An historical fiction, champagne, France in 1800, war and love. Throw them altogether and you have an interesting and intriguing story. One hat will grab you and take you on a journey, with a glass of champagne in your hand. What is there not to like about that.

Barbe-Nicole, an inherited vineyard but the restrictions on women owning and working in a business are harsh and choices must be made. It is a bit of history a bit of fiction a bit of war and every bit a great read. I love the strength portrayed by Barbe-Nicole, her determination and her fight. She is a great character which really makes this story.

There is so much in this book, but it isn't confusing, it is easy to read and the story flows in a manner that keeps you informed and entertained at the same time. I love that the research has been done so well, the writing is beautiful and descriptive and I love how the author has brought the past back to life.

A great read, an enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy of this one.

This had a fun premise- a young woman wanting to work in winemaking but not able to do it since she is a woman and can’t own a business like a man can in the 1700s. This is in 1700s France so the historical fiction is interesting.

I overall enjoyed this book but parts of the story dragged for me. It was an interesting premise.

Champagne Widows is the third book by Rebecca Rosenberg that I have read. Each time I have been pleasantly surprised about how much joy I get from reading her books. She brings women in history to life that most of us haven't even heard of. In Champagne Widows, Barbe-Nicole makes champagne during the reign of Napoleon, a time when women had little to no rights. Fascinating story!

Beautiful and very engaging story. This was extremely well written and flowed well. There was a lot of history mentioned, but it was done in a way to make the reader want to learn more. I loved this book and already want to read it again.



I want to thank Rebecca Rosenberg, Lion Heart Publishing, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Champagne Widows is the story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who perseveres through tragedy to create extraordinary champagne during the Napoleonic era.

I wanted to read this novel because I absolutely loved Gold Digger by Rebecca Rosenberg; it was one of my top 10 novels the year I read it. I knew that Ms. Rosenberg has a real gift for making history come to life, and that was certainly the case here!

Although I am a bit of a Francophile, I was completely unaware of the life of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. (I don't even drink champagne.) This glimpse of 1800's history was new, and fascinating, to me. The author has a lively, engaging writing style, and makes history from long ago fun to read.

I especially liked the chapter titles, like "En faire tout un fromage. To make a whole cheese of it."

Barbe-Nicole's life, and the role of women in 1800 France, was interesting to read about. Women had very few options at that time and were controlled by their family and then their husband. Barbe-Nicole's extraordinary nose for champagne led her to a different life.

I enjoyed the author's style of writing, with short, lively chapters and a lot of dialogue driven action. A very light note - the cover art is fabulous!

Champagne Widows is a wonderful read for fans of historical fiction, French history, or women's history.

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot...this is her story. A fascinating woman who forged a way for women in the champagne industry. She is born with a rare gift that makes her who she is and guides her through all she goes through. "Le Nez". "......my sense of smell swelled beyond reason. Mostly ordinary odors, but sometimes I imagine I can smell the stink of a lie. Or the perfume of a pure heart. Or the heartbeaking smell of what could have been."

Cheers to Rebecca Rosenberg for this asounding novel based on the life and determination of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. Ms. Rosenberg has an inate ability to take an historical figure and bring them back to life in her fascinating and intricate research she does for her novels. She actually makes me feel I've stepped though time and I become part of the story. I get aquainted with the characters intimately. Their personalities, appearances, characteristics all blend to make each one uniquely individual. I can envision the settings from the amazing attention to details Ms. Rosenberg gives to her stories. From the vineyards to the chalk caves. To the scents I can breathe and soak in the "feel" of being in Champagne, France during the tumultuous and devestating reign of Napoleon Bonapart. I love that I learn so much about the history of this time period, the complicated craft of making champagne, and mostly about a determined woman named Barbe-Nicole Cliquot that I would never have known except for her in-depth knowledge and masterful ability to bring it all together into a novel I drank in like a fine, Veuve Clicquot champagne.

If you would love to delve into the past and learn about fascinating figures and characters like Barbe-Nicole, Matagots, Napoleon, The Red Man, events and the intricate history of champagne and France, then I highly recommend this book. Ms. Rosenberg is a superb storyteller and she's brilliantly crafted the pages in this booik. I loved it and am glad I opened it up and stepped into a world I will never forget.

I want to thank Ms. Rosenberg for the incredible honor of reading her book. It's a five-star toast and more for me. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my heartfelt own.

I went into this book blind, not knowing what to expect and I was blown away!

I am not a particular devotee of wine making or champagne, yet this book was still so fascinating to me. I think it is because of the well-written characters and the historical aspects of the book.

Barbe-Nicole was such a fascinating character. She is a strong and determined woman fighting for the life she wants to live. She has to overcome so many obstacles to reach the end of her story. I’ll leave it up to you to determine if it is a HEA or not.

I also enjoyed the snippets from Napoleon’s point of view. His chapters added more depth to the historical aspects of the book.

Recommended for readers who enjoy French history, champagne, or strong female characters.

