Madame Clicquot – a success story against all odds

The history of wine is full of strong women. But one of the most famous is probably Madame Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin, also known as La Grande Dame de Champagne. A film about her life was recently released: Widow Clicquot. And although the film takes some artistic liberties with her love life, it still follows this extraordinary woman’s remarkable life quite well.

The marriage

Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, was born on 16 December 1777 in Reims. At the age of 21, she was married off to François Clicquot as part of a business deal between their respective fathers, both of whom were textile merchants, but François’ father also owned vineyards in Champagne.
After the marriage, François Clicquot officially became his father’s partner, and in July the company’s name was changed to ‘Clicquot-Muiron et Fils’. Sales increased from 8 000 bottles per year in 1796 to 60 000 bottles in 1804. Eventually, all other activities not related to the champagne industry were abandoned and it became a pure champagne house. In October 1805, seven years after the wedding, Francois suddenly fell ill and died at the age of 30.

Becoming widow and taking over the company

His devastated father announced that he intended to wind up the company. However, this was not an option for the now young widow Nicole. Despite everything going against her, at only 27 years old and as a woman and single mother of a daughter, she managed to convince her father-in-law to let her take over the business. One of the first things she did was to change the name to Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. Veuve means Widow and this marital status was, if you look at it bluntly, the reason why Nicole was able to take over the company in the first place at a time when women could not even open a bank account. It also meant that she never remarried, as that would have meant losing control to a prospective husband.

New inventions

Madame Clicquot realised early on the importance of good customer relations and smart marketing. For example, she took seriously the complaints that the champagne was not always completely transparent. Because the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, there are always some cloudy yeast residues left in the bottle. One way to get rid of them and get a clear drink was to simply pour the champagne into a new bottle. This is a costly and labour-intensive process, and you lose a lot of the characteristic bubbles. Madame Clicquot took a kitchen table down to the cellar and started experimenting with her cellar master Antoine de Müller. They came up with the idea of making several holes in the table, where the bottles could be placed neck first. By gently turning the bottles, the despised sediment would slide down the neck of the bottle. Thus, by pushing out the cork, it could get all the sediment. The champagne could then be topped up, re-corked and shipped out to very satisfied customers. Although they did their best to keep this method a secret, it soon leaked out, and today ‘Riddeling’ as it is called is a standard procedure in all champagne making.

The first Rosé

Madame Clicquot is also the mastermind behind the world’s first Rosé champagne based on a blend of red and white wine. A creation that saw the light of day in 1818. (A small note. Until 2016, it was only allowed in Champagne to make Rosé by blending red and white wine. Nowadays, Prosecco rosé can also be made in this way).

The blockade

But no matter how good a product you make, if no one consumes it, it doesn’t matter. The key is to get the ‘right’ people talking about it. Today we call it Product Placement. And here few can match Madame Clicquot. It’s during the Napoleonic Wars. France is under blockade and it is not possible to export to other countries. Especially not to Russia, as Tzar Alexander had banned French products. She knew that Russians used to love the kind of champagne she made: a very sweet champagne that contained about twice as much sugar as today’s sweet dessert wines. She also knew that the European courts were just waiting for the war to end and they could celebrate Napoleon’s defeat.

The bold move

In 1814, when the blockades fell, Madame Clicquot put into action the plan she had been preparing for five years. (Or, to be more accurate, she started even before the blockade fell.) She chartered a Dutch freighter, the ‘Zes Gebroeders’, to deliver 10 550 bottles of Veuve Clicquot champagne to the Russian market. There was chaos and her competitors thought such a move was impossible. The boat left Le Havre on 6 June; in the meantime, Russia had lifted the ban on imports of French products and there was a demand for French goods. The entire shipment sold out in record time. A few weeks later, another ship loaded with 12 780 bottles of champagne left for St Petersburg. This too sold out as soon as it arrived. And here comes the moment that would forever establish Veuve Clicquot as a star in the Champagne sky. When the champagne reached St Petersburg, Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia, brother of Tsar Alexander I, declared that Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin champagne would be the only champagne he would ever drink! With this statement, which quickly spread among both Royalty and Bourgeois in Europe, Madame Cliquot’s fortune was made. Her champagne was now Den Champagne!

The yellow lable

The famous yellow label, which makes many countries refer to the brand as the ‘Yellow Widow’ only appeared 10 years after Madame Clicquot’s death. Although I think she would have liked it, as it really makes the bottles stand out. That colour, however, was chosen by Madame Clicquot herself to mark vintage champagne. Which she also was the first to do.

Forever a role model

It is difficult to completely fathom the importance of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot to Champagne production. In her life and work, she is also a role model for all those who break norms and shatter glass ceilings. She dared and had the strength to go her own way, despite society’s norms. In her name and honour, her company has presented the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award every year since 1972. This award recognises strong women who run businesses and dare to go their own way. Completely in the spirit of Madame Clicquot and something I think she would have been proud of.

So, to all strong women, yesterday, today and tomorrow, we raise a toast, Champagne of course!

Maria Scharffenberg
Sommelier and Teacher