The house was established in 1743 by Claude Moët, who was the first winemaker in Champagne to exclusively produce sparkling wine. The brand began as Moët et Cie, meaning Moët & Co., though it was renamed in 1833 as Moët et Chandon after Pierre-Gabriel Chandon de Briailles, Remy Moët's son-in-law became a partner in the company. The best-selling brand, Brut Imperial, was introduced in the 1860s.
Then, in 1971 Moët & Chandon merged with Hennessy Cognac, and with Louis Vuitton in 1987 to become Louis-Vuitton-Moët-Hennessy, the largest luxury group in the world. The brand now produces something around the region of 28,000,000 bottles of Moet Champagne a year.
Also, a handy dinner party tip: as Claude Moët was of Dutch heritage, the name is pronounced 'mo-wett', not 'mo-way'. You can quote us on that.