Widows, Trailblazers, Trend Setter's and the Iron Maidens of the Champagne World. Learn how these women influenced and created what we call champagne, a symbol of luxury, style and finesse.
Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin
I love to call her the “First Lady of Champagne”, Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin was a daughter of a rich aristocratic family. Married to François Clicquot, whose family was into many businesses; one of them being champagne making. A marriage that was more of a business deal between two businessmen to consolidate their power in the town of Reims.
François Clicquot wanted to expand the wine business of their family which was minuscule in front of the other businesses his family did. even after his fathers disapproval he went ahead with his wife to learn the art of wine making. The business never boomed, and after death of François due to typhoid, 6 years after the marriage; Madame Clicquot, now Veuve or "widow" Clicquot took ownership of the company and who knew that time that her efforts will take the company to new heights. Hence you can see the origin of names of champagne Veuve Clicquot.
After the demise of François, his sad father Philippe Clicquot announced to shut down family's wine business. It was then that Barbe went to her father-in-law with a strong proposition and said, ‘I’d like to risk my inheritance, I’d like you to invest the equivalent of an extra million dollars in me running this wine business.’ And he says yes,”. he clearly judged that she was very strong willed and clever to make this decision.
She took apprenticeship in learning wine making and by the time she finish the wine business was nearly bankrupt. She went to her father-in-law again to ask money and he again invested in the business. But this time it was the end of the Napoleonic wars, this was the time when the legendary 1811 vintage was lying in her cellars.
She took a huge gamble, she was sure that as peace is announced the Russian market will be open for a sweet sparkling wine (around 300 gms of sugar) which she produced. The champagne market then was very small, and Russians were known to be early enthusiasts of this wine. She took a lead, chartered a boat defied sea trade blockades and shipped around 10,000 bottles of her wines to the port of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) .
As peace was declared; her champagne reached Russian people the earliest, beating other producers by weeks. Its popularity gained, Tsar Alexander I announced that it was the only kind he would drink. The popularity spread from the royal court and then slowly to the whole world. She became a major player in champagne business from a mere nobody.
The champagne then was unclear with dead yeast floating in the bottle, it was herself with Antoine de Müller, chef du cave (cellar master) who invented the process of Remuage, in 1816. To remove the unappetizing yeast from the champagne a method was devised; she took her kitchen table, made holes and placed bottles in the holes by the neck, the only change in a modern riddling table or pupitre is the inclination. This was the experiment that gave us the clear champagne we consume today. It was decades before her competitors were able to copy this process, till then she already made a huge following for her niche product.
She was also one of the first, to promote champagne internationally her champagne reached Russia in the period of Napoleonic wars, its first breakthrough.
1810 vintage produced by them was possibly the first single vintage champagne ever. But it would be her 1811 vintage that would go down in history, and it started with a comet.
Winemakers for long have believed comets as a favorable sign of a good harvest and a good vintage. In 1811, the Great Comet (a.k.a. C/1811 F1) burned brightly in the sky for a good part of the year. To commemorate it, Madame Clicquot named her 1811 vintage “The Year of the Comet," and even added a star on the cork.
Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin (Madame Louise Pommery)
The more you read about the history of Champagne you will find out that it was led by ladies, not just ladies but specifically most of them were widows. That’s why I like to call them Iron Maidens.
The specific reason why it was generally widows is the fact that in the 19th century France, married women were not entitled to have a bank account or had the right to pay wages, which anyway does not sound a good prospect for someone who wants to start a new venture.
Whereas – a dead husband, was the only way of women entrepreneurship; as widow status gave an independent social standing. A widow, in the society, achieved financial independence and could become the head of a family business, as the responsibility of the family would lay on her.
One of such trailblazer of Champagne world was Madame Jean Alexandrine Louise Pommery .
Champagne Pommery was established in Reims by Alexander Pommery and Narcisse Greno in 1858 as Pommery and Greno. Alexander's untimely death, left behind his widow, Madame Louise Pommery and her two children. She took over the house the same year, dedicated herself to the business of Champagne production and began producing a sparkling white champagne.
