world paid tribute to the old lady. By the terms of an agreement made earlier, Edouard Werlé was already her official successor appointed by Madame Clicquot herself, and in August 1866, a new company was formed: "Werlé & Cie, successors to Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin". Bertrand de Mun, who married Edouard Werlé's granddaughter, joined the company in July 1898 and became a partner in 1902. In 1911, under de Mun's direction the house of Veuve Clicquot achieved the sales figure of 2,000,000 bottles. The company was slowed down by the 1914-18 war. WW1 and WW2 During World War I, the Veuve Clicquot cellars sheltered over one thousand company staff and civilians in the war-torn champagne region from bombardments. Cellars housed a hospital and a chapel. Even short plays were put on in these premises. Today Red Cross signs on the damp chalk walls still indicate the infirmary and shelter area. After World War I, reconstruction began. All the buildings had been heavily damaged. Gradually everything was rebuilt. In 1932, Bertrand de Mun was joined by his son-in-law Bertrand de Vogüé. Long before the law required it, they offered benefits to their employees: holidays, pensions, healthcare, sports fields and recreation areas. As a result, the company never suffered stoppage during the strikes that hit France in 1936. In 1963, the company became a "société anonyme" or joint stock corporation. Bertrand de Vogüé was made chairman, a post to which his son Alain succeeded in 1972. In 1987, the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group acquired Veuve Clicquot, where it remains today, headed up by Jean-Marc Gallot. Shipwrecked bottles In 1987, an expedition, licensed by the Michigan Department of State and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and headed by underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, recovered a number of cases of Veuve Clicquot (Yellow Label, Dry) Champagne from the 9 November 1913 shipwreck of the Canadian steamer Regina in Lake Huron, off Port Sanilac, Michigan. Spence afterwards described the still sparkling Champagne as "quite dark in color but as having an excellent taste." The shipwreck site is located in approximately 83 feet of water at latitude 43°20.24′ North, longitude 82°26.76′ West. The water temperatures at the wreck site range from 1–⁠18 °C (35–⁠65 °F). In July 2010, a group of Finnish divers found 168 bottles of champagne beneath the Baltic Sea off the coast of Åland. Bottles were sent back to France for analysis. Ninety-nine