Champagne widows uncorked a grand legacy
REIMS, France — For Champagne to become the tipple it is today — popped at weddings, quaffed in casinos, sprayed by race drivers and smashed against ships — a few men had to die.

Not just any old men. Young ones married to clever young women.

Without the widows of Champagne, mankind’s most seductive fizz might not be what it is now. One of the world’s most famous Champagnes — Veuve (“Widow”) Clicquot — explicitly evokes the rather grim tradition. But other legendary houses — Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier and Pommery — also got their starts from tragedy-tinged widows. Then there are the many lesser-known names that still carry the widow tag, such as Veuve Fourny and Veuve Doussot.

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Widowhood gave these figures an independent social status in France. Unlike other women — who were the property of a father or a husband — a widow could become a CEO.

“In the 19th century ... if you’re not married you’re dependent on your father, you can’t have a bank account and you can’t pay staff. If you are married you are reliant on your husbands,” explained Fabienne Moreau, Veuve Clicquot’s archivist. “Only a widow can take this position as head of a company.”

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