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Where was I?
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Standard Champagne
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The Veuve Clicquot Champagne House is named after Madame Clicquot who took over her husband’s small Champagne business when he died, making her a widow at the age of 27 (veuve is French for widow).
It was formed in 1805 in Reims and currently produces around 8 million bottles a year from their 275 hectares of vineyards. Madame Clicquot had a great aptitude for business and selected equally talented people to work alongside her. Her original partner, Monsieur Bohn, was a supreme and dedicated salesman who made great inroads into central and eastern European markets allowing Madame Clicquot to stay at home and supervise the running of the business.
At the time most Champagnes were cloudy and required decanting before serving, Madame Clicquot invented a process in the making of wine called remuage which left the product crystal clear. The remuage process is still used in Champagne production today.
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Despite her remarkable business ability Madame Clicquot lacked an obvious successor to the business. Her daughter Clementine had none of her mothers business acumen and was also extremely shy. Clementine had married the Count de Chevigne who although very likeable was equally irresponsible. He accumulated large gambling debts but found an ingenious way of earning money to pay them back: he wrote a saucy book which sold out many reprints. This was due to Madame Clicquot having purchased every copy of every edition in order to preserve the family’s name. Upon her death in 1866 aged 89 she left the business to Edouard Werle who had succeeded Bohn as her partner in the company. In the present day the firm has the third largest collection of vineyards within the Champagne region, although these only provide 30% of their grape requirements. They source their remaining grapes from equally highly rated vineyards throughout the region.
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Delivery
It's 1.39pm on Tuesday, earliest delivery - Wednesday 7th Jan, (or later if preferred). Next-day cut off: 3pm
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