The Person Who Changed the Course of Champagne

                                        Veuve Clicquot's cellars will be visited in next year's trip

If you’re thinking Dom Perignon (whom many mistakenly attribute as the person who invented Champagne), think again.   Fast forward 150 years to the early 1800’s.   The person who undeniably changed everything for Champagne was Veuve Clicquot…whose name translates to the 'widow' Clicquot. 

                                              The widow Clicquot was a formidable force

Madame Clicquot was widowed unexpectedly at the age of 27 with a six year-old child.   The year was 1805, and veuve Clicquot was left with her husband’s  company which was involved in banking, wool trading and Champagne production.  In this era it was unthinkable for a woman to work outside the home, and it was simply unimaginable for a women to run a business.  The fact that the woman was from a wealthy family (who were friends of Napoleon), made it all that much more inconceivable that she would run a business.

The widow Clicquot broke all of the stereo-types of women in her day.  Never-mind that France was in the middle of the Napoleonic wars.  Not only did she run her husband’s business but she took all facets of the company to new soaring heights…especially the Champagne part of it.   Here are just a few of her many contributions that championed an entire Champagne industry:

 

                  "Riddling" bottles was a game-changer for marketing a beautifully clear Champagne

• The widow Clicquot developed a process (“riddling”) which turned the unappealingly cloudy Champagne into a brilliant clear wine.

• Veuve was the first Champagne producer to sell wine outside of France…her customers were the Royal families of Europe.

• Madame Clicquot pioneered the making of Rosé Champagne.

• Widow Clicquot was the first person to use colored labels…all labels at this time were white.

 

Today, the much-heralded Champagne company still bears her name, Veuve Clicquot.   Travelers who will be joining Wine-Knows’ September 2024 tour next year may even have the opportunity to see Madame Clicquot’s office, left much as it was after her death in 1856.   You’ll also have a private tour and tasting at the winery.   There are 3-4 spaces remaining on this harvest trip to Champagne, Burgundy and Provence.

Burgundy & Champagne – Wine-Knows Travel (wineknowstravel.com)

How a Woman Changed the Course of Wine History

                                

                               The "widow" was the first person to use colored labels

Most every avid wine lover recognizes the neon orange label of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.   What many may not know, however, is that the person who not only created the label but also the brand was a strong-willed woman.   Not only did she do so in the early 1800’s, but this break-all-the-rules thirty year old woman was a widow (veuve means widow).   All of this was done with the deck stacked completely against her as no woman in France before her had ever run a business.

Veuve Clicquot did many things that ultimately altered the course of wine history.  Her first bold move was to sell Champagne outside of France, an unthinkable notion at the time especially since Napoleon had declared war on most of Europe.  The widow was the first in Champagne to do so.  She also ingeniously figured out a plan to cleverly slip the wine shipments through the naval blockades.   But the veuve was just getting warmed up.

Veuve Clicquot was a force well ahead of her time

                          

The widow Clicquot dramatically transformed the Champagne making process.  At the time, Champagne was cloudy due to sediments from dead yeasts.  She had a very keen eye on aesthetics. She was also the first person to use colored wine labels---up until this point wine labels had only been white.  But her biggest contribution to aesthetics was her revolutionary invention of a method that changed Champagne from cloudy to clear.  The ingenious process she invented, called riddling, is still used today by every Champagne company, as well as world-wide by makers of high-end sparkling wine. 

Veueve Clicquot wasn’t through yet, however.  She pioneered the making of Rosé Champagne, a revolutionary idea in the early 1800's.   With attention to the details of marketing, the widow played an instrumental role in establishing Champagne as the preferred drink of royalty and the wealthy.

                      Veuve's cellars are now protected by the United Nations World Heritage

Veuve Clicquot championed the entire industry of Champagne.  She was also the first business woman in France.  To pay homage to her contributions, the entire company was renamed in her honor.  Those of you coming to the sold-out Champagne tour in June will have a private tasting at Veuve Clicquot and will be able to toast her efforts in the extraordinary cellars in Reims.

A salute to Veuve Clicquot!

Why is Champagne So Expensive?

There are several reasons for the luxury price tag on a bottle of Champagne.  The biggest one is the labor-intensive process in which it is made.   Unlike still wine, Champagne requires several added steps involving significant hands-on toil by a cadre of highly-specialized winery workers.   Moreover, the method of making these hallowed bubbles requires a lengthy period of time.  Time is money.

The unique process of making Champagne is one of the biggest reasons for its lofty price.  Once the grape juice ferments to wine, Champagne goes through an entirely separate process to create its bubbles.  This is called the Methode Champenoise and these words appear on every bottle of sparkling wine made in the Champagne district of France.  By law, no other region or country can use these words, or call their wine Champagne.

The Methode Champenoise involves a “secondary fermentation” in the bottle.  Already fermented still wine is placed in a bottle along with a tiny amount of sugar and yeasts.  A cork is then added.  Over the period of several weeks the added yeast eats the sugar and a secondary fermentation process occurs.   Carbon dioxide is a by-product of fermentation.  This carbon dioxide is responsible for Champagne’s illustrious bubbles.

