There’s a delightful genre of literature known as fan fiction, by which fans of literary or historical heroes create new and frequently romantic—if not erotic—narratives for them. For fans and admirers of Champagne pioneer Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the new film Widow Clicquot honors our real-life heroine’s resourceful spirit, perseverance and vision … and introduces a dosage of fantasy in the form of a dramatic love triangle between Madame Clicquot, her passionate but troubled and opiate-addicted husband François Clicquot and their handsome and charismatic sales agent Louis Bohne.
Opening in more than 100 theaters nationwide today, Widow Clicquot is based on the book of the same name by Tilar Mazzeo, published in 2008. Haley Bennett (Hillbilly Elegy, Cyrano) stars as the widow Clicquot, “the Grande Dame of Champagne,” joined by Tony-nominated actor Tom Sturridge as François and Sam Riley (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) as Louis Bohne. (Update: Widow Clicquot surpassed $1 million in box office sales in its first month of release.)
Devotees of Jane Campion and arthouse period romance films will have much to savor in this Champagne legend biopic with a trailblazing feminist protagonist and the swoon-worthy performance of Riley as Bohne.
It’s with her husband’s death in 1805 that Widow Clicquot begins. The film portrays two timelines: In the past, we see Madame Clicquot’s relationship with François leading up to his untimely death, and moving forward, we follow her struggles to retain control of her late husband’s estate.
We’re also treated to dramatic scenes of early 19th century winemaking woes, including sparkling wine bottles exploding and an urgent scramble to light fires in the vineyard as a late spring frost threatens the vintage.
And then there’s all the sex and drugs …
Is Widow Clicquot a True Story?
Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was one of the most important figures in not just the history of Champagne, but in the history of wine. She was one of the first women to own and run a winemaking business, and she was also a savvy entrepreneur and brilliant innovator in both the cellar, along with her cellar master Antoine de Müller, as well as in marketing, striking “gold” with her signature yellow label.
In the film we see Madame Clicquot directing her sales agent Louis Bohne to skirt wartime blockades in order to sell her Champagne to Russia’s imperial court, and developing the riddling process for clarifying Champagne that is now standard practice in traditional method Champagne and sparkling wine production. Her 1811 “Comet Vintage” Champagne was a sensation, and she went on to run her successful Champagne house Veuve Clicquot until her passing in 1866. These events are all supported by historical records.
We also see in the film that after Francois' death, a "Monsieur Moët" offers to buy Clicquot's vineyards, even attempting legal maneuvers to obtain them, though he ultimately fails. Keen wine insiders will appreciate the irony that Moët eventually did obtain Madame Clicquot's estate, though it was not until Veuve Clicquot was purchased by Louis Vuitton in 1986, which then merged with Moët Hennessy the following year to create Veuve Clicquot parent company LVMH.
Widow Clicquot was shot in Burgundy at Chateau de Béru. The film’s depiction of lighting fires in the vineyard during an early-season frost was dramatized but nevertheless employed real fires, reports director Thomas Napper. "We used little paraffin fire effects that looked like little fires. In the far distance, you can see the fires in “Moet's” vineyard. The frost would have been on everyone’s grapes! The very distant fires were created in post, but we did have some real fires across the valley and they used them to create the final effect. So there was enhancement, but the actors are lit by real fire in the vineyard."
The showstopping scene of the film, at least in terms of technical winemaking recreation, features a cellar room filled with exploding Champagne bottles. In the early 19th century, in-bottle secondary fermentations were prone to “excess,” and bottles were considerably weaker, occasionally resulting in frightening and dangerous explosions.
"The wine bottles exploding was done on location and mostly on camera,” Napper tells Wine Spectator “Our special effects team created mini explosions of “Champagne” using detonators that fired off inside sugar glass (film-stunt glass), and so the bottles popped, and as they shot out, the bottles smashed safely. We filmed a number of separate passes with different bottles, and then in the edit, we were able to create a pretty dramatic effect, with many bottles seeming to explode at the same time."
Was Madame Clicquot in a Love Triangle?!
While it’s impossible to know for certain that Madame Clicquot never participated in a love triangle … there’s no historical evidence that she and her husband, François, were ever romantically involved with their longtime sales agent Louis Bohne (no matter how much Riley’s performance may make you wish it so).
Did François Clicquot Suffer from Mental Illness and Addiction?
The real François Clicquot was the son of a wealthy patriarch in Reims who unsuccessfully steered his family’s business into wine production before falling ill and dying at age 31, reportedly of fever, potentially of typhoid. According to the Smithsonian Institute, there were rumors around Champagne at the time that François had taken his own life due to his failing wine endeavors.
"So little is known about François other than he came from a very Catholic family and suicide would have been kept under wraps and never been made public,” shared Widow Clicquot producer Christina Weiss Lurie. “Given the rumors of suicide/typhoid, we decided to add the explicit mental illness layer—and in order to calm his mind, he took laudanum (opium tincture). We chose, on purpose, not to say he committed suicide. His death [in the film] could have been accidental."
Madame Clicquot's Real-Life Legacy
"Madame Clicquot’s entrepreneurial drive and quest for excellence, audacity and innovation at a time when women had few rights in France represents a unique legacy," read a statement shared by the real-life Maison Veuve Clicquot after the release of Widow Clicquot. "Madame Clicquot’s husband, François Clicquot, died very suddenly of a fever. There is no evidence that he suffered from mental [illness], and no evidence that Madame Clicquot was involved in a love triangle."
"We are proud she remains a major source of inspiration for multiple cultural projects and women entrepreneurs across the world. We invite all those interested in the true history of Madame Clicquot to visit us and immerse themselves in the heritage she left us and which we have perpetuated ever since."
Widow Clicquot is now showing in theaters nationwide.
