The film telling the story of the world-famous and instantly recognizable orange (or is it yellow?) champagne label that of which Veuve Clicquot uses on all of their bottles, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2023. Since then, many Francophiles and wine aficionados have been waiting for it to be widely released and finally it was this past July.

The name of the film Widow Cliquot is interestingly enough told in English. All of the actors speak English so there is no need for English subtitles. This surprised me to say the least being a French story, but from a marketing perspective, to have the largest reach, a filmmaker often chooses this option; however, I think it does take away from the authenticity of the film. With that said, I did enjoy the film and think you might as well.

Who was Widow Clicquot?

First and foremost, this is a film to spotlight the amazing contributions of one woman to the French wine industry that had she not been a widow she would never have been able to do. Why? At the time, the Napoleonic Code of 1804 wouldn’t allow women to manage a business in France; however, there was an exception: “a woman can carry on her husband’s business after his death.” The film chooses to make the estimation, with good reason, that the law assumed even if a woman did gain the legal ability to run her deceased husband’s estate, she would most likely fail.

And so the film tells the story of the portion of the widow’s life where she first becomes a widow and how she deftly works with the law to ensure her husband’s estate of vines is a winemaking success story as she adamantly chose to remain a widow in order to keep the business under her control, which she did for the rest of her life until her death at the age of 89 – 60 years of widowhood.

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, portrayed by American actress and co-executive producer of the film Haley Bennett, is the Widow Clicquot of whom the film centers around. Based largely on biographer Tillar J. Mazzeo’s biography of the same name as the film, published in 2008, the film does take creative license in certain plot points such as the widow’s relationship with wine merchant which plays a role in the plot regarding Barbe-Nicole’s choice to remain a widow and never marry again.

Becoming a widow at the age of 27, Barbe-Nicole’s husband Francois died a tragic death due to his opiate addiction which, as is depicted in flashbacks throughout the film prompted extreme mood swings which his wife had to manage while also raising their daughter. Having left the vineyard to his wife, Francois teaches his wife much of his wine-making process and we see both his unique and creative approach as well as passion for the vines and thus, wine making, as well as his abhorrent failures – whether due to his experimenting or of not being of sound mind due to his addiction, it isn’t made clear. All of these ups and down are observed by his wife, and she decides resolutely to not sell the vineyard which, in the early 19th century, is unheard of – a woman running a business? How absurd! 🙂

With Napoleon’s embargo looming in the background, Widow Clicquot becomes creative in her determination to not only make an amazing wine, but transport and sell it successfully to first keep the business afloat, and then to be able to do what she loves – making wine, specifically champagne. The voice-overs by the widow as the story unfolds offer life lessons and certainly provide pause and encourage a moment of reflection. For example, early into the film, she reflects on her decided new approach for better renderings from the vines, “When they struggle to survive, they become more deeply reliant on their own strength. They become more of what they are meant to be.” Multiple insights of wisdom about both wine-making and each of our unique life journeys.

The film offers depth through subtly. For example, the magazine Wine Enthusiast points out that “while still rosé wines from Provence predate [bubbles in rosé wine] by several hundred years, it is widely accepted that Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was the mastermind behind sparkling rosé”, but if you don’t know the history of wine, this may seem too obvious due to the reserved presentation of her discovery. This continues to happen throughout the film, a presentation of aspects about wine we now take for granted, that in reality were all but unfathomable at that time such as, among her many contributions, vintage dating of bottles.

Before we know it, the film is over, as the story unfolds swiftly due to the paralleling of two chapters of her life one on top of another – we begin the film knowing she has just become a widow while also beginning the journey of how she and Francois fell in love told in flashbacks – provides a gradual revealing of her growing awareness of her passion for wine making and thus a growing determination to ensure she keeps the vineyard and winery. Concluding just as she has finally found great success with her ‘bubbles’, if you haven’t read the biography of her remarkable legacy, this film will encourage you to do just that as it continues on with her journey sharing much more breadth as well as depth into her entire life story.

The film is directed by Thomas Napper from Britain, and you will also notice, if you watch many British series or films, familiar British actors in the film as well. You can now stream the film on Amazon Prime.

The biography by Tilar J. Mazzeo that inspired the film, The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It (2008)

Have a look at the trailer below:

Widow Clicquot is the Petit Plaisir for episode #386, What I Have Learned in French Class So Far, Part Huit (8) of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

~Explore all of TSLL’s Petit Plaisirs here in the Archives.

Explore all of the posts shared during this year’s French Week here