Historical Women of Champagne
Champagne is a universal symbol of celebration par excellence, of love, happy moments and grand success. It was not until the 19th century that Champagne became what we know as the golden sparkling. Wine has been in existence for over 7,000 years! Thanks to the efforts of key women in wine, influencers transformed the status of a simple cloudy wine into a luxury elixir. To understand the role of women in Champagne, it is important to review how Champagne became ‘Champagne’.
The stories surrounding the French Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers, Dom Perignon, and English scientist, physician, and metallurgist Christopher Merret have often been credited with the invention of Champagne. However, the truth is that Champagne was a collaborative effort that involved many people over many years. Dom Perignon and Christopher Merret did play important roles in the development of Champagne. Dom Perignon was responsible for many of the early experiments with sparkling wine. He also developed many of the techniques that are still used today, such as blending different grape varieties and aging the wine in bottles. Christopher Merret published a book that described the process of making sparkling wine. Merret's work helped to spread the popularity of Champagne throughout Europe.
The turning point for Champagne occurred in the 17th century when still wines were deliberately made into sparkling fizz. The Champenois wine merchants and winemakers tirelessly pursued their efforts to create this new type of wine. They experimented with different grape varieties, fermentation methods, and bottle shapes. One of the most important discoveries was the use of better quality grapes. The Champenois realized that certain grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, were better suited for making sparkling wine than others. They also discovered that harvesting the grapes early helped to preserve the acidity, which is essential for sparkling wine. Another important discovery was the process of disgorgement. This is the process of removing the dead yeast cells from the bottle after the second fermentation. Disgorgement allows for a clearer and more sparkling wine. The Champenois also experimented with different bottle shapes. They realized that a stronger bottle was needed to withstand the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas. They also discovered that a thicker neck helped to keep the cork in place.The creation of Champagne was a long and arduous process, but it was ultimately successful. Champagne is now one of the most popular wines in the world, and it is enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds. The creation of Champagne was a collaborative effort that involved many people over many years. Dom Perignon and Christopher Merret played important roles, but they did not invent Champagne on their own. The Champenois wine merchants and winemakers were also essential to the development of this world-renowned wine.
It wasn’t until the 18th century that Champagne gained popularity. Both the French King, Hugh Capet and the Duke of Orleans served Champagne at official dinners to the French elite and royalty. The domino effect led to a huge increase in demand for Champagne. The great Champagne houses were founded to meet the growing demand of this trendy fizzy drink. Gosset, established in 1584, is the oldest “house” still in production, originally producing a “still wine.” In 1729, Ruinart was first producer of sparkling wine to open its cellar doors with Taittinger (formerly Forrest Fourneaux) following in 1734. Moët opened soon after in 1743, Lanson then in 1760, Louis Roederer (formerly Dubois Père & Fils) in 1770, Veuve Clicquot in 1772 and Heidsieck in 1785. Over a 50-year period, the production of Champagne grew from 300,000 to 20 million bottles.
There is a long history of revolutionary leading ladies of Champagne. These ladies paved the way for today’s chef de caves and Champagne house leaders. Some were visionaries, some were innovators, some were marketers and born leaders, but they all had one thing in common, their passion for elevating Champagne.
Champagne houses, like any other business in France in the early 1800s, were traditionally passed down from father to. When the husband died (often at a young age in the many wars during the century) the widow (a.k.a. La Veuve) was often the next in line in unexpected circumstances. At that time, women who were either unmarried or married were dependent on their male family members (fathers, husbands, or brothers). They were not allowed to have bank accounts or ownership. The only way women could gain property was through inheritance as a widow. The strength, gumption and especially the fresh perspective of these newly independent Veuves led to a revolution in the way Champagne was made and the styles we drink.
For several centuries Champagne has been a favorite of kings and sovereigns, the elixir of courtesans and a symbol of universal celebration. At the beginning of our Champagne history in the 18th century, many of the great ladies of history were also the great consumers of Champagne. Madame de Pompadour (Jeanne Antoinette Poisson) who was a favorite mistress of Louis XV was a grand hostess for the King’s parties at the palace. She and other ladies of court often enjoyed Champagne in the salons or their private rooms. Her favorite Champagne was from a wine merchant, Claude Moët. He shipped unlimited amounts of Champagne to Paris Court. She became the most prominent brand ambassador for Champagne Moët & Chandon. Another influential figure both politically and commercially, Catherine The Great of Russia employed a significant amount of bubbly wine to reinforce and enhance her lovers. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that women took a leading business role in the Champagne industry.
How, you ask? The most famous Grande Dame and widow of Champagne was Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin-Clicquot. Widowed at the age of 27 and a surprisingly savvy businesswoman, she quickly intervened and saved her husband's wine business. She immediately saw an opportunity to enter the Russian market at the end of the Napoleonic wars, something other houses were slow to realize. She smuggled 10,550 bottles into Imperial Russia to be ready for the celebrations once the treaties were signed. The Tsar Alexander declared that he would drink nothing else but her wine – a stunning royal endorsement. In order to keep up with the sudden demand, she created new ways to streamline production to take advantage of this lucrative opportunity. She developed the racking process in the second fermentation, known as riddling, which reduced waste, increased efficiency, and created a clear and more stable product.
