by Anandhi Gopinath
Honestly, it is rather surprising that the story behind champagne house Veuve Clicquot hasn’t been yet made into a Cannes-worthy art house film or, even better, a multi-episodic series on Netflix. Celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, this iconic champagne, famous for its bright yellow label, is in actual fact a historically significant story of a strong businesswoman truly ahead of her time. At just 21, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was married to François Clicquot – the couple were children of French businessmen, who arranged the marriage in order to create a stronger business alliance between the two families.
François chose to focus on developing the small champagne house that the families owned – they were also fabric merchants – and did reasonably well, but after just seven years of marriage, died tragically from an unknown disease. Barbe-Nicole didn’t agree with her father-in-law’s plan to liquidate the champagne business that she and her late husband were working on, insisting on investing her inheritance in it. Both families agreed, and thus was born Maison Veuve Cliquot-Ponsardin – veuve is French for widow.
Marie Charlemagne, winemaker at Veuve Clicquot
The visionary leader was responsible for many innovations in the industry – she was the first to sell to the Russians, she bottled the first recorded vintage champagne in 1810 and – in 1818 – created the first rosé with red Pinot grapes instead of elderberries. She also established a long-standing culture of design and creativity, steeped in the belief that the appearance of champagne was as important as its taste. She contributed to the design of the champagne bottle we know it today, driven by a desire to combine aesthetics with functionality.
“Veuve Clicquot has an exceptional winemaking heritage, and benefits from one of largest reserve-wine palettes in Champagne – if not the largest. This heritage is tightly linked with the destiny of an exceptional woman: Madame Clicquot,” shares the Maison’s winemaker, Marie Charlemagne, who was in Kuala Lumpur recently. “Her affection for Pinot Noir, of which she perceived the infinite richness and adaptability, still enables us to create the unique signature of our champagnes today. I am happy to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors and, along with all the house’s teams, to perpetuate more than two centuries of know-how and excellence in designing a champagne as iconic as Yellow Label Brut.”
Ahead of a scrumptious lunch at Beta KL to celebrate the occasion of the Maison’s 250th anniversary, we enjoy a short tête-à-tête with Charlemagne – who is, most thrillingly, distantly related to Charles the Great – on her career as a winemaker and what it is like working for the storied champagne house.
Veuve Clicquot has an exceptional winemaking heritage… tightly linked with the destiny of an exceptional woman: Madame Clicquot
The Peak: Tell us about your career in champagne.
Marie Charlemagne: I was born and raised in a family of wine-growers in quite a famous village in Champagne known for its Chardonnay – so I very much used to be a Chardonnay girl. I did my degree in agronomy engineering because I always thought that the grapes are the start of good wine, so I wanted this background and understanding. After that I studied oenology. At some point, I decided that I wanted to be a flying winemaker, so I worked in the winemaking region of Oregon in the US. It is famous for Pinot Noir and this is how I fell in love with this grape. I also spent time in in South Africa and Australia before I returned to Champagne, where I was then offered a chance to work with Veuve Clicquot.
What do you do in Veuve Clicquot?
I am an oenologist and I am in charge of communication, the red wines, and of development and innovation. It is really interesting for me because I make the wine, speak about it, think about sustainable innovation… I love the diversity of this job, actually. One day, I’m in my boots in the vineyards and the next, I am dressing up and travelling the world to talk about the brand. I also liked the spirit of Veuve Clicquot, how women were given so many opportunities – now I feel like being a woman in this industry is a benefit! I think, as women, we focus a bit more on the details of the wine, and we pick up things that our male bosses sometimes do not. For food pairing, this nose is very valuable.
What sort of learnings did you bring back from all these faraway regions?
In Oregon, I was working with sparkling wine and it was interesting to understand how this industry worked outside of Champagne. It was great to learn about grape varietals outside where I grew up, processes like pruning and how to make red wine. In fact, this is why I was hired by Veuve! It was good to learn about how winemaking is different all over the world. The terroir, most importantly, is very different, especially how it relates to the climate and how the grape vines can be made more sustainable. There is a very big difference in the ways sparkling wine is made by new world and old world producers – in Australia, for example, there are no rules relating to yield control, while in Champagne there are rules for everything!
How do you innovate with champagne, considering how strict the laws are in France?
It’s not about a major revolution in champagne, but you can always improve what you’re doing day to day. We can reduce sulphates in the wine, try to be more sustainable and ensure the grape varietals are more adaptable to climate change. Actually, sustainability is a major thing for us because we are so dependent on the health of the grapes for a good vintage. We’ve had to adjust our harvesting schedule because of weather changes, for example, so that means tasting all the grapes to ensure that they are at the right sweetness! The acidity is decreasing a little, and it will continue to do so in the coming years, which means that ageing potential could decrease also. We have to find a balance somehow, but this falls in the innovation that we talked about. Climate change for now is manageable in Champagne but we must be watchful.
What appeals most to you about Veuve Clicquot?
The heritage and, of course, Madame Clicquot herself. I love the wine experiences and, as a young winemaker, it’s interesting to be able to taste wines from all over Champagne and learn from each one. Even though I am from this region, this is an opportunity I wouldn’t get if not for Veuve Clicquot. I love Pinot Noir, remember, and it’s wonderful that Madame Clicquot did too, so I can keep drinking it even now.
Read more, Veuve Clicquot collaborates with Yayoi Kusama on the 2012 La Grande Dame
