How to pronounce Moët & Chandon

What is Moët & Chandon?

A Champagne house in Épernay, France, founded in 1743 by Claude Moët and renamed in 1833 when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon became a partner.

The name means “Moët and Chandon” in French.

Moët & Chandon is a Champagne house in Épernay, in northeastern France. Claude Moët, a wine trader, founded it in 1743. The name changed to Moët et Chandon in 1833, when Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles, son-in-law of Jean-Rémy Moët, became a partner. In 1971 the company merged with the Cognac house Hennessy, and since 1987 it has been part of the LVMH group.

According to LVMH, the house has 1,300 hectares of vineyards and more than 28 km of cellar galleries under Épernay. It also buys grapes from growers. Its non-vintage Brut is called Moët Impérial, a label that dates from the 1860s.

On a shelf or wine list the name is often shortened to Moët. Dom Pérignon began as the prestige wine of the house, with 1921 as its first vintage, first sold in 1936, and is now marketed under its own name.

Moët & Chandon, syllable by syllable

Why Moët & Chandon is hard to say

French usually drops a final t, as in Cabernet and Clicquot, so many people expect a silent ending here. Family names do not always follow that rule, and Moët keeps its t. A spokesperson for the house has put this down to the name being Dutch in origin, while other accounts describe the family as of German stock. Brut is another Champagne word whose final t is sounded.

The two dots on the ë are a tréma. They tell you that o and e are two separate vowels, moh-ET, and not one blended sound. The same mark appears in Aÿ, a Champagne village. The word et, written here as &, always has a silent t. In fluent French the t of Moët runs straight into it, so the first three beats sound like moh-eh-tay.

Chandon holds two nasal vowels. A vowel followed by n or m goes through the nose and the n is not fully sounded, as in the first syllable of Champagne and the last of Sauvignon. French stress falls on the final syllable, so DAWN carries the beat.

Other accepted pronunciations

These are also correct, and Vinolingo scores them as correct:

• moh-ET and shan-DON — Established English form.

Tips for saying it

How to order Moët & Chandon

In an English-speaking bar or shop, moh-ET on its own is enough, and moh-ET and shan-DON is the usual English way to say the full name. Use moh-ET ay shahn-DAWN when you speak French or visit Épernay. You will also hear moh-AY, but the house sounds the t.

• “Could we have a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial, please?” Impérial is the non-vintage Brut.
• “Do you serve Moët by the glass?” The short form is common in bars.

Names often confused with Moët & Chandon

• Veuve Clicquot (vuhv klee-KOH): Another Champagne house, based in Reims, whose name does drop its final t.
• Champagne (shahm-PAHN-yuh): The region and the wine. Its first syllable has the same nasal ah as Chandon.
• Brut (BROOT): The dry style named on most bottles, and another French word with a sounded final t.
• Dom Pérignon (dawn pay-reen-YAWN): A vintage Champagne that started as the prestige wine of Moët & Chandon and is now a brand of its own.

Questions about pronouncing Moët & Chandon

How do you pronounce Moët & Chandon?

Moët & Chandon is pronounced moh-ET ay shahn-DAWN in French: Moët has two vowels and a sounded t, the & is the word et, said ay, and Chandon has two nasal vowels with the stress on the last syllable. In English, moh-ET and shan-DON is also accepted.

Is the t silent in Moët?

No. The t in Moët is sounded, so the name ends like the English word wet: moh-ET. This is unusual for French, where a final t is normally silent. The form moh-AY is often heard, but the house says moh-ET.

Is it moh-ET or moh-AY?

The native form is moh-ET, with the t. Moh-AY follows the general French rule of dropping a final t, which is why it is so often heard, but that rule does not apply to this family name.

Why is the t pronounced in Moët?

Moët is a family name, and French family names often keep consonants that ordinary words drop. A spokesperson for the house has said the name is Dutch, not French, which would explain the t. Other accounts trace the family to German roots.

Sources: Wikipedia: Moët & Chandon, Wikipédia (French): Moët & Chandon, VinePair: How to pronounce Moët & Chandon, LVMH: Moët & Chandon. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.