A brief history of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. ⏱️ Sixty second read.

Born in 1777 in Reims, she married Francoise Clicquot in 1798 and was widowed in 1805. She launched her own company Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin 1810. She died in 1866 in Paris.

Two businessmen, Mr Ponsardin and Mr Clicquot ‘arranged’ the marriage of their children Francoise Cliquot and Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. This practice was quite common at the time and designed to protect families fortunes.

When Francoise died suddenly aged just 30 his father intended to wind up the business he had built with his son. However, Barbe-Nicole convinced her father in law, Philippe Clicquot to invest in her and keep the business going.

To cut a long story short, this proved a shrewd move and Veuve Clicquot became the first known vintage champagne in 1810, the first rosé was introduced in 1818. In a moment of genius Barbe-Nicole came up with the technique of removing the yeast by-product that comes from making champagne.

In addition to establishing champagne as the luxury drink for special occasions, Madam Clicquot also established the technique known as riddling which enabled removal of sediment formed from yeast fermentation. This process has been adapted by nearly all champagne and fizzy wine producers. For more information about the process > HERE

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