4.5 rounded up

Nicole is a women from the early 1800's who had a dream of a life and a career outside of marriage and childbirth which resulted in developing a champagne business. How that business grew and the challenges a war and trade restrictions placed on her business. She was a women before her time.

This is very well written has well developed, I felt like I was right there with the characters. This is a very enjoyable
story that will keep you engaged until you turn the last page. I love the way that Rebecca Rosenberg appeals to the reader’s senses as she describes the wine and champagne successes and failures.I highly recommend this book if you love historical fiction.

Champagne Widows is a book you will want to devour in one sitting. Based on fact author Rebecca Rosenberg tells the story of France after the revolution through the eyes of a woman whose own family considers her a freak because of her overly sensitive sense of smell. Trained by her grandmother to use La Nez in pursuit of wine making excellence, Barbe-Nichole must battle family, society mores that restrict the activities of females, and eventually Napoleon to become Veuve Clicquot, the grande dame of champagne. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.

CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS
REBECCA ROSENBERGg

Rebecca Rosenberg is an established author who is a new discovery for me and has written a page turning historical fiction that draws from in large parts factual history. It begins in 1797, in Reims, Champagne, France with Barbe-Nicole and her grandmother whom she has a closer relationship with than her mother. Her grandmother reminds Barbe-Nicole that she has inherited from her great grandfather the powerful sense of smell which seemed to prove early on as a curse rather than a gift. I will not divulge which it ultimately becomes during this review to spoil it for the reader. I was highlighting many passages which mesmerized me with this author's gift of writing prose which engaged my senses mostly visually but also others. She is quite talented engaging our five senses and I enjoy that style of writing of conveying a scene that the prose comes alive because it is vivid with imagery.

Barbe-Nicole and her grandmother are out exploring old chalk quarries that have been excavated thousands of years ago under the ancient town of Reims. She is blindfolded by her grandmother and asked to describe what she smells.

"The lantern throws a halo on grape clusters laying on the rough-hewn table. Her grandmother
places a bunch of grapes in her hands and brings it to Barbe-Nicole's nose. Her grandmother
asks her 'What comes to you?' The grapes smell like ripening pears and a hint of Hawthorne-
berry' Her grandmother places another bunch of grapes which are sticky and soft and Barbe-
Nicole thinks the aroma is so robust and delicious her tongue longs for the taste. Smells like
chocolate-covered cherries."

Barbe-Nicole's grandmother tells her that she is ready and gives her a box which inside it lies a gold tastevin. It is a wine-tasting cup on a long, heavy neck chain. This sets the stage for Barbe-Nicole to a life long passion of making the best wine but ultimately champagne. Her mother has been trying to marry her off since she was sixteen and she longs for the man to smell good. That particular man is Francois Clicquot. He is emotionally affected by serving in Napoleon Bonaparte's war ravaged by the guilt of spilling blood by taking other soldier's lives. It sounds like Francois Clicquot suffers from Manic Depression which he inherited from his mother. The two fall in love and start a champagne business by harvesting the grapes.

The law at this time is that a woman can only retain one fourth of the proceeds of the business if she becomes a widow. The rest reverts to her father in-law when Francois dies. Barbe-Nicole Clicquot is a strong independent woman and to support her daughter she partner's with a former suitor who she wasn't interested in marrying when she chose Francois Clicquot. She has a strong head for business and succeeds in making the best champagne. Not without trial and errors though. This is Barbe-Nicole's story of how she achieved it based on historical facts.

As I said the descriptions of the food and the geographical terrain of the grapes in the vineyards are sensual. This Widow Cliquot eventually renames her champagne business "Veuve Clicquot." Veuve meaning Widow. This is a well written historical recreation of the trials and tribulations of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot's succeeding in making delicious Champagne in an era where women were not allowed to have money because it was a patriarchal society where the men usually were the only ones aloud to have money or own a business. This is a fascinating story of a woman who defied those odds.

Publication Date: March 1, 2022

Thank you to Net Galley, Rebecca Rosenberg and Lion's Heart Publishing for generously gifting me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#ChampagneWidows #RebeccaRossenberg #Lion'sHeartPublishing #NetGalley

A Review

CHAMPAGNE WOMEN
by REBECCA ROSENBERG




Rebecca Rosenberg knows her history, knows her characters, and knows when enough is enough.
History expertly interwoven with family struggles takes you on a special journey.

She spreads on paper the happenings of a time long gone and foreign to today's modern female thinkers. Her words flow with a rhythm and cadence making for a most enjoyable read.

Barbe – Nicloe Clicquot struggles through and overcomes the riggers of special talents, personal sorrows, and political roadblocks to create an empiric business that continues to this day! At times comical, at times sorrowful, your emotions will ebb and flow.

You will enjoy following her as she thinks for herself ignoring the advice of experts and even risking death to achieve the success she know is to be hers.

The added quotes from the writings of Napoleon Bonaparte are a nice addition to this great story.

Spencer Birt

I would be remiss if I didn’t address the elephant in the room before I start my review of Champagne Widows. Despite the cover art, this book is NOT about ladies who miss their dearly departed husbands and marital activities so desperately that they find physical comfort with champagne bottles.

