Champagne Charlie: The Frenchman Who Taught Americans to Love Champagne
Don Kladstrup · Petie Kladstrup
Feb 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Steve Marvel
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9 hr 13 min
Unabridged
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Champagne Charlie tells the story of a dashing young Frenchman, Charles Heidsieck, who introduced hard-drinking Americans to champagne in the mid-nineteenth century and became famously known as Champagne Charlie. Ignoring critics who warned that America was a dangerous place to do business, Heidsieck plunged right in, considering it "the land of opportunity" and succeeding there beyond his wildest dreams. Those dreams, however, became a nightmare when the Civil War erupted and he was imprisoned and nearly executed after being charged with spying for the Confederacy.
Only after the Lincoln administration intervened was Heidsieck saved, but his champagne business had gone bankrupt and was virtually dead. Then, miraculously, Heidsieck became owner of nearly half the city of Denver, the fastest-growing city in the West. By selling the land, Heidsieck was eventually able to resurrect his business to its former glory.
For all its current-day glamour, effervescence, and association with the high life, champagne had a lackluster start. It was pale red in color, insipid in taste, and completely flat. Champagne's success can be traced back to King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte, countless wars and prohibitions, and, most important to the United States, Charles Heidsieck.
Only after the Lincoln administration intervened was Heidsieck saved, but his champagne business had gone bankrupt and was virtually dead. Then, miraculously, Heidsieck became owner of nearly half the city of Denver, the fastest-growing city in the West. By selling the land, Heidsieck was eventually able to resurrect his business to its former glory.
For all its current-day glamour, effervescence, and association with the high life, champagne had a lackluster start. It was pale red in color, insipid in taste, and completely flat. Champagne's success can be traced back to King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte, countless wars and prohibitions, and, most important to the United States, Charles Heidsieck.
Champagne Charlie tells the story of a dashing young Frenchman, Charles Heidsieck, who introduced hard-drinking Americans to champagne in the mid-nineteenth century and became famously known as Champagne Charlie. Ignoring critics who warned that America was a dangerous place to do business, Heids...
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About the author
The winner of three Emmys & the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, & the Overseas Press Club of America Awards for his journalism, Don Kladstrup is one of America's most distinguished network television news correspondents. Contributor to "Wine Spectator", he divides his time between Paris & Normandy.
Petie Kladstrup is a freelance writer who has written widely about France & French life. Contributor to "Wine Spectator", she divides her time between Paris & Normandy.
The winner of three Emmys & the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, & the Overseas Press Club of America Awards for his journalism, Don Kladstrup is one of America's most distinguished network television news correspondents. Contributor to "Wine Spectator", he divide...
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