Widow Clicquot
Take a look in advance
Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, (1777 - 1866) has gone down in history as the "Grande Dame of Champagne." She took over her husband François' wine business when he died in 1805 and she was widowed at the age of 27. This was anything but a foregone conclusion. Immediately after the funeral, her father-in-law announced his intention to sell the company to competitor Claude Möet. The vineyards, which François loved so much, are now at risk of being reduced to mere assets on a balance sheet.
Barbe-Nicole doesn't want that to happen. She tasted and tested...
Madame Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, (1777 - 1866) has gone down in history as the "Grande Dame of Champagne." She took over her husband François' wine business when he died in 1805 and she was widowed at the age of 27. This was anything but a foregone conclusion. Immediately after the funeral, her father-in-law announced his intention to sell the company to competitor Claude Möet. The vineyards, which François loved so much, are now at risk of being reduced to mere assets on a balance sheet.
Barbe-Nicole doesn't want that to happen. She already tasted and tested wines with her late husband and saw much in his radical ideas of how to produce great wine. Defying the zeitgeist, women just didn't run businesses in Napoleon's imperial France, she persevered, defying male misogyny with relentless determination and extraordinary vision. With the Champagnemany gripping Russia during the Napoleonic Wars, the tide is on her side, and her business gets a huge economic boost.
An extraordinary woman, then, this Barbe-Nicole. Fully justified that director Napper found her an intriguing person as a subject for a film. He was inspired by Tilar J. Mazzeo's book, ''The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it.'' One of the first women to own and run a winery, she was also a savvy entrepreneur and brilliant innovator in both winemaking and marketing. Her golden invention was the distinctive yellow label on the bottles. To this day, this label is used on 85% of the ten million bottles a year of Brut Carte Jaune, the world's best-selling champagne.
The real subject of the film, however, is the rise of female entrepreneurship in an era when it was virtually impossible.
When
- Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024 11:45 a.m.-1:27 p.m.Buy tickets
- Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 12:00 - 1:42 p.m.Buy tickets
- Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 8:30 - 10:12 p.m.Buy tickets