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!