Champagne Widows is set during the Napoleonic Wars, and tells a fictionalized account of Vueve Cincquot, who founded what is now one of the largest champagne companies in the world. Vueve
had to scrape and fight to get her champagne into an international market that hates all things French. Her struggle was driven not only by her own passion to succeed, but also by the war widows she employed.

Renee Rosenberg manages to make Veuve and her world come to life. Historical fiction fans will want to add this to their list.

A nice read and it made me want to keep reading till I got to the end. Well done and well written. I’ll be looking out for more.

Champagne Widows by Rebecca Rosenberg is the story of the woman who pioneered Veuve Cliquot champagne. Veuve is a French word meaning widow.

This book is set in the time of Napoleon and explores in-depth the effect his campaigns had on the everyday people of France. I really hadn't previously read much about this time period, and it was very interesting to learn more.

In the book, they talked a lot about how gross it was for customers to have a yeast "snake" form in the bottles. They briefly discussed having the champagne stored neck down to let the yeast settle to the neck, but as a wine-lover, I wanted them to also discuss the role riddling the bottles plays and freezing to disgorge the yeasts.

The story itself was nice, and although they meant the title to cover all the widows who worked for Cliquot, in the field and production, since the story focused so much on Cliquot herself and her "Le Nez" I think it should have been titled Champagne Widow (singular).

This was a good book, and also touched nicely on mental illness, and how fashions of the time period were also a health risk. Green pigment, for example, was made with arsenic.
The story kept me interested and it was a nice quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebecca Rosenberg for a free ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Barbe-Nicole inherited La Nez from her great grandfather. La Nez considered a curse or a gift is a heightened sense of smell. It was a gift for Barbe-Nicole that she would use throughout her lifetime to her advantage in bringing the world Vevue Cliquot. La Nez helped her pick which grapes to blend to achieve excellence. Barbe-Nicole married her love and friend, Francois, despite his many issues. They had began the journey into making the best champagne with her La Nez sense leading their way. At his death at 21 she became Vevue Cliquot, Vevue means widow in French. . She was the first woman to run a champagne house. In nineteenth-century France women, either was dependent on their fathers or reliant on husbands. As a widow, Barbe-Nicole is allowed to take a prominent role in her own life.

I love the story of Barbe-Nicole, strong and goal-oriented throughout her lifetime. She had much to share with the world. She working side by side with her women that work the fields shows true leadership. All the women came to work to take the place of their men that's in one of Napoleon's many wars. Champagne is one of the first industries women shaped and had prominent roles. Barbie-Nicole led the way.

Champagne Widows is very entertaining, history threading throughout the story. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a little about the history of winemaking, and what influences women had in making it.

I rate this 5 out of 5.

I am confident when I start one of Rebecca's stories that I will be learning a whole lot about a subject that I know very little about. This time I embraced the history of champagne, France, Napoleon, and the Veuve Clicquot. What an interesting journey.

This is a story of hard times and a hard life but it's so beautifully written that it was such a pleasure to read. What a strong woman Barbe-Nicole was and what amazing things she did with her winery. I loved my escape to her world and the world of beautiful France. Like I said, I learned so much while also enjoying an amazing story.

Honestly, you need to read Champagne Widows and enjoy a little trip to France like I did.

Author Rebecca Rosenberg has written a masterpiece that continues to feed my Historical obsession! Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was known as "Le Nez",The Nose. With an incredible sense of smell, Barbe-Nicole made her Champagne business into a gold mine. As the eldest daughter in her family, Barbe-Nicole was to be married to better her family's business but she had other ideas. Fighting against the proper etiquette of the era, Barbe-Nicole became the Queen of Veuve Clicquot champagne, making her dreams come true! With so much loss during Napoleon's bloody reign, Barbe-Nicole suffered the death of many, including her husband, but she continued to better the Veuve Clicquot champagne and in the end, she proved that "Le Nez" was no longer a curse. Author Rebecca Rosenberg's novels are always filled with truthful, exciting facts! I cannot wait to see where history will lead her next!

Prepare yourself a picnic of brie, baguette, and Veuve Clicquot before you read this book, or you'll find yourself craving those things whilst you traverse Europe during the Napoleon wars.

I'm looking up the winery, region, and studying the map now to get a feel for the terroir of this novel.

A wonderful read on the process of winemaking and trading in France from late 1790’s - 1820’s. Also, details Napoleon’s wars and his attempts to conquer Europe. Hard work and romance are ongoing threads throughout the book. Definitely worth the read!

What an adventure Champagne Widows is! This book beautifully written by Rebecca Rosenberg tells the story of world famous Veuve Clicquot and how it was established. Barbe-Nicole has a "nose" for champagne and along with her husband want to create a brand that everyone will know and recognize. This is not an easy business for a woman to succeed in but she does it despite war, hunger, death and even weather conditions always affecting the grape harvest. Such an interesting and informative book with stories about Napoleon himself! Highly recommend!