A woman and her Champagne

A French businesswoman before there were French businesswomen.

Champagne, as we know it today, was created by Frenchwoman Louise Pommery (1819 - 1890).

Did you know that? I certainly didn’t.

I only learned of Louise Pommery and her backstory when having decamped to Paris for a couple of months in the Fall of 2022, my brother and sister-in-law visited me. For one of our days together, my brother suggested we hop on the TGV to the city of Reims in the French countryside.

Reims being a 45-minute train ride and the unofficial capital of the Champagne wine-growing region, I said “Oui.”

After visiting the Reims Cathedral (Notre-Dame de Reims - a must-see), we moved on to the main reason for the trip… Champagne.

We started at Veuve Clicquot (est. 1772), hoping to get a tour and tasting, but there was no availability. However, we bought bottles of pink Champagne in the shop and sat outside on a beautifully sunny day to do a tasting.

We had the same experience when we arrived at Tattinger (est. 1734) … where we did not buy the product, but did receive helpful information regarding a Champagne house we could visit and go on a self-guided tour.

Which was how we ended up at Chateau Pommery. Before visiting Reims, I was not aware of the existence of Chateau Pommery. It’s not one of the big names we know Stateside.

Was it Plan A? Non. But over the last couple of years, I’ve come to appreciate that when Plan A does pan out Plan B or C is often better.