Veuve Clicquot

What it is

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (English: , French: [vœv kliko pɔ̃saʁdɛ̃]) is a Champagne house founded in 1772 and based in Reims. It is one of the largest Champagne houses. Madame Clicquot is credited with major breakthroughs, creating the first known vintage champagne in 1810, and inventing the riddling table process to clarify champagne in 1816. In 1818, she invented the first known blended rosé champagne by blending still red and white wines, a process still used by the majority of champagne producers.

Key facts

What it is

business, company, champagne house source

Product

champagne, Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label Champagne source

Owned by

LVMH source

Parent company

LVMH source

Created

1772 source

Country

France source

Headquarters

Reims source

How it is made

The first vineyards were owned by Philippe Clicquot near Verzy and Vernezay. The second group of vineyards was the "Bouzy holding" inherited by François Clicquot from his grandmother Muiron in 1804. These two vineyards were enlarged by purchases made by Madame Clicquot. Different varieties of grapes are picked by hand. Every precaution is taken to ensure the grapes remain intact until pressing. After pressing, the juice is put into fermentation vats.

The story behind the name and label

When Philippe Clicquot began producing champagne, he simply sold "champagne wine". There were no labels on the bottles. The earliest brand he used dates from 1798. The yellow label began appearing on bottles in 1876. The house pasted a yellow label on its bottles to distinguish dry champagne from sweet on the British market. The color of the label was officially trademarked in 1877 and its use was extended to all bottles.

Fun facts

The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Award was created in France in 1972 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the house's founding. This award honors successful businesswomen around the world. It is the first and the longest-running international prize dedicated to women entrepreneurs. In the decade between 1830 and 1840, the brand was mentioned many times in operettas, vaudeville, variety shows, and reviews. Many 19th-century Russian novels used the term "klikoskoïe" as a synonym for high-class champagne. In the 1942 film Casablanca, Captain Renault (played by Claude Rains) recommends Veuve Clicquot to Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt).