Talk about an upscale town! Healdsburg must really be hot stuff.
To think that Veuve Clicquot is co-branding port-a-potties? Who in the world thinks up a promotion scheme like that? Seriously, what is the messaging? How can this be good for the brand? Veuve’s motto is: “Only one quality, the finest.” Is there a giant bottle in there? Something like a Melchizedek? That’s 40 bottles in one bottle weighing over 100 pounds (see below).
Maybe it’s a publicity stunt? The finest and the biggest? Veuve already has a wine bottle that can be purchased in a mini-SMEG refrigerator case of the same orange color. They also have their bespoke “picnic” bottle, which comes in a Hermès-like orange leather and brass-snap insulating sleeve. But really, this seems over the top, even for Healdsburg!
Fun facts: This is a parody, but the photo was taken on the streets of Healdsburg, not Photoshopped. Bravo Healdsburgians with a sense of humor.
Veuve Clicquot, founded in 1772, is over 250 years old. Madame Clicquot, widowed at 27 in 1777, took over her husband’s business operations which included wool trading, banking and Champagne. Veuve means “widow” in French.
Veuve Clicquot focused on Champagne and was a visionary innovator. Insisting on uncompromising quality, she created the first vintage bottle of Champagne in 1810. She also invented “riddling,” a process wherein bottles are turned upside down during second fermentation so that yeast collects in the neck of the bottle and is then extracted, leaving small fermentation bubbles in a clear liquid—voilà, modern Champagne. Prior to riddling, Champagne was a cloudy, bubbly liquid with dead yeast in the bottom of the bottle. There have been only 11 cellar masters in Veuve Clicquot’s history.
Rack and Riddle, the name of Sonoma’s custom sparkling wine maker, stems from the French processes of “soutirage” (moving liquid from one container to another without a pump) and “remouage” (French for riddling).
Wine and Champagne bottle sizes in ascending order: Quarter ¼, Demi ½, Bottle 1, Magnum 2, Jeroboam 4, Rehoboam 6, Methuselah 8, Salmanazar 12, Balthazar 16, Nebuchadnezzar 20, Melchior, 24, Solomon, 26.6, Sovereign, 33.3, Primat 36, Melchizedek (a.k.a. Midas), 40 bottles.
