If your knowledge of Champagne history only extends as far back as your last cocktail party, we can commiserate. Before getting our hands on Colby College assistant professor Tilar J. Mazzeo’s latest book, The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it (HarperCollins Publishers, 2008; $25.95), all we really knew about famed Champagne house Veuve Clicquot was that we loved the pricy bubbly it produced. Mazzeo takes an in-depth look at the veuve (French for widow) behind the label — Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin — and tells the story of how Champagne became synonymous with style. Some of it (like the pages about Clicquot Ponsardin’s obstacles during the Napoleonic Wars) reads a bit like a history textbook, but the inspirational rags-to-one-of-the-richest-women-of-her-time story more than makes up for the couple of less-than-juicy chapters. Clicquot Ponsardin smashed through the glass ceiling before the concept was even articulated, carving out a niche for herself as a savvy businesswoman (she kept her company’s groundbreaking process for mass wine production under wraps for years). In 1805, she took the reins of a burgeoning wine business her husband ran before his death and transformed it into a well-recognized brand. (Budding businesswomen, take note.) If you want to enjoy the more intellectual side of bubbly, pick up a copy of this intoxicating read at Borders (511 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.236.1444); it hits shelves on October 28.
