Never heard of her? When her young husband died unexpectedly in she became the first woman to run a commercial champagne house, later inventing the riddling rack, an essential piece of kit to ensure that sediment from the production process stays in the neck of the bottle. Her story is about to become better known, with the launch of the biopic Widow Clicquot. If its vineyard-filled scenes inspire you to visit the real deal, jump in your car and have an empty boot.
This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue. Descend the staircase to the Veuve Clicquot cellars: 15 miles of dark, hushed corridors linking ancient chalk pits that feel like a cathedral to champagne.
Barbe-Nicole would stroll through their entirety to get ideas, although visitors today see only a fraction of their length. The tour is excellent. Here you can sniff the differences with the aid of aromas puffed into the air. She carved her way into champagne history in another way, creating an mile underground labyrinth of cellars linking Gallo-Roman chalk pits where she was anything but subtle — she commissioned enormous chalk reliefs to decorate them.
To complete the picture, modern art installations are dotted around the vaulted chalk pits. Vranken-Pommery likes to keep up with the times, and aims its quarter bottles of Pommery Pop at a younger crowd. You can buy the Pop in pink, gold and blue bottles in the shop after your tour.
If you want more than a standard visit, add a dinner accompanied by champagne, or a look round the adjacent art nouveau Villa Demoiselle, designed to promote the house, which has been painstakingly restored. But for something a little different try Mercier — its more modern exterior belies the unusual experience within: an underground train runs through its 11 miles of galleries.
