The Widow Clicquot – Book of the month March 2024
"The Widow Clicquot. The story of a champagne empire and the woman who ruled it" is a book published by author Tilar J. Mazzeo that has been a New York Times bestseller for several years now.
I chose to present this book as a recommendation for the month of March precisely because the first month of spring is dedicated to women. As in the world of wine we have and have had extraordinary women, the book of March is dedicated to one of these ladies. Champagne Lady: Widow Clicquot.
The Widow Clicquot is the New York Times bestselling business biography of the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, became a legend in her tumultuous times, and showed the world how to live with style.
The author, Tilar J. Mazzeo, searched for a good period of time to find out the story of the woman Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin and this part of the search materialized in this beautiful book. The problem she encountered was that it was very difficult to find information about the woman Barbe-Nicole, starting from childhood, continuing with the adolescence and only then with the woman in mature age who raised the champagne empire we know today.
During Barbe-Nicole Cliquot Ponsardin's lifetime it was not common for women to come forward and have a business. One very interesting thing I learned from the book was that as an exception, widows had the right to take their lives into their own hands and decide for themselves. Barbe-Nicole also experienced this after her husband's death; a good ally was her husband's father, who entrusted the company to her, trusting that she would take it to the next level.
The book tells the story of the girl Barbe-Nicole, then the teenager, at least as the author imagined it taking into account the information found, the historical period in which Barbe-Nicole lived, as well as the status of her family at the time. Then the story becomes more complex by bringing up the difficulties that Barbe-Nicole encountered once she became a widow and had to carry on the family business without having much experience with it before, the things that she also learned along the way, the people who stood by her side, the innovations she made in the world of champagne, her family story after becoming famous and of course, the champagne empire she left as legacy to the whole world.
The book does not have a Romanian translation, it is only available in English.
Chapters:
I chose to present this book as a recommendation for the month of March precisely because the first month of spring is dedicated to women. As in the world of wine we have and have had extraordinary women, the book of March is dedicated to one of these ladies. Champagne Lady: Widow Clicquot.
The Widow Clicquot is the New York Times bestselling business biography of the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, became a legend in her tumultuous times, and showed the world how to live with style.
The author, Tilar J. Mazzeo, searched for a good period of time to find out the story of the woman Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin and this part of the search materialized in this beautiful book. The problem she encountered was that it was very difficult to find information about the woman Barbe-Nicole, starting from childhood, continuing with the adolescence and only then with the woman in mature age who raised the champagne empire we know today.
During Barbe-Nicole Cliquot Ponsardin's lifetime it was not common for women to come forward and have a business. One very interesting thing I learned from the book was that as an exception, widows had the right to take their lives into their own hands and decide for themselves. Barbe-Nicole also experienced this after her husband's death; a good ally was her husband's father, who entrusted the company to her, trusting that she would take it to the next level.
The book tells the story of the girl Barbe-Nicole, then the teenager, at least as the author imagined it taking into account the information found, the historical period in which Barbe-Nicole lived, as well as the status of her family at the time. Then the story becomes more complex by bringing up the difficulties that Barbe-Nicole encountered once she became a widow and had to carry on the family business without having much experience with it before, the things that she also learned along the way, the people who stood by her side, the innovations she made in the world of champagne, her family story after becoming famous and of course, the champagne empire she left as legacy to the whole world.
The book does not have a Romanian translation, it is only available in English.
Chapters:
- Child of the Revolution, Child of the Champagne
- Wedding vows and family secrets
- Champagne dreams
- Anonymity in their blood
- Crafting the cuvee
- The Champagne Widow
- Partner and apprentice
- Alone at the brink of ruin
- War and the Widow's Triumph
- A comet over Russia: the vintage of 1811
- The industrialist's daughter
- The Wine Aristocrats
- Flirting with disaster
- The Champagne Empire
- Le Grande Dame
- The Queen of Reims
Reasons to read the book: behind a success story there is always a lot of work, obstacles, ups and downs, but also a desire to succeed. Barbe-Nicole's story is an inspirational one and deserves to be enjoyed with a glass of champagne that bears her name!
Where you can find the book: on Books Express website where the order comes in about 2 to 3 weeks.
Carmina Nițescu
Winesday & Winesday App
Where you can find the book: on Books Express website where the order comes in about 2 to 3 weeks.
Carmina Nițescu
Winesday & Winesday App
