Champagne women

Smart, savvy females—key to Champagn's success

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Champagne women

Champagne today is what it is today because of women.

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin’s husband died in 1805 when she was 27 years old. That made her Veuve (widow) Clicquot. Weeks after her husband’s death, Veuve Clicquot organized shipments of the family wine to Russia—no mean feat during the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1814, Russian soldiers stormed Reims and invaded her cellars. “Let them drink,” legend says she said. “They will pay for it later.” Undaunted, she ran the winery for more than 60 years.

Madame Clicquot