Wine Widows?

I saw a recent article the BBC about the little known history of Champagne. In 19th century France women were barred from owning businesses. Widows were exempt from the rule. Three widows created empires despite what others thought. The three, Mrs. Clicquot-Ponsardin, Mrs. Pommery, and Mrs. Bollinger. Do these names sound familiar? You bet!!

Mrs. Clicquot-Ponsardin was widowed in 1805 at only 27 years of age and she made an unusual choice for a woman of her class, to take over the family company. The company was failing, so she asked for a loan of 835,000 euros in today's equivalent from her father-in-law. He granted it. The champagne house became known as Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. Veuve translates to widow and the term veuve gave the beverage a bit of respectability. Even with all her hard work, in 1814 she was again facing failure, mainly due to the Napoleonic Wars. The border to Russia was blocked, but she decided to run the blockade! She wanted to beat her rival, Mr. Jean-Remy Moet (another familiar name!). Mrs. Clicquot-Ponsardin smuggled thousands of bottles of champagne into Russia. In 90 days she became a major player in the champagne trade in Russia and was referred to as "The Widow"!

In 1858 Alexandre Pommery died and his widow Louise stepped in to take over the business just eight days after his death. Louise had been educated in England, so she had had a proper education for a girl. Most girls in France were sent to the convent schools to learn homemaking skills only. At the time Louise took over she was a young mother of a 15 year old son and an infant. From her time in England, she knew that the English had a drier palette, so she revolutionized a livelier, dry yet delicate style called Brut champagne.

Lily Bollinger took over her family's champagne house in 1941 upon her husband Jacques' death. She brought her champagne to America and traveled around solo for 3 months introducing it the Americans. She was named the "First Lady of France" in 1961 by a Chicago newspaper.

An unusual tidbit, none of these widows ever remarried, hmmm!! If they had remarried, they would have lost their status and right to own their champagne houses. Smart ladies!!

If you'd like to read a bit more about the widows and the Champagne region in general, I suggest the following books:

Madame Pommery by Rebecca Rosenberg

Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg

The Widow Clicquot by Tilar Mizzeo

The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan (WWII Champagne region)

The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell (dual time line)

The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel (dual time line)