Our first segment of Resiliency Royalty, where we tell the story of an inspiring, resilient person that inspires. In this episode, we tell the story of one resilient widow, the Veuve Clicquot, also known as Barb Nicole. She survived the French Revolution, lived through the Napoleonic Wars, became a widow with a child. None of this stopped her from building a champagne empire that still stands for luxury. Listen in and find why you should toast Barb Nicole the next time you pop some yellow bottles - or any bottle - of champagne.
Episode Transcript
Welcome back to The Resiliency Project. I'm Annie,
and today I am so excited because we're diving into a segment that's going to
be reoccurring as I can get them produced that I like to call Resilience Royalty,
where we celebrate stories of really extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated
something pretty incredible, some incredible resilience.
(00:24):
Our focus today is on the story of one of my favorite, favorite spirit animals,
a remarkable woman whose name you probably have at least heard of.
And her name to this day is synonymous with luxury and success.
But her story, her journey was anything but smooth.
(00:46):
And I would like today to introduce you to the historical figure,
the one, the only, the queen of champagne, meet Barb Nicole Ponsadon,
better known as the Widow Clicquot.
If you've been popping yellow bottles, because it's tasty stuff,
not going to lie, and donations accepted, by the way, if you're going to be
(01:09):
popping yellow bottles that say, that is the Widow Clicquot's champagne empire that she created.
And you're going to love her her story if you don't know it.
It's a book, and I'm going to tell you at the end where you can read it. It's just fantastic.
Barb Nicole was my spirit animal for the first year of my widowhood, for sure. Okay, maybe.
(01:31):
More than one, maybe two or three. Maybe she, maybe she still is.
Anyway, her champagne certainly inspired me to, it didn't inspire anything.
It was delicious and it helped, you know, recover from some things.
Anyway, I couldn't have done it without my, my sweet spirit animal, Barb Nicole.
Let's get down to the story, right? So it's around, picture it,
(01:52):
around Napoleon time, right?
Very early 19th century France, which is like 1800, do the math.
It was after the French revolution because this lady survived that.
And imagine that you, a female, you're 27 and you're married to a charming man
from a good family from, I believe it was from the textile industry,
(02:14):
but they also had a fabulous little passion wine business.
There you are living the dream. You, your fairly successful husband and your
baby and bam, suddenly she finds herself a widow. Her husband passed away. way.
Now, in those days, a certain social class, right?
People expected widows to quietly either retreat into the shadows,
(02:38):
take up some knitting or whatever they do, some needlepoint, but not Barb Nicole.
Okay. She even was of the affluence where she could have remarried probably
very well to another good family, but she, no, no.
She looked at life and said, no, no, hold my champagne, please.
Yeah, that's what she did. So instead of curling up with the novel or getting
(02:59):
hitched to someone else, Barb Nicole decided that she wanted to take the reins
of this champagne business herself.
And she didn't have a lot of support, but she did catch the eye of her father-in-law,
who believed in her. I'm a big fan that you always need.
At least one big fan, okay? So Barb Nicole, she didn't aim to just keep this
(03:23):
little champagne business afloat. No, no, she was in it to win it,
all right? She aimed to revolutionize the champagne industry.
Under her leadership, the Veux Clicquot brand became a symbol of luxury and innovation, okay?
But not just surviving the champagne wars, right?
Of those that were among the region. she did
(03:45):
it by outsmarting her competition she made
better champagne she invented the
riddling process okay and that's where
you'll see people turning the bottle so that sediment will you know sink to
the bottom i'm not an expert on it go read the book but it's crucial for producing
clear champagne and she managed to expand her markets during the napoleonic
(04:11):
wars okay when trade was severely restricted.
You want to talk about turning lemons into sparkling lemonade.
Holy wow. So what made Barb Nicole different? She took her widowhood and turned
it into a strength somehow.
How did she find that strength? How did she find that resilience?
Because women were generally not supported, right, to build a champagne empire.
(04:36):
She didn't only just find the strength. She didn't just survive,
but she was thriving in very challenging circumstances.
Was it her determination, her innovative spirit? Did she have nothing to lose?
Or perhaps her ability to just boldly face her fear and seize opportunities when they arose.
(04:56):
Have you ever faced a situation where you had to take charge even when it seemed overwhelming?
You didn't know what you were doing. You didn't know what inner resources that
you had to draw upon to keep going.
Because I guarantee Barb Nicole's story teaches us that resilience often involves
a combination of courage. innovation, and really just a flat-out refusal to
(05:17):
be defined by our circumstances.
Research shows that having a sense of purpose can significantly boost our resilience.
And I think for Barb Nicole, her purpose was clear. Somewhere in there,
she wanted to honor her husband's legacy. She wanted to build something extraordinary.
Her story is an amazing one, and it's a testament to how purpose can drive us
(05:39):
to achieve the seemingly impossible.
And she had her fair share of setbacks. She had some go for broke moments that
couldn't maybe have not gone her way.
She made some really poor decisions in love.
She almost lost the business a couple times.
I mean, she'd definitely be one of my friends. I would love her so much.
(06:00):
So across the decades, I feel like our two widow heads were inspiring one another.
I don't know. I just felt connected to her. If you want to know more about the
Widow Clicquot, there is an amazing book by Tilar Mazeo. I hope I'm saying that correct.
You can get it on, you know, Amazon, I'm sure your library, whatever it might be, but fantastic book.
Could not have detailed that amazing life of the Widow Clicquot more, more charmingly.
(06:24):
So I just adore it. Highly recommend. Go read her story.
What is your purpose? Maybe there's a purpose that you can connect more deeply
with. Maybe that can enhance your resilience.
Maybe it's through your work, your family, or a passion project that really lights up your soul.
Maybe it's just reading about a particular topic and learning more.
Whatever it is, let it be your guiding star.
(06:46):
Barb Nicole Ponsedant, the Widow Clicquot, is a shining example of resilience in action.
Her story reminds us that even in the face of profound loss and challenge,
we have the power to shape our destiny. needs.
The next time that you're enjoying a glass of Voclico or any champagne,
remember the incredible woman behind the bubbles, a woman who turned her pain
(07:12):
into champagne, a legacy that continues to inspire.
Thanks for joining me on the resiliency project. I love our episode of resilience royalty.
So stay tuned for more episodes of resilience and remember no matter what you're facing, you can do this.
I know you can. I know you can. You have the strength to do this.
(07:33):
I'm Annie, and I'll see you next time on The Resiliency Project.
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