Louise Pommery (1819-1890), was a French Champagne producer. She took on her husband's wine business,

Pommery Champagne Pommery is a Champagne house located in Reims. The house was founded as Pommery & Greno in 1858 by Alexandre Louis Pommery and Narcisse Greno with the primary business being wool trading. Under the guidance of Alexandre's widow, Lo ...

, after she was widowed in 1860.

Biography

Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin was born April 13, 1819 in

Annelles Annelles () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Annellois'' or ''Annelloises'' Geography Annelles is located some 10 km south-east of Rethel an ...

(

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

). She married Alexandre Pommery in 1839. Upon Alexandre's death in 1860, she assumed full control of the Pommery business. One of her first decisions was to sell off the wool business, which was struggling, and concentrate on the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

wine business. She purchased 120

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and chalk pits, so-called ''crayères'', carved underneath of the city of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

Roman soldiers This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius ''Actuarius'' or ''actarius'', rendered in Greek as ''aktoua ...

during their occupation of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. Louise commissioned sculptor Gustave Navlet to carve long

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

celebrating wine into the walls, and busts by Leon Joseph Chavaillaud. These unique cellars allowed her to store and age thousands of bottles in a temperature-controlled environment (a constant 10 °C). Many other Champagne houses later followed suit. Offices and other buildings above the cellars were modeled after the great English country houses. In ode to her most loyal clients, the British, Madame Pommery built a Tudor Elizabethan domain in

. She would later change the face of Champagne for her English customers, by making the first ever ' brut' Champagne, with no added sugar. She was one of the first company directors in France to create retirement and health funds for her employees.

Death and legacy

Louise Pommery died on March 18, 1890 in

Chigny-les-Roses Chigny-les-Roses () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. See also * Cattier *Communes of the Marne department *Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park (French: ''Parc naturel r� ...

, near

. She was the first woman to receive a French state funeral. 20,000 people gathered in the streets of

to honour her great contributions to the city and the Champagne industry. A tribute was given by the French President, who issued a decree changing the name of Chigny, her country home, to

, in ode to her love of roses.

References

Attribution

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pommery, Louise 1819 births 1890 deaths 19th-century French businesswomen Champagne producers People from Ardennes (department)