Bubbles from a Black Woman
Nichole Johnson’s Lapin Rouillé Champagne makes history and there’s so much more to come.
We take so much for granted.
That’s what I was thinking during my recent LIVE! Culinary Series episode with Nichole Johnson, who, it turns out, is the first Black woman with a Champagne brand in the United Kingdom. Lapin Rouillé sparkling brut was released December 2020 under the Rusty Rabbit International brand.
Champagne has been around since 496 AD, yet until 2020 no Black woman had owned a brand (Brooklyn’s Marvina Robinson launched Stuyvesant in February 2020). Just let that sink in.
During our conversation, Johnson was quite engaging and transparent, telling us everything she’s gone through to make her brand a reality in seven countries, including the United States, Great Britain, and most recently Australia. She’s involved in every part of the process, from the bottle’s distinct crimson wrapping to its lovely floral and red berry flavor profiles. It’s composed of 100%, hand-harvested Pinot Meunier grapes from Massif de Saint-Thierry, Reims.
Johnson has endured a lot of personal pain to produce this brand. Most recently, she has undergone radiation treatment for cancer. Our conversation was the first time she had publicly talked about it, and she was candid about how important self-care is as a female entrepreneur.
“As women, we tend to not look at our signs or we say that we will get to [dealing with our health] later,” says Johnson. “ … when all the information was presented to me, [I should have] been on top of and going to the doctor more frequently and getting eight hours of sleep or eating during the day or drinking my water.”
She continues, advising, “In this industry, as we are building these brands and we are loving what we do, we also have to take care of who we are and our bodies. … Be gracious to yourself.”
As Johnson continues to recover, she is carefully making plans to release her next Lapin Rouillé product: a sparkling rosé champagne made by combining 21% red wine with 79% white wine from the same Pinot Meunier grapes used to make the brut. The date is April 21, and she’s planning a virtual toast to celebrate.
It was all about the liquid love during this episode because master mixologist Lynn House introduced two new cocktails. She continued her Black History Month tribute to Black women trailblazers with drinks paying homage to actress Ruby Dee and businesswoman Madame C.J. Walker.
Here is the episode in its entirety.
Great article and interview!