The widows of Champagne

Dec 30, 2004 11 Replies
L

I find it somewhat curiously odd that several of the great Champagne houses were created or managed or owned, etc., by widows. So, I started to put together a list of these grand ladies.



By the way, there is an interesting twist to the Champagne widow phenomenon. Some houses started inventing widows as a marketing tool. See

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Thanks.



Here is what I have so far (of the *real* widows). Will appreciate your help in filling the gaps and the likely omissions.



WIDOW (HOUSE)



Louise Pommery (Pommery)



Mathilde Emilie Perrier (Laurent-Perrier)



Marie-Louise de Nonancourt (Laurent-Perrier)



??? (Roederer)



??? (Lanson)



Lily Bollinger (Bollinger)



? Binet (???)



? Loche (???)


-- ================================================Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida? Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at

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E

Leo Bueno wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Veuve Clicquot!

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B

I just went through Jancis Ronbinson's wine course DVD today with the last chapter being on Champagne and not one widow in sight. Not one female in sight.

Another rather controversial revaluation today is that the bubbles in the Champagne are due to dust. In a dust free environment and a dust free glass, there are no bubbles. They even demonstrated it on TV tonight.

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D

Leo,

Am I missing something here with your reference to "real" widows? To me the most famous is Madame Ponsardin, aka Veuve Cliquot. Is she not considered real?

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

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L

She is Nicole Ponsardin, who was at the top of the original list.

-- ================================================Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida? Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at

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L

Dale:

She is real indeed. The article I cited noted that there were a few "faux" (did I get that word right?) widows which were invented as a marketing gimmick, given that the labels from the real ones were being very successful. So, yes, La Grande Dame was real.

I am simply trying to put together a fairly accurate list.

-- ================================================Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida? Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at

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R

Barbe Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot(Veuve Clicquot) perhaps the most impressive of all of the widows. Bi!!

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E

Leo Bueno wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Sorry, I did not see her on your list. P.S. née Ponsardin:

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M

They completely dropped the name "Werle", btw.

M.

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J

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??

Jenny

------------------------------------------------- Bonum Vinum Laetificat Cor!!!!

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"Leo Bueno" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

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N

Veuve A. Devaux. Was she a real widow?

Monika

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