Madame Pommery: Creator of Brut Champagne

Champagne Widows Novels

By: Rebecca Rosenberg

Narrated by: Katherine Anderson

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Madame Pommery is a story of a woman's indomitable spirit in the face of insurmountable odds. Set in Champagne, France in 1860, Madame Pommery is a forty-year-old widow and etiquette teacher whose husband has passed away. Now, she must find a way to support her family.

With no experience, she decides to make champagne, but no champagne makers will teach her their craft. Undeterred, Madame Pommery begins to secretly excavate champagne caves under the Reims city dump and faces numerous obstacles to achieve her dream. From the Franco-Prussian war that conscripts her son and crew to the Prussian General Frederick Franz occupying her home, Madame Pommery perseveres. She even must choose between her champagne dreams and a marriage proposal from her former lover, a Scottish Baron.

Inspired by a true story, Madame Pommery is a heroic tale of a woman's strength and determination to create a champagne legacy. If you enjoyed the novel Sarah's Key, you will enjoy Madame Pommery.

©2023 Rebecca Rosenberg (P)2024 Rebecca Rosenberg

Easily accessible HF

One strong, determined woman and a brand-new variety of champagne. Two of my favorite things!

At 39, Alexandrine Pommery found herself a widow needing to provide for her family during a timeframe when women had little rights. Her husband’s poor financial choices led to a decline in the two family businesses, but Madame Pommery would not take failure as an option.

As a lover of champagne, Alexandrine pivoted the family’s flailing red wine production into a bubbly upstart. At each turn, she found herself facing opposition. “Champagne is twice as hard and twice as dangerous to make!” But Madame Pommery would not be deterred.

Her strong will revolutionized the champagne industry, creating Brut champagne, the dry version we drink most often today.

Perfect for anyone who enjoys easily accessible historical fiction with a spotlight on women forging their own path in a male dominated industry. Be sure to have Google at the ready! I found myself looking up pictures of the champagne house and family.

🎧 Narrated by Katherine Anderson, the audiobook has a much sweeter disposition than Madame Pommery’s brut champagne. The depiction is lyrical in nature, mimicking the romantic essence of the French language.

Engaging story off a trailblazing tastemaker

Thank you @bookandwinelovers and
@rebeccarosenbergnovelist for the #giftedcopy audiobook.

Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and mother of two, must support her family after the death of her husband. In the Champagne region of France in 1860, that is no easy task. Madame Pommery decides, with no experience, to convert her husband’s small wine making business to making champagne. When she gets no help from others in the champagne business, Madame Pommery forges ahead and learns the intricacies of making champagne.

She perseveres through war and occupation, keeping her business going when most of her workers were conscripted into the army. She ignored the naysayers and created brute (dry) champagne which became wildly popular. She trusted her instincts, creating an innovative & incredibly successful business.

This is a well researched and entertaining book. I could tell author Rebecca Rosenberg did a deep dive into the time period, the events taking place, and the intricacies of making champagne. It all comes together in an extremely engaging look at the life of a trailblazing woman. Katherine Anderson provides a wonderful narration, really bringing the woman and the story to life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read this one if you’re looking for:
🍾 Historical fiction
🍾Strong female character
🍾Family drama
🍾A little romance

Great cast of characters

The narrator did a wonderful job of creating a variety of voices to make this easy to listen to. I loved learning about the history of Pommery champagne. It is a fascinating story to taking the sweet champagnes people were used to and changing it to a dry champagne for everyone to enjoy.

Loved the character of Madame Pommery

Loved the setting of France, 1860s. The writing is flawless and compelling. The character of Madame Pommery was powerful, Kind and courageous. I loved her character. I loved how passionate she was, she did not stop until she pursued her dream and secured the source to provide the financial freedom to her family after her husband died. Madame Pommery is no ordinary woman but a real life woman who introduced the dry champagne. She had her own share of struggles and obstacles. I loved reading about the experiments she did and chose her intuitive feeling of following her heart. Franco-Prussian war tried to shatter their home and drift apart families by making them prisoners in their own homes and Prussian General Frederick Franz occupied Madame Pommery’s home. But she was determined enough to not lose what she has worked on for years. The book was riveting, powerful, empowering and touching.

The narration was engaging. The narrator’s accent and the feel of France was spot on. I loved the character of Henry as well. I loved all the description of Wine, Champagne, food, dresses, art, matagot and the author has blended facts and fiction so well, giving the readers the perfect feel of 1860s and the glimpse of the first frenchwoman who created her own champagne legacy.