Champagne Widows

Champagne, France, 1800. Twenty-year-old Barbe-Nicole inherited Le Nez (an uncanny sense of smell) from her great-grandfather, a renowned champagne maker. Determined to use Le Nez to make great champagne, she learns her childhood sweetheart, François Clicquot, wants to start a winery and marries him despite his mental illness. Her husband's tragic death forces her to become Veuve (Widow) Clicquot and grapple with a domineering partner, the complexities of making champagne, and six Napoleon wars, which cripple her ability to sell champagne. When she falls in love with her sales manager, Louis Bohne, who asks her to marry, she must choose between losing her winery to her husband, as dictated by Napoleon Code, or losing Louis. In the ultimate showdown, Veuve Clicquot risks imprisonment and even death, defying Napoleon himself.

“History, drama, and passion as effervescent as the resilient LeBlanc women and the champagne that bears their name. I highly recommend!” —Karen White, New York Times bestselling author In this captivating story of resilience, three generations of women battle to save their family’s vineyard from the ravages of WWII. Champagne, 1939 Gabrielle Leblanc Dupree is taking her family’s future into her hands. While she should be preparing for a lavish party to celebrate two centuries of champagne making, she secretly hides Chateau Fouché-Leblanc’s most precious vintages behind a fake wall in the cellar in preparation for the looming war. But when she joins the resistance, the coveted champagne isn’t the most dangerous secret her cellar must conceal… A former Parisian socialite, Gabrielle’s mother, Hélène, lost her husband to another war. Now her home has been requisitioned by the Germans, who pillage vineyards to satisfy the Third Reich’s thirst for the finest champagne. There’s even more at stake than Hélène dares admit. She has kept her heritage a secret…and no one is safe in Nazi-occupied France. Josephine, the family matriarch, watches as her beloved vineyard faces its most difficult harvest yet. As her daughter-in-law and granddaughters contend with the enemies and unexpected allies in their midst, Josephine’s deep faith leads to her own path of resistance. Across years and continents, the Leblanc women will draw on their courage and wits, determined against all odds to preserve their lives, their freedom and their legacy… A must-read novel from Love Inspired: Stories to Uplift and Inspire.

This inspiring, engagingly written book, with its personal approach and global scope, is the first to explore women’s increasingly influential role in the wine industry, traditionally a very male-dominated domain. Women of Wine draws on interviews with dozens of leading women winemakers, estate owners, professors, sommeliers, wine writers, and others in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere to create a fascinating mosaic of the women currently shaping the wine world that also offers a revealing insiders’ look at the wine industry. To set the stage, Ann B. Matasar chronicles the historical barriers to women’s participation in the industry, reviews post-World War II changes that created new opportunities for them, and pays tribute to a few extraordinary nineteenth-century women who left their mark on wine despite the odds against them. She then turns to her primary topic: an accessible discussion of women associated with some of the most prestigious wineries and institutions in both the Old and New Worlds that emphasizes their individual and collective contributions. Matasar also considers issues of importance to women throughout the business world including mentors, networking, marriage, family, education, self-employment versus the corporate life, and risk taking.

The story of the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, showed the world how to live with style, and emerged a legend Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour, style, and luxury. But who was this young widow--the Veuve Clicquot--whose champagne sparkled at the courts of France, Britain, and Russia, and how did she rise to celebrity and fortune? In "The Widow Clicquot," Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life--for the first time--the fascinating woman behind the iconic yellow label: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. A young witness to the dramatic events of the French Revolution and a new widow during the chaotic years of the Napoleonic Wars, Barbe-Nicole defied convention by assuming--after her husband's death--the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she became one of the world's first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time. Although the Widow Clicquot is still a legend in her native France, her story has never been told in all its richness--until now. Painstakingly researched and elegantly written, "The Widow Clicquot" provides a glimpse into the life of a woman who arranged clandestine and perilous champagne deliveries to Russia one day and entertained Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte on another. She was a daring and determined entrepreneur, a bold risk taker, and an audacious and intelligent woman who took control of her own destiny when fate left her on the brink of financial ruin. Her legacy lives on today, not simply through the famous product that still bears her name, but now through Mazzeo's finely crafted book. As much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered woman, "The Widow Clicquot" is utterly intoxicating.

Wine expert Benjamin Cooker and his assistant are called to Champagne to help newly widowed Alice de Mareuyls take over her husband's winery. The Winemaker Detective and his assistant Virgile get caught in a web of family ambition and battles, while inclement weather threatens the bubbly. Could Cooker's reputation be tainted?

Beneath the cover of France's most exquisite vineyards, a city of women defy an army during World War I, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Carousel of Provence.... Deep within the labyrinth of caves that lies below the lush, rolling vineyards of the Champagne region, an underground city of women and children hums with life. Forced to take shelter from the unrelenting onslaught of German shellfire above, the bravest and most defiant women venture out to pluck sweet grapes for the harvest. But wine is not the only secret preserved in the cool, dark cellars... In present day, Rosalyn Acosta travels to Champagne to select vintages for her Napa-based employer. Rosalyn doesn't much care for champagne--or France, for that matter. Since the untimely death of her young husband, Rosalyn finds it a challenge to enjoy anything at all. But as she reads through a precious cache of WWI letters and retraces the lives lived in the limestone tunnels, Rosalyn will unravel a mystery hidden for decades...and find a way to savor her own life again.

Champagne may be the most misunderstood category of wine in the world. The major reason for all the confusion is the use of the term “Champagne” appearing on labels of sparkling wines that come from places other than the province of Champagne in northeastern France. But true champagne can only be born in an environment that combines the essential elements of chalky soil, a cool climate, and the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grape varieties. These are the crucial elements informing the unique flavor profile found only in wines from that corner of the world. Without them, any wine—even a very good one—calling itself champagne, is just an imposter. Baffled by bubbly? Let wine expert Ed McCarthy clear away the confusion. If you find shopping for champagne a challenge, try this fun, friendly guide and discover just how easy it is to select the perfect bottle and: Appreciate various champagne styles Enjoy the author’s favorite champagnes Store and serve champagne Pair champagne with food Evaluate sparkling wines from the US and other countries What’s the difference between brut and extra dry? Is Vintage Champagne worth the extra money? You’ll get the answers to these and all your questions about that effervescent wonder. And in the process you’ll discover: How champagne is made, what grape varieties are used, where the major grape-growing areas are, and how those tiny bubbles get into champagne The difference between vintage and non-vintage champagne and champagne specialties, such as blancs and rosé Champagnes The meanings of terms used to describe the dryness/sweetness levels of champagne, such as brut, extra-dry and semi-sec All about the great champagne houses, including in-depth coverage of the author’s 25 favorites Everything you need to know about buying and storing champagne The best ways to serve champagne, including the best glasses, the best foods to eat with it and more Like most good things in life, the better you understand champagne, the more you enjoy it. This friendly guide will help you make your enjoyment of the most glamorous beverage on the planet complete.

Nicole Berthois is a peasant girl from a wine-making village in Champagne. Philippe de Tramont is the young son of a village aristocrat and together they drink the Tramont champagne cellars dry in an affair of reckless passion. In 1850s France, their marriage can hardly be contemplated but marry they do to secure the future for their unborn child. Their happiness is short-lived - Philippe dies tragically young. Nicole's pride triumphs over her grief, making the de Tramont's name famous for it's champagne along with her beauty in widow's weeds.