Domaine Chandon: You know a winery takes their visitor experience seriously when you pull in the drive and find out they have their own radio station that supplies information on the winery, what is going on, parking, etc.  The winery is owned by Moet-Hennessy a partnership of Moet Chandon, one of the oldest Champagne houses in France, and French cognac producer Hennessy.  The parking lot, grounds and tasting facility of Domaine Chandon is reminiscent of some of the visitor centers of the largest and most visited national parks, such as Yosemite or Yellowstone.  The parking lot is multi leveled with busses, limos and cars everywhere.  The grounds are truly spectacular and do look like a park with a ponds, fountains, large pedestrian bridges, massive lawns and extensive gardens.  The visitor facility is built low to the ground and into the hill which belies its size. 

After passing under the beautiful arch that frames the entrance to the visitor center you find yourself in the gift shop.  If you are heading up to do some wine tastng you ascend a large double staircase that makes you think of a large casino or theatre.  Once upstairs the tasting bar is on the right, with bar being the optimum word.  It looks very much like a modern bar with tables around one side and in the center and tasting bars around two sides.  There is seating on the terrace as well. There are multiple tasting options available including one for $15 for 3 wines, as well as by the glass or by the bottle.   In addition they offer appetizers for sale paired to the wines.  Around the bar are flat screen televisions with the tasting menus instead of paper menus.  The facility also has a full gourmet restaurant and a wine lounge that is open in the evenings.  Continued...