Madame Pommery with her background of English boarding school, she knew the love of hard ciders and drier drinks of the English people and thought to venture the market.
In 1874, she instructed her cellar master to produce a champagne that broke away from the conventional wines of the times. Because Pommery Nature, as it was called, not only had less sugar than any other Champagne made until then. It was the birth of a new style called “Brut”. Since then it has gained so much of popularity that it’s the base style of champagne by any champagne maker.
Madam Louise is also known for launching what is said to be the largest construction project in Reims. The ambition to transform the chalk quarries of the champagne house into cellars started in 1868. Miners dug these 18 kilometers long chalk pits called crayères 30 meters below the ground.
The plazas were adorned by bas-relief structures by sculptor Gustave Nalvet that elevate the grandeur of these unbelievable structures.The only thing that connects this surreal underground world to the world outside is a magnificent staircase of 116 steps.
World War I and Pommery, home to many…
In 1914, as the bombardments increased in their ferocity, Reims was caught in a firestorm. More and more civilians began to descend the steep staircase, as Madame Pommery’s caves swiftly became an underground city.
It was a makeshift school and living quarters for the teacher, the children and all their families lived underground. Children were forbidden to go out of the caves as it was too dangerous. The school area was divided into three parts; the class, playground, and one for a gymnasium. Gymnastic session was held for students to keep them healthy as they seldom got fresh air. Life in the world underneath the Pommery vineyards tried to carry on as normal.
Lily Bollinger
World War II was in full swing. In the town of Aÿ, in 1940, the invaders ransacked the house, making off with 178,000 bottles. Only a year later, Jacques Bollinger died, stipulating in his will that Lily was to take full ownership of the house. She took onto the reign of the the prestigious house , Bollinger in 1941.
German forces had impulsively sited a munitions depot near the Bollinger vineyards. In spiteful retreat in 1944, the military planned to overthrow Aÿ, and the arrival of Allied forces just in time saved Bollinger.
Despite Allied bombing to push the Germans out, a depleted labour force, and shortages of electricity, water and gas; Madame Bollinger was usually in the vineyards by 6 a.m., often riding her bicycle up and down the vineyard rows.
At night, with her château commandeered by the Germans, she slept in the cellars.Freedom didnt come soon , on August 22, 1944, General Patton’s Third Army arrived just in time to stop the retreating German army from dynamiting the Bollinger cellars.
In 1969, to mark her 70th birthday, she introduced Vieilles Vignes Françaises – the first champagne made from only pinot noir grapes and old vines.
Lily Bollinger retired in 1971. She left us with one of the immortal Champagne sentiments: "I only drink Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty."
Camille Olry-Roederer
Another important personality, a widow whose contribution is somehow overlooked. Camille Olry-Roederer, is the matriarch of Louis Roederer. She took over the business in 1932, after the demise of her second husband.
She took the reign of the business when the situation was pretty much forbidden. Country about to go to war, a worldwide Depression, and U.S. Prohibition, made selling champagne to the lucrative American market impossible.
When she inherited the business, the business was heading towards bankruptcy. Sales were 264,000 bottles that year, compared to 2.3 million bottles in 1876.
To make things worse, she was not welcomed into the Champagne business world by the people of the region as she was an outsider and didnt belong to the region. Something that the other widows didnt face as they were from Champagne themselves.
Keeping the issues aside, she surrounded herself with an extremely competent team. Hiring professional sales and export managers, and travelling abroad to open new markets. She loved to socialize; at her place in Reims, where she met people of art and power and with them travelled the word about her champagne.
She inherited a horse stable in Normandy and was an avid lover of horse racing. Her horse Jamin, won the America Cup 3 times. Camille spent several months in the USA promoting her horse and her champagne. She was greeted as the “queen of champagne”. this was her entry to the American high society. Soon peoplr were drinking Cristal at Opera, parties and gathertings. by 1950's the popularity was such that models and studios started featuring it in their media and by 90's it became the staple of Rap lyrics.
With all the stigma around women alcohol; people tend to forget that it was a big contribution of these ladies that pretty much helped shaping the Champagne industry.
So cheers!!! to these Iron Maidens.
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