  Dead yeasts from the secondary fermentation must be removed.

Once the yeast cells have consumed all the sugar they die off.  Now, comes the process for getting rid of the unsightly dead yeast sediment in the bottle.  It begins with “riddling.”  Bottles are placed in a special rack which allows them to be very slowly rotated to a vertical position over time (the cork end of the bottle ultimately ends up at the bottom).  Over a period of several months, each bottle is turned daily by a “riddler.”  Slowly, slowly each bottle is rotated so that over time the spent yeast cells gravitate toward the neck of the bottle. But, there’s much more.

  Riddlers painstakingly turn each bottle daily

Now that the yeasts have all floated to the neck of the now positioned vertical bottle, they must be removed.  This involves another hands-on process called “disgorgement.”  In short, the bottle is kept in its vertical position (cork side down) and placed in ice just long enough for the area near the cork to freeze.  With lightening-speed the cork is removed (and with the cork the frozen dead yeasts adhering to the cork are also removed), and a new cork is placed….all at the blink of an eye by a well-seasoned “disgorger.”    But the Champagne is not ready yet.  It now needs to “rest” for months or even years before it is sold. 

       Dead yeasts accumulate in the vertically positioned bottle & are frozen before removed.

Another reason that Champagne is pricey is the notion of supply and demand.  The Champagne region is the smallest wine region in France and produces a limited number of bottles.  Globally, Champagne accounts for <1% of total wine production.  To further complicate the issue Champagne is France’s most northern wine area.  There are some years in which grapes do not ripen adequately, thus further limiting availability and driving up the cost.

In summary, the Champagne process is long and complex, with many steps along the way that necessitate workers with well-honed special skills.  Production is limited.  All of this translates to do-re-mi for the consumer.   Wine Knows will be visiting both the Champagne and Burgundy regions in June 2019.  For more information about this trip visit www.WineKnowsTravel.com.

  

The Woman Who Changed the Course of Champagne

                                                 The widow Clicquot (Le Veuve Clicquot)

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was the daughter of a wealthy, well-connected farther who was involved in textiles and politics.  At 21 years old, she married Francois Clicquot.   Six years later, in 1805, her young husband died leaving his widow a company involved in banking, wool, and Champagne.  At the time, it was unthinkable for a woman to work outside the home, let alone a young widow (veuve in French) from an affluent family.  But, that didn’t stop the Veuve Cliquot.

Never mind that the Napoleonic wars were in full swing.  Never mind that she was not a business person.  Never mind that she knew little about Champagne, or wool, or banking for that matter.  With the deck stacked completely against her on every front, she persevered.  Her first decision was to focus solely on the Champagne part of the company and let her father-in-law deal with the other components.  A very wise first move, indeed.

With laser-beam attention, she immersed herself in the process of making Champagne.  At the time, Champagne was cloudy (due to sediments from dead yeasts that had created the bubbles).  With an eye on aesthetic details, Madame Cliquot invented a process that would change Champagne to a clear wine.  Known as “riddling,” this remains a critical technique and is used today by every producer of Champagne.  The widow Cliquot, however, was only getting started.

Against all odds, she was the first Champagne company to sell its wine outside of France.  Considering Napoleon was wreaking havoc on most of Europe at the time, this is even more laudable.  But, she didn’t stop there.  She pioneered the making of rosé Champagne.  Moreover, she used her visual senses once again---this time she was the first to use a colored label on a Champagne bottle (all of her competitors used white labels).  Today, the bright yellow label of Veuve Clicquot Champagne has become a symbol of their brand.

While Veuve Cliquot championed the entire industry of Champagne, she did so much more.  She was the first business woman in France.  To pay homage to her contributions, the entire company was renamed in her honor.  The Widow’s story is beautifully chronicled in the intoxicating book, “The Widow Clicquot” by Tilar Mazzeo.  You’ll recognize the cover immediately as it’s the same color as the company’s neon-yellow colored Champagne labels. 

Those of you here in France with us will tomorrow enjoy a private tasting led by the winemaker at Veuve Clicquot.  And, you’ll be able to view the widow’s desk set much as it was the day she died in 1866 as they have now made a museum of her office from where she made magic.

Vive le Veuve!

How is Champagne Really Made?

Many of Champagne's complexities are a result of aging with yeasts

There are several ways to actually make a sparkling wine.  One is to simply add carbon dioxide to a regular wine….voila, you have instant bubbles.  But, for true French Champagne there is only one way to make it.   It’s called the “Methode Champenoise.”   Here’s an overview of the process and why this technique creates a much more complex wine.

In the Méthode Champenoise non-bubbly wine that has already gone through fermentation is placed in a bottle along with some yeasts and a small amount of sugar.  Like in making bread, yeasts need sugar to jump-start their activity.  And, exactly like in bread-making the yeasts’ action gives off carbon dioxide bubbles as they work.  As the wine is in a bottle secured with a cap, this carbon dioxide is trapped and becomes the coveted bubbles we all look forward to appreciating in a glass of Champagne.  This process is a secondary fermentation, as the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle due to the added yeasts and sugar.

