Veuve Clicquot Riddling Stool by Adam Goodrum

Veuve Clicquot and leading Australian designer Adam Goodrum have collaborated to create a limited edition design piece inspired by the iconic champagne house. The Riddling Stool bears the hallmarks of Adam Goodrum’s design philosophy and his immersion in the world of Veuve Clicquot. Designed to pack flat, the Riddling Stool is rendered in laser-cut aluminium with piano hinges, in the signature yellow colour of Veuve Clicquot. It is both functional and beautiful, and as an element of surprise, Goodrum has designed the stool to hold one bottle of Veuve Clicquot on its strut, ‘riddling style’.

As part of his creative journey, Adam travelled to Reims to visit Veuve Clicquot’s Hôtel du Marc, where he experienced the rich history and heritage of the champagne house; from the cellars to the vineyards, and from the eighteenth century Maison to the modern-day installations by such design icons as the Campana Brothers. It was walking through the ancient chalk ‘caves’ that Adam came across the famous riddling table invented by Madame Clicquot in 1816, a design innovation that forever changed the way champagne was made.

Initially created with a table in her kitchen, Madame Clicquot cut circular holes in the structure to allow the bottles of wine to be stored at an angle. She believed, rightly, that strategically positioning the bottles would force the sediment into the neck, making it easier to extract. This process, called ‘riddling’ after the unique angled holes, involves regular turning of the bottles to gather the sediment and is, to this day, a core technique used by all Champagne houses to create the crystal clear wine we know as champagne today. For Adam, one of the pivotal moments in his journey was observing firsthand the evolution of the design of the riddling table over time, from its origins as a horizontal table through to its later more compact vertical structure, allowing it to be placed against a wall.

Adam Goodrum’s Riddling Stool takes its inspiration directly from Madame Clicquot’s innovation, and is an avant-garde take on the riddling rack. The stool is a sleek, perfectly balanced structure which, as with all Goodrum’s designs, is extremely functional. This space-efficient design is highlighted in Adam’s creation, which can be packed flat and fastened to a wall. The ‘Riddling Stool’ is an essay in design purity, at once modern and simple and at the same time referential and complex.

The limited edition item is available to purchase at Moët Hennessy Collection.