The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it Hardcover – Illustrated, 28 Oct. 2008

I'd been fortunate enough to visit the Champagne region a couple of times and am planning to go again this year. I was recommended this book a long time ago and thought now would be a good time to read about this part of the Champagne story.There are 191 pages split into 16 chapters plus various other sections. The book was first published in 2008.Whilst reading about the life of Madame Cliquot there is a lot of be learnt about French history - much of which was new to me.The author tells the story in a way that is engaging, encouraging readers to put themselves into certain situations. She has some great phrases included which are often thought provoking (example - "all politics are local, even if it is in the middle of great world events").Over the centuries many stories have emerged about the Champagne industry and some of them are challenged strongly in this book (e.g.. Dom Perignon did not invent champagne as he was actually working to remove the naturally occurring bubbles).We learn huge amounts about the development of champagne and, alongside it, some of the major changes to French society, influenced by the revolutions then Napoleon's power grabbing.The families that produce the champagne operate in such a small area that it should be no surprise it is an incestuous industry - some people working successfully in partnerships then others becoming arch enemies and strong competitors. This book shows all aspects of the business culture from the period.This is a book I genuinely couldn't put down with each page revealing something new - about Madame Cliquot or the world in which she was operating.It's clear that the research has been very extensive and I admire the author's restraint in not allowing her references/notes to get in the way of the story. I've seen too many nonfiction books spoilt by the interruption of copious notes. There are over 40 pages of references but they are all put together at the back of the book along with the extensive bibliography, encouraging the eager history to read further whilst allowing the more casual reader to ignore entirely.There are also sections at the end about the author and the process of writing - fascinating!

Bought for a friend who loves this champagne so was nice for her to read about the history

I thoroughly enjoyed this Biography of The Widow Cliquot and her struggle to make her vineyard pay following the death of her husband. What an amazing woman she must have been and what an empire she built..

An interesting read although dull and heavy going at times. Expensive for a paperback.

Read this for a book club. Was worried it would be a bit dry but it is actually very accessible. Very interesting to learn about this clever, 18th Century female entrepreneur, her inventions and how she ducked and dived around the trade embargoes during the Napoleonic era.

strangely, the route to reading this biography came more by circumstance than by intent. Earlier in 2019 I had been doing post-graduate research on Gabrielle Bonheur (Coco) Chanel and had included, in the secondary source readings 'The Secret of Chanel No. 5' and 'The Hotel on Place Vendome', both written by Tilar J. Mazzeo and like 'The Widow Clicquot', well worth reading. It has to be said that for financial, circumstantial, health or personal preference standpoints, clearly not everyone will consume Champagne. However, this is a biography about a highly unusual, dedicated, yet very private French woman by the name of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, born on the 16 December 1777, in other words, in the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was just eight years her senior, born on 15 August 1769. But here's the nub of this biography: she invented what is known in the trade as remuage, slanting the bottles neck downwards and giving them a sharp quarter turn each day to concentrate the sediment formed by the spent yeast, which over time and much care, results in Champagne as we know it to this day! And more to the point, Veuve Clicquot Champagne is one, if not the, premium Champagne in what is to this day, a lucrative, luxury product market. Mademoiselle Ponsardin married her sweetheart, Francois Marie Clicquot, on 18 June 1798, when she was 21 years of age and together they started producing and selling their own wines. Francois died prematurely of typhoid on 23 October 1805 and although Madame Clicquot may have been attracted to other men she subsequently met, she remained a widow, hence Veuve Clicquot as she became known and the name which still embellishes the distinctive yellow label of every bottle of Clicquot Champagne. which brings us to the next point. Veuve Clicquot was responsible, as stated earlier, with developing the process known as remuage sur pupitre, she also established product branding with the distinctive yellow signed label and contributed significantly to internationalising the Champagne market. It is not the purpose of this review to remove the pleasure others will undoubtedly enjoy from reading this highly interesting biography, which deals with many fascinating aspects related not just to the product itself but also the background to why Champagne is one of the worlds true luxuries. If the mood takes you and your piggy-bank allows, do buy yourself a copy of Tilar's biography 'The Widow Clicquot', you will not be disappointed and perhaps...even a bottle of Champagne? Well OK, just the book then? Happy reading.

When going gets tough the tough get going - this expression must’ve been invented from the example of this magnificent widow’s life 🍾🍾🍾

I've just finished reading this book ( it required some perseverance!) and was puuzled about how it got so many positive reviews.It is weak: It sits somewhere between a history book and historical fiction but it's neither. It's largely based on speculation with lots of " I imagine she must had done this" " they might have..." There are some interesting historical facts and facts about the wine trade but the personal story of the Veuve Clicquot and how she personally built the empire that it is today, it is simply not there.It's repetitive: Without many facts about The Clicquot widow life, the author " had to" fill 200 pages with , as mentioned above, speculation and lots of repetition.It's sometimes inaccurate" The start of chapter 2 says " The young Italian soldier Napoleon Bonaparte" Napoleon was French! He was born on August 1769 and Corsica became French in May 1768.