A little bit about Veuve Cliquot Champagne...

The remarkable Madame Clicquot (1777-1866) is often considered the first businesswoman of the modern era. Née Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin, she was widowed in 1805 at the age of 27. Veuve Clicquot ( Veuve means widow in French) defied every convention of the day to take the helm of her late husband's small Champagne house. She enlisted help wisely, took astute risks and made important technological innovations (including the invention of remuage or riddling), leading the House to world renown. One of her most significant triumphs was sending a secret shipment of her Champagne to Russia in 1814 in defiance of Napoleon's blockade--a great success.

Today the House of Veuve Clicquot is among the most prestigious Champagne firms. Its extensive vineyard holdings, many originally purchased by Madame Clicquot, stretch throughout the top-rated areas of the Champagne region and are unparalleled in size and quality. As in Mme Clicquot's day, bottles age in the House's vast, vaulted cellars in Reims, portions of which were constructed some 2,000 years ago by the Romans.

 A little bit about Moet Chandon Champagne...

The love story began in 1745 when Louis XV’s favourite, The Marquise de Pompadour, who surrounded herself with the greatest artists and philosophers of the era, used to proclaim that “champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking”.

Some of the greatest women in history have contributed to the celebrity of Moët & Chandon champagne. Both Napoleon’s mother and his wife, Josephine, were it's powerful proponents under the First Empire.  They were succeeded by women who dared to make waves.  The great Sarah Bernhardt drank a half-bottle of Moët & Chandon with every meal and confided that the bubbles had a marvellous effect on her. And amid the whirl of the Roaring Twenties and its seething artistic atmosphere, champagne was the heady pleasure of “le Tout Paris”.  Josephine Baker walked her panther on the terrace of La Rotonde and visited the Moët & Chandon cellars

With the advent of illustrated advertisements, Moët & Chandon won the hearts of consumers. With an advertising campaign staring Moët & Chandon as hero and women as its interpreters. In 1953, all eyes turned to England as the young queen, Elisabeth II, was crowned. The event was celebrated with Moët & Chandon Vintage 1943. During the 50’s and beyond, Moët & Chandon champagne dazzled actresses at the Cannes Film Festival and models for the designer Worth, who were photographed with a “coupe de champagne” in hand.