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{{Short description|French Champagne producer (1777–1866)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Madame Clicquot
| image = Veuve clicquot.jpg
| birth_name = Barbe Nicole Ponsardin
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1777|12|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Reims]], [[Champagne wine region|Champagne]], Kingdom of France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1866|07|29|1777|12|16|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Boursault]], [[Marne (department)|Marne]], Second French Empire
| occupation = [[Champagne]] producer
| years_active = 1805–1866
| organization = [[Veuve Clicquot]]
| spouse = {{Marriage|François Clicquot|1798|1805|end=d}}
}}

'''Madame Clicquot''' ({{IPA|fr|madam kliko|lang}}; {{nee|'''Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin'''}} {{IPA|fr|baʁb nikɔl pɔ̃saʁdɛ̃|}}; 16 December 1777 – 29 July 1866), also known as '''Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin''', '''Widow Clicquot''', '''Veuve Clicquot''', and the '''Grande Dame of Champagne''', was a French [[Champagne]] producer. She took on her husband's wine business when widowed at 27. Under her ownership, and her skill with wine, the company developed early Champagne using a novel technique. The brand and company of [[Veuve Clicquot|Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin]] still bears her name.

==Biography==
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, born 16 December 1777 in [[Reims]], was the daughter of a wealthy father, Ponce Jean Nicolas Philippe Ponsardin (from 1813, Baron Ponsardin), a textile manufacturer and politician.<ref name=wwa>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UL2D5QqOLhoC&pg=PA4 Women with Attitude], Susan Vinnicombe, John Bank, 2003, {{ISBN|0-415-28742-1}}. Retrieved 17 March 2009</ref> Her mother was Jeanne Josephe Marie-Clémentine Letertre-Huart. Her childhood was influenced by her father,<ref name="smithsonianmag.com">Geiling, Natasha [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-widow-who-created-the-champagne-industry-180947570/ The Widow Who Created the Champagne Industry.] Smithsonian Magazine Nov 5, 2013.</ref> who was involved in both [[business]] and [[politics]].<ref name="theguardian.com"/><ref name="nytimes.com"/> Formerly a royalist, he switched political positions to turn against the [[monarchy]]. Thanks to this move, Barbe-Nicole's family escaped the Revolution unscathed.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> [[Napoleon]] and [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Josephine]] had both stayed at L'Hôtel Ponsardin, her family's home (not a ''hôtel'' in the modern sense). Her father was made mayor of Reims by Napoleon's decree.<ref name=ama>{{cite book | title=The Widow Cliquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It|first=Tilar J. |last=Mazzeo |isbn=0-06-128856-X|year=2008 | page=85 | publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref>

[[File:Ponsardin.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Nicolas Ponsardin, donated to the city of Reims by his daughter]]
Like Nicholas Ponsardin, Philippe Clicquot ran a successful textile business. In addition, he was an owner of [[vineyard]]s in the Champagne country and had established a wine business.<ref name="forbes.com2">{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2016/05/10/women-in-wine-the-grand-dames-of-champange/#1fc2128a1c82|title=Women in Wine: The Grand Dames of Champagne|work=Forbes|date=2016}}</ref><ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/31/madame-clicquot-france-woman-champagne|title=Veuve Clicquot: the effervescent widow who gave us the champagne lifestyle|work=The Guardian|date=2014}}</ref> In an attempt to consolidate the power of their two businesses, Mr. Ponsardin and Mr. Clicquot arranged a wedding between their children,<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> which was common at the time. Thus, François Clicquot and Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin were married on 10 June 1798.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="forbes.com2"/><ref name="theguardian.com"/> She was 21 at the time of the marriage.

