Widow Shapes Champagne History

Veuve Clicquot was the second highest selling brand of champagne in the world during the year 2012, selling almost one and a half million nine liter cases. The champagne brand was built by a 19th century widow, named Barbe-Nicole Clicquot who started the wine company with her husband.

Veuve Clicquot was the second highest selling brand of champagne in the world during the year 2012, selling almost one and a half million nine liter cases.

The champagne brand was built by a 19th century widow, named Barbe-Nicole Clicquot who started the wine company with her husband.

She risked her inheritance to keep the wine business going after her husband's death.

It turned out to be a good investment, because after the Napoleonic wars ended, the Russian market opened up putting her brand of champagne on high demand, especially after Tsar Alexander I reportedly announced that Veuve Clicquot was the only champagne he would drink.

To keep up with rising demand, Barbe-Nicole devised a way to produce high quality champagne faster by devising an innovative method known as riddling, which is still used by many champagne makers to this day.

Champagne is made by adding sugar and yeast to white wine, which causes a secondary fermentation that creates alcohol and carbonation but leaves behind dead yeast sediment.

The yeast sediment in the bottles makes the champagne cloudy, so Barbe-Nicole started storing the bottles upside down and turning them to allow the yeast to accumulate in the neck. This innovation was kept secret for many years, giving her a leg up above the competition.