SIDEQUEST: The Widow Crawl

What to do there

6 things to do

1. 1

   Walk the Widows' Hill in Reims

   adventure Free

   Free walk past the iconic champagne houses built by women

   Reims is the heart of champagne's widow story. Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was widowed at 27 in 1805 and Louise Pommery in 1858, and both houses now receive visitors on Saint-Nicaise Hill, a few hundred metres apart: Veuve Clicquot at 1 rue Albert Thomas, Pommery at 5 place du Général Gouraud. Taittinger (9 place Saint-Nicaise) and Ruinart (4 rue des Crayères) are their neighbours on the same hill, about 30 minutes on foot from the city centre. Walk between the four gates before you go in.

   BACKUP: If weather is bad, the walk is still doable — the plaques and gates are visible in rain.

   Log Memory
2. 2

   Enter Veuve Clicquot (Reims)

   history Price: high

   Barbe-Nicole Clicquot invented riddling to clarify champagne

   Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was widowed at 27 in 1805 and took over her husband's wine business herself; in 1810 the house took her name. The house tells the riddling table as her invention of 1816, while the champagne houses' own trade body tells that story as a legend. Book a cellar tour at Veuve Clicquot (1 rue Albert Thomas, Reims; from €36), ask about Madame Clicquot, and find the riddling racks in the chalk cellars. The house bought these cellars more than forty years after she died.

   BACKUP: If tours are full, the boutique and the Café Clicquot on the terrace need no booking.

   Log Memory
3. 3

   Visit Pommery and Louise's Vision

   history Price: moderate

   Louise Pommery invented Brut champagne in 1858

   Louise Pommery was widowed in 1858; in 1868 she bought a 50-hectare estate on Saint-Nicaise Hill over 18 km of chalk galleries. Her house tells its 1874 as the first brut, though the word only reached labels around 1880. Book a cellar visit at Pommery (5 place du Général Gouraud, Reims; from €30, a glass of Brut Royal included), walk down the 116 steps, and find the contemporary art the house has shown in its cellars every year since 2002.

   BACKUP: Pommery usually has walk-in spots available.

   Log Memory
4. 4

   Understand Lily Bollinger's Wars

   history Price: moderate

   Lily Bollinger ran her house through two world wars

   Lily Bollinger took charge in 1941, in the middle of the Occupation, and ran the house for thirty years, famously declaring: "I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad... when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory." Book a Bollinger tour in Aÿ (by appointment, Monday to Friday; The Essentials, €115) and ask about Lily specifically — her wartime story is remarkable for its courage and determination.

   BACKUP: If Bollinger is distant, read her biography before your Pommery visit.

   Log Memory
5. 5

   Taste What the Widows' Houses Pour Today

   wine Price: moderate

   Compare Clicquot, Pommery, and Bollinger to understand each widow's legacy

   Taste what these houses pour today, and hold each label to its story. Veuve Clicquot's tour ends with a glass of Brut Carte Jaune, whose yellow label was registered in 1877, 11 years after Barbe-Nicole died. Pommery's visit includes a glass of Brut Royal. Bollinger's The Essentials tour ends with Special Cuvée, Bollinger Rosé and La Grande Année.

   BACKUP: Ruinart's bar at 4 rue des Crayères pours by the glass without booking.

   Log Memory
6. 6

   Visit a Widow's Grave (Optional Pilgrimage)

   Optional

   history Free

   Barbe-Nicole Clicquot's final resting place in Reims

   Barbe-Nicole Clicquot rests in Reims's Cimetière du Nord (gate at 1 bis rue du Champ de Mars), in the family chapel she had built: the Chapelle Ponsardin (1866), in canton 2, behind the Sainte-Croix chapel at the gate. Find the carved poppies among the acanthus leaves. She lies there with her father, her only daughter and her son-in-law. The cemetery opens daily, 9:00–18:00 from April to October and 9:00–17:30 from November to March.

   BACKUP: Not all widows are easily visited — Clicquot's grave is the most accessible.

   Log Memory

Insider Tips

• Veuve = widow in French - these houses carry their founders' titles

• Clicquot invented riddling; Pommery invented Brut; Bollinger survived two world wars

• All three houses offer tours - book ahead for Clicquot especially

• Lily Bollinger's quote is legendary - ask guides about her

• These women ran businesses in eras when women couldn't vote

• The widow legacy continues - women lead many houses today