Napa: Yountville AVA

This is the region in which Bordeaux’s Christian moueix staked his Napa claim, and where moët & chandon entered the California winemaking business in 1973. Chandon established Domaine Chandon for the production of traditional method sparkling wines and found success from the start, with California ripe fruit marrying with champagne production methods. Moueix entered the picture in 1981, forming a partnership with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, inheritors of Napanook Vineyard from their father John Daniel, to produce his Dominus brand of ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignons, buying them out in 1995. The small town of the same name has one of the Valley’s highest concentrations of restaurants.