Wines produced by the Méthode Champenoise must remain in contact with the yeasts for at least 15 months by law.  This means that wine is stored in the bottle long after the yeasts have stopped working.  It is this resting period that allows for Champagne to develop complexity from its interaction with the dead yeasts.  Many of flavor nuances in Champagne (e.g. aromas of baked bread & nuttiness) are a direct result of their contact with the remains of the yeast cells.  Moreover, the creamy mouth texture is also related to interaction with the yeast.  Now, the challenge is to remove the yeast debris which causes cloudiness.  Here’s how that is done.

First, the dead yeasts are slowly by gravity moved to the neck of the bottle.  This act is called “riddling.”  Painstaking each bottle is rotated by hand, little-by-little, over a period of several months so that it stands almost vertical.  With each labor intensive rotation, the cellular debris of the dead yeasts is moved closer to the tapered end.   Once all the yeast fragments are at the end of the bottle, the next step in the process occurs.  The neck of the bottle (still in its upside down position) is dipped in a frozen bath.  The dead cells, attached to the cork, become frozen.  Very quickly, the cork with the attached  “ ice cube of dead yeasts,”  is removed and a new cork inserted.  This freezing process and cork removal is called “disgorgement.”

No other sparkling wine in the European Union  may use the word Champagne or the Méthode Champenoise on their labels or any advertising material.   The word Champagne is carefully guarded by law and can be used  only by the sparkling winemakers of the Champagne district.  On this September’s tour we’ll learn all about these super-stringent laws prohibiting the unlawful use of the word Champagne, we’ll observe the riddling process as well as view the cellular debris of yeasts as the Champagne is aging, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to watch disgorgement.  For sure, we’ll be have ample opportunities to drink the world’s most famous bubbly.

A votre santé!  (to your health!)

 

The Person Who Changed the Course of Champagne

                    The process of riddling and the riddling rack was invented by Veuve Clicquot

Prior to my last post, many readers may have thought this article was about Dom Perignon who is erroneously credited with inventing Champagne. Not only is it not about him, but it’s about a woman….a widow no less. This story is about how the iconic Veuve Clicquot (veuve means “widow” in French) changed the landscape of the modern day Champagne industry.

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was the daughter of a wealthy father who was a member of Napoleon’s inner political circle. (In fact, Mr Ponsardin was granted the title of mayor of Champagne’s most famous city, Reims, by the Emperor.) Mademoiselle Ponsardin married into an equally affluent and well-connected family, the Clicquots. A few years later her young husband died leaving her a significant business involved in banking, wool trading and wine production. The year was 1805 and the widow Clicquot was only 27 years old.

In the early 1800’s it was unthinkable for a woman to run a company but the veuve Clicquot was determined to take over Clicquot’s wine-making operation. To complicate matters further, France was in turmoil due to the Napoleonic Wars, as well as the French Revolution. But the clever, unstoppable widow persevered against all odds. Totally immersing herself in learning every minute detail of the family’s wine business, she embarked on a career of risk-taking that few men may have had the guts for.

Although the widow Clicquot is known for several innovations in Champagne, the one that she is most famous for is inventing a process that revolutionalized the sparkling wine industry. Prior to her invention, Champagne was cloudy and gritty. These unpleasantries were caused by dead yeast cells (yeasts are used to create the bubbles in Champagne). Madame Clicquot developed a method to get rid of the disagreeable yeast debris. She called it “riddling.” Here’s how it works.

Riddling is a several month process of gradually turning Champagne bottles into an upside-down position. This painstaking and labor-intensive process moves the yeast sediment by gravity to the neck of the bottle where it settles against the cork.  The neck of the bottle (still turned upside down) is then frozen in an ice bath and the dead yeasts freeze into a small ice cube up against the cork. The bottle is opened, the cork very quickly removed (and with it the frozen plug of dead yeasts), a new cork is replaced. Voila! The Champagne is now clear and free from any grainy yeast debris.

Not only did Madame Clicquot invent the riddling process, but she designed a special rack to efficiently and effectively rotate (or “riddle”) the bottles. This process and these racks are still used today in sparkling wine production around the world, although larger wineries have recently begun using mechanical riddling machines.

When the veuve Clicquot died at the age of 88, she was still intimately involved in her wine business. Madame Clicquot was also one of the richest women in Europe. Over the course of >60 years, she had taken her namesake brand from a small family winery to one of the leading Champagnes. While the widow Clicquot will always be remembered for her critical impact on the sparkling wine industry, she should also be acknowledged for being one of the first businesswomen of the modern era.

For a fabulous read on the widow Cliquot’s life and her many contributions to the world of Champagne don’t miss The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar Mazzeo. Moreover, if you’re coming with Wine-Knows to France in September, we’ll be visiting Veuve Clicquot for a private tour and tasting where you’ll be able to see many of the widow’s memorabilia which have been preserved in the a special museum.    

A toast to the widow Clicquot!