Regatta History

The Regatta orginated as a one-day race in 1986, concieved by Nance Frank with assistance from Dee Spear and sponsor support from Susan Warren-Ervin of Bellows International Ltd. The Veuve Clicquot Regatta has been held annually and has grown into a major three-day regatta, attracting women sailors from Puerto Rico, Antigua,St. Maarten, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, the British Virgin Islands, United States, and Europe. Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin has sponsored the event for nine years through its Virgin Island distributor, Bellows International Ltd.

Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin History

Born in 1777, Nicole Barbe Ponsardin married Francois Clicquot in 1798. Widowed at the age of 27, Veuve Clicquot (Veuve means widow in French) took over her deceased husband's business. At a time when Europe was torn by war, she was shipping her wines throughout the world. She was a bold, imaginative woman, who presented her champagne in all the great courts. She spread French style and savoir-vivre. A commercial success at the start, her product became a whole myth. A stickler for perfection, she would inspect the cellars at night to make sure everything was right.

In 1816 Madame Clicquot invented the first table de remuage (riddling table) to clarify her wines. It was the forerunner of the racks used in wine-making today. The principle of remuage is to bring the deposit formed as the wine ages in the cellar down to the neck of the bottle by turning the bottle once or several times a day and gradually tilting it to a vertical position. The bottles are then ready for disgorging.

As early as 1802, Francois Clicquot sent representatives to Russia. In 1805, 25,000 bottles were exported to that market. In 1814, although peace had not yet been signed and Russia's borders were still closed, Madame Clicquot used all her astuteness and boldness to fit out "Les Gebroders", ready to sail into Saint-Petersburg harbour as soon as the blockade was raised. At the end of 1814, her daring and courage were rewarded. The greatest Russian writers - Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov - fed the legend by singing the praises of the "king of wines". Madame Clicquot was quick to realize that her champagne had to express an image and a personality and therefore be protected against counterfeits.

She decided to stamp her corks with an anchor and the letters VCP. A few years later, she engraved the same monogram on the glass of bottles, before designing the famous yellow label recognized throughout the world as a symbol of tradition, elegance, and style in the art of living. Madame Veuve Clicquot died in 1866 at the age of 89 and left behind her an empire devoted to French excellence and the enjoyment of fine food and wine.

Today the House of Veuve Clicquot is among the most prestigious Champagne firms. Its extensive vineyard holdings, many originally purchased by Madame Clicquot, stretch throughout the top-rated areas of the Champagne region and are unparalleled in size and quality. As in Madame Clicquot's day, bottles age in the House's vast, vaulted cellars in Reims, portions of which were constructed some 2,000 years ago by the Romans.