The wine of Veuve Clicquot quickly became the brand ambassador of all Champagne as a luxury product. Like the widow Clicquot, another veuve, Apolline Henriot, courted Dutch, Austrian and Hungarian royalty with her Champagne to great success. In the late 19th century, there was a strong preference for a sweeter, demi-sec style of Champagne. Louise Pommery entered her husband's firm as a businesswoman when she was 37. Educated at English boarding school, she knew of the British affection for a drier style of ciders and beer. She viewed England as a great opportunity because of their desire for high-quality bubbles, which represents an untapped market. She transformed her husband's red wine production into a thriving Champagne business. She successfully switched to a drier brut style, which also indirectly changed the flavor and aromatic profile of Champagne to one that is globally loved and considered a gold-standard style today.
As for the 20th century, women in Champagne had different challenges: the Great Depression, Prohibition in the United States and, most notably, the First and Second World Wars. Champagne’s location in Northern France has been a military crossroads for centuries. The region of Champagne has seen destruction from enemy armies, vineyards destroyed, cellars raided, and plantings and maintenance of vineyards disrupted. Jeanne Krug managed her family’s Champagne Krug business following the capture of her husband by the Germans during World War I. She oversaw all aspects of the house during the war, raised their children and volunteered as a nurse for the Red Cross. She sheltered troops and citizens in her wine cellars, established schools, a chapel, and an infirmary in the wine aging corridors under the winery. Following the war, she set up a charity to help restore the destroyed city of Reims and collaborated with the United States government to build the American Memorial Hospital for children. During World War II, Jeanne continued her good deeds and was arrested twice by the Gestapo for smuggling secrets related to Spain. In order to negotiate the German occupation diplomatically, she provided German military officers with wine allotments, just like all Champagne houses. She was respected and released from custody after both arrests. She survived the war and received three awards from the French government, the Croix de Guerre, Médaille de la Résistance, and the Légion d' Honneur.
Throughout our story, it is important to understand how Champagne became such a highly coveted luxury item thanks in large part to the efforts of Camille Olry-Roederer of Champagne Roederer. Champagne Roederer had been the favored fizz of the Tsars and consequently the Russian Revolution weakened their stronghold on the market and combined with the Depression that followed, resulted in a substantial loss of revenue. Following her husband’s death, Camille took over the company and saved her family’s Champagne business, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. She revived the notion of glamour, and elegance with her personal style, her socialite savoir faire with, of courem, the famous Cristal Cuvée.
She revamped their business and aimed their Champagne at high society with Cristal, which she promoted endlessly. Riding the momentum of her Champagne’s popularity, she marketed the prestige cuvee to high society circles of horse racing, the opera, Studio 54 in New York City and all manner of social events and parties. She was both a trend setter and a glamour influencer of her generation, known for wielding an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Elizabeth (Lily) Bollinger took over the management of of her family’s Champagne Bollinger in 1941 following the death of her husband during that Nazi occupation in World War II. You would often see her riding her bicycle in the vineyards during the occupation. She remained diplomatic with the Nazis by supplying Champagne to them however kept the best vintages hidden in her cellars. Her cellars were opened for the locals of Aÿ as a bomb shelter. She also organized funerals for the local victims. After the war, she continued to manage Champagne Bollinger until she died in 1971. Throughout her long life, she continued to follow the winemaking traditions that were established during the first 100 years of winemaking at Champagne Bollinger. She was a highly talented wine taster and was renowned for her ability to blend wines. One of her greatest creations was ”RD,” which stands for “Recently Disgorged– bottles of vintage wine aged for 12 years on their lees (much longer than the mandated minimum in Champagne of 15 months. With this extra-long aging, these labels were also the first in history to feature a disgorgement date so consumers could appreciate the age of their wine. Odette Pol-Roger of Champagne Pol-Roger, a close friend of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, launched the famous Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill in 1975. These Champagnes are praised for their elegance and complexity.
Today, though a very small percentage of Champagne cellar masters are women (a paltry 17%), 40% of the estates of Champagne growers are owned by women. In addition, women account for 28% of the senior management roles in Champagne houses, while 70% of wine purchases in France are made by women. In the United States, women account for 86% of wine purchases in a $56.65-billion wine industry. Although the impact of women’s purchasing power is significant in the wine industry, that importance does not correlate with the social, cultural, and economic status of women that work in the industry.
Nevertheless, there has been significant progress towards a bright and sparkling future. To see that future it is important to have the context of knowing the stories of the leading ladies.
With all the advancements of these great ladies, there is still much to be done today. As time passed, women came together to help one another. As the saying goes, “Together we are stronger; together we are unbroken; together we can do anything.” There is surely more to follow on the role of women in Champagne today.
Published on Glass Of Bubbly on October 12, 2023
Published on Passion Des Vins (French version) on February 1, 2024: Historique des Femmes en Champagne