After his marriage, François Clicquot was officially made his father's partner, and in July, the company name was changed to "Clicquot-Muiron et Fils". In August 1801, François Clicquot began a long trip in [[Europe]]. Passing through [[Basel]], he met [[Louis Bohne]]. Louis Bohne remained a faithful employee of the company all his life and later became a valuable adviser to Madame Clicquot, even though he was usually stationed far away.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/>

In 1801, Philippe Clicquot retired and left control of the companies to his son François.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> In October 1805, seven years after their wedding, Francois fell suddenly ill with a fever similar to typhoid.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/books/review/Stern-t.html|title=A kick from champagne|work=The New York Times|date=2018}}</ref><ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> He died some days later,<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> at the age of 30.<ref name="forbes.com2"/> François' death may have been suicide,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/books/review/Stern-t.html?_r=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink A Kick From Champagne], Book review, ''The New York Times'', 25 December 2008</ref> but it was attributed to typhoid.<ref name=wwa/> Thus, Barbe-Nicole was a widow at 27 with a six-year-old daughter, Clémentine. Owing to the marriage, she is also referred to as Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin.<ref name=vc>{{cite web |title=Madame Clicquot: The Grande Dame of Champagne |website= Veuve Clicquot |url=https://www.veuveclicquot.com/en-au/madameclicquot.html |access-date=31 October 2024}}</ref>

Both Barbe-Nicole and Philippe were devastated by François' death, and Philippe Clicquot announced his intention of liquidating the company.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> However, the young widow (''veuve'' in [[French language|French]]) went to her father-in-law with a proposal<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> and convinced him to let her manage the business<ref name="theguardian.com"/> Philippe agreed to her proposal under one condition: Barbe-Nicole would go through an [[apprenticeship]], after which she would be able to run the business herself, if she could prove that she was capable.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> Thus, Barbe-Nicole overcame convention to become the first [[Women in France|woman]] to take over a champagne house<ref name=":0" /> and the first female champagne producer.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> She entered into an [[apprenticeship]] with the winemaker Alexandre Fourneaux, and tried to save the wine business and make it grow.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> In the early 19th century, the [[Napoleonic Code]] denied women civil and political rights, prohibiting them from working, voting, earning money, or entering schools and universities without the consent of their [[husband]] or [[father]].<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="theguardian.com"/> At that time, [[widow]]s were the only women in French society to be free and to be allowed to run their own business.<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/>

This left Barbe-Nicole in control of a company variously involved in banking, wool trading, and champagne production. Under Madame Clicquot's control, the house focused entirely on champagne, and thrived<ref>Don and Petie Kladstrup, ''Champagne: How the World’s Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times'' (New York: William Morrow, 2005), p. 77. {{ISBN|0-06-073792-1}}.</ref> using funds supplied by her father-in-law.<ref name=ama/> On 21 July 1810, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin launched her own company: "Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin".<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> She is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known [[Champagne#Production|vintage champagne]] in 1810 and inventing the [[Traditional method#Riddling|riddling]] table process to clarify champagne in 1816.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/><ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref name="forbes.com2"/><ref name="Miscellany">G. Harding ''"A Wine Miscellany"'' pp 45–47, Clarkson Potter Publishing, New York 2005 {{ISBN|0-307-34635-8}}</ref><ref name="Johnson pg 337">H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 337 Simon & Schuster 1989 {{ISBN|0-671-68702-6}}</ref> Prior to this invention of riddling, the second fermentation of wine to create champagne resulted in a very sweet wine with large bubbles and sediment from the remains of the [[yeast (wine)|yeast]] used in the fermentation in the bottle (which creates the bubbles in the wine) resulting in a cloudy wine. She still used the original English technique of adding sugar, but after this second fermentation was complete the bottles were held upside down. The bottles were regularly turned so that the dead yeast would all gather near the cork (riddling). Once the settling was complete, the wine near the cork was removed, followed by an addition of wine to refill the bottle. In 1818, she invented the first known blended rosé champagne<ref name="InStyle Magazine">{{cite news|url=https://www.instylemag.com.au/inspiring-women-changing-the-world?category=Lifestyle|title=The Game-Changers: 5 Inspiring Women You Need To Know Now|publisher=InStyle Magazine|date=2018|access-date=29 October 2018|archive-date=29 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029152226/https://www.instylemag.com.au/inspiring-women-changing-the-world?category=Lifestyle|url-status=dead}}</ref> by blending still red and white wines,<ref name=":0"/> a process still used by the majority of champagne producers.

