We can’t let International Women’s Day pass without a mention to one of the baddest in the game…Madame Clicquot! Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (now known as The Widow Clicquot), married François Clicquot in 1798 and found herself widowed with a struggling champagne business just six years later. Though the Clicquot family business was more focused on textiles with wine sales as an afterthought, and her father-in-law sought to terminate the champagne branch after his son’s death, Barbe-Nicole’s interest and passion for champagne allowed her to perfect the champagne production and distribution to turn Veuve Clicquot into the global empire it is today. Did you know veuve actually means widow in French?!
Madame Clicquot’s influence on champagne is unmatched. Not only did she turn around a failing wine business because she refused to give up, she also invented a champagne technique called riddling that is still used today. This technique relies on a riddling table, which allows for champagne bottles to be aged upside down, forcing the leftover yeast from secondary fermentation to collect in the neck of the bottle where it can be easily removed instead of sinking to the bottom of the bottle.
“In an era when women were excluded from the business world, she dared to assume the head of the company, a role she undertook with passion and determination. Madame Clicquot’s character might be summarized with two words: audacious and intelligent.”
– Veuve Clicquot
Raise a glass today to Madame Clicquot and to audacious and intelligent women everywhere. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them.
Witty Pairs 