The story of the Widow or Veuve Clicquot (‘veuve’ means widow in French) is intriguing. Many years ago, I read the little tag about her that was attached to a bottle of Veuve Clicquot that I had bought for a celebration. I wanted to know more and have been captivated by her (and other champagne stories) ever since. I was very happy to discover the book The Widow Clicquot at my local bookstore, and became a huge fan – not just of the wine, but also of this amazing woman.
The Widow Clicquot was a visionary who took a small business and built a champagne empire. She was a legend in her tumultuous times, and she showed the world how to live with style.
Years ago, after reading the story, I tried to get the film rights to The Widow Clicquot. Having recovered from the disappointment, today I am beyond excited for the release of the movie Widow Clicquot, which is happening this week in the US.
Ever the innovator, Madame Clicquot perfected new techniques of production and was instrumental in creating the quality of champagne that we drink today. She is the original Great Dame of Champagne, and today the prestige vintage label of the house is titled Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame.
At 27, Madame Clicquot became not only one of the first women of Champagne, but also one of the first businesswomen of France. It’s important to acknowledge that this was at a time when women were not even allowed to open their own bank account!
To share this amazing story with our audience, a few years ago I wrote the blog ‘Cheers to the Widow Clicquot’ and have shared stories about her at our events including The Bubbles Festival and our Sparkling Wine Masterclasses.
The book that I discovered at my local bookshop all those years ago was simply titled The Widow Clicquot, written by Tilar Mazzeo, a US wine writer and cultural historian. At the time it was difficult to find much information on the Veuve Clicquot and Mazzeo’s book was a godsend, full of meticulously researched information. I read it from cover to cover and then read it again. At the same time, I was pursuing my interest in film production by studying a short course on film producing and starting work on some film projects, which included being an extra in a short film. Inspired by the Veuve Clicquot story, my entrepreneurial spirit was ignited, and I made enquiries to option the film rights to this story. Unfortunately, someone had beaten me to it, but I am still grateful for the experience. It can take years to bring a film to fruition and I am ever so excited to see that it has now become reality.
Widow Clicquot is a 2023 internationally co-produced drama, directed by Thomas Napper, from a screenplay by Erin Dignam and Christopher Monger based on the book The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo. It stars Haley Bennett as the Widow Clicquot, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Anson Boom, Leo Suter, Ben Miles, and Natasha O’Keeffe. Filming took place in Chablis and in the town of Reims in the Champagne region.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2023, and in November 2023, it was announced that Vertical Entertainment had acquired the distribution rights. Initially, when the release date was announced, it said ‘Limited release’, but I notice it is now listed as ‘Wide release’, which means that it is screening across many locations in the US rather than just a few.
The early reviews are looking positive. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on six critics, indicating ‘Generally favorable’ reviews.
I love champagne stories – especially this one – and I know I’ll love the movie regardless of reviews!
The only disappointment at this stage is that there doesn’t seem to be an Australian release date as yet! I’ll keep an eye out, and maybe we can organise a few The Bubbles Review bubbly screenings for our followers to join us!
For more about the Widow Clicquot you can see our blog Cheers to the Widow Clicquot!
You may also like our blog Bubbly Summer Reading featuring this and other champagne stories.
Tilar Mazzeo’s book is on the link here: Tilar Mazzeo’s The Widow Clicquot
Link to the film’s official website is here: https://widowclicquotmovie.com/
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Natalie Pickett is the Founder of The Bubbles Review which is for people who like champagne and other bubbles, written by people who have a love of all things sparkling! At The Bubbles Review, we like to debunk some myths, make the art of drinking champagne accessible, explore bubbly regions and champagne bars, and provide events for you to join us and indulge.