le Clerc, and was nicknamed "LeMoët or Mouet" because of a pout that the first of the three échevins "was in the habit of doing". The word comes from old French '' moe'', that is to say "mouth", then by extension "pout". It was not uncommon at this time for surnames to be nicknames characterizing and differentiating people.Jacqueline Roubinet and Gilbert & Marie-Thérèse Nolleau ''Jean-Rémy Moët - Un seigneur du champagne et un politique de talent'' pg 8 Éditions Stock, Paris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moet, Claude Wine merchants 1683 births 1760 deaths French people of Dutch descent

Family history

See also

References