[[File:Veuve clicquot bottle sizes.jpg|thumb|Veuve Clicquot Champagne in a range of bottle sizes]]

Owing to her achievements as a businesswoman and her invention of three new techniques for making champagne, she became known as the "Grande Dame of Champagne".<ref name=vc/>

==Death and legacy==
Clicquot died 29 July 1866, in [[Boursault]]. She had built the Neo-Renaissance style [[Château de Boursault]] in honor of the marriage of her granddaughter Marie Clémentine de Chevigné to Louis de [[Mortemart-Rochechouart]] in 1839. [[Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart]], the daughter of Marie Clémentine and Louis,<ref>{{cite book|title=Almanach de Gotha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GDUoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA448|page=448|accessdate=2015-03-26|year=1891|publisher=Justus Perthes}}</ref> inherited the chateau on Madame Clicquot's death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nemausensis.com/personnages/SagadUzes_fichiers/DuchesUzes.htm |title=La Duchesse D'Uzès|work=Nemausensis|accessdate=2015-03-27}}</ref>

Clicquot's legacy includes three inventions that revolutionised the making of champagne, including three firsts: vintage champagne; the riddling table; and blended rosé champagne.<ref name=vc/>

=== In popular culture ===
In 2019, Lisette Glodowski and Richard C. Walter wrote a musical about Madame Clicquot’s life, titled ''Madame Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical''. The cast recording of the musical was released in 2023. The fully staged musical had its world premiere with the [[Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera]] in 2025, starring Victoria Frings as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin and [[Paolo Montalban]] as Louis Bohne, directed and choreographed by Laurie Glodowski.<ref>{{Cite news |last=CULWELL-BLOCK |first=Logan |date=April 24, 2023 |title=Pop Some Bubbly! Madame Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical Drops Studio Cast Album April 14 |work=Playbill |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/pop-some-bubbly-madame-clicquot-a-revolutionary-musical-drops-studio-cast-album-april-14 |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pittsburgh CLO Will Debut Madame Clicquot Musical in 2025 |url=https://playbill.com/article/pittsburgh-clo-will-debut-madame-clicquot-musical-in-2025 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250428183521/https://playbill.com/article/pittsburgh-clo-will-debut-madame-clicquot-musical-in-2025 |archive-date=2025-04-28 |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=Playbill |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Papalia |first=Alexis |date=2025-05-31 |title=Pop the cork: Pittsburgh CLO's 'Madame Clicquot' is a revolutionary revelation |url=https://triblive.com/aande/theater-arts/pop-the-cork-pittsburgh-clos-madame-clicquot-is-a-revolutionary-revelation/ |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=TribLIVE.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Haley Bennett]] portrayed Clicquot in the film ''[[Widow Clicquot]]'' which premiered at the [[Toronto Film Festival]];<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2023-11-29 |title=TIFF 2023 Drama ‘Widow Clicquot’ Starring Haley Bennett Acquired By Vertical |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/widow-clicqout-movie-haley-bennett-vertical-1235641940/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zilko |first=Christian |date=2023-09-13 |title=‘Widow Clicquot’ Review: Bodices Replace Bluetooth Headsets in This Rags-to-Riches Champagne Saga |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/widow-clicquot-review-1234904487/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref> it had its [[wide release]] on July 19, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-06 |title=T&C Exclusive: Watch the Trailer for 'Widow Clicquot' |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a61008700/widow-clicquot-trailer/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Town & Country |language=en-US}}</ref> The film is based on [[Tilar J. Mazzeo]]’s [[New York Times bestseller]] ''The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It'' and focuses on “the true story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the late 18th century.”<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole}}
[[Category:19th-century French businesspeople]]
[[Category:19th-century French businesswomen]]
[[Category:Champagne producers]]
[[Category:1777 births]]
[[Category:1866 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Reims]]
[[Category:19th-century women inventors]]
[[Category:19th-century French inventors]]

Madame Clicquot Ponsardin - Revision history

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