I'm often asked where I get my ideas. The short answer is, everywhere, nowhere, can I get back to you on that? Seriously, it's a hard question to answer. Usually it starts with some previously unknown fact.

For THE WIDOWS OF CHAMPAGNE it was a historical tidbit I came across during my research. Turns out one of the world's most famous Champagnes, Veuve Clicquot, was begun by a young widow who lost her husband to war. She pressed on (no pun intended) without him and reached massive International success. Veuve is French for widow, by the way. Other legendary houses - Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier and Pommery - also got their starts from widows.