Barbe-Nicole, the daughter of a prosperous Reims merchant, married into the Cliquot family, who sold both cloth and wine. After her husband’s death, she chose to continue running the family’s wine business, concentrating on the fizzy wine we now call champagne. The book outlines her trials and tribulations in creating an export market for champagne and refining the drink so that it was the drink of choice of nobility across Europe.
Not much remains in the archives of what Barbe-Nicole was really like or what her innermost thoughts actually was so the book is a mixture of historical facts (which were fascinating) and surmised personal accounts (which I didn't enjoy as much). I felt that Barbe-Nicole as a character could have provided for a fabulous non-fiction story in her own account that could then have been embellished with historical facts - as opposed to the other way around. The book is repetitious in parts and perhaps even a bit long for a story that is mostly surmised.
Overall though I enjoyed the fiction side of the book a lot and have learnt a great deal about France's history and in particular the history of that lovely drink champagne. I would encourage you to read this if you have a passion for wine, champagne or are merely interested in how it became such a well recognised, hugely profitable product.
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