The First Invoice
The earliest record of Churchill’s relationship with Pol Roger is an invoice from 1908: “1 dozen bottles 1895 Pol Roger.” He was 33 years old, a newly elected Member of Parliament, and already developing a taste that would define his social life for the next 57 years.
By 1935, his orders had grown ambitious: 100 bottles of the 1921 vintage, 240 pint bottles (half-bottles, preferred for solo drinking), and 10 magnums — all in a single purchase. At Chartwell, his country home in Kent, a bottle of Pol Roger at lunch was not an indulgence. It was the schedule.
The Numbers
How much champagne did Churchill drink in his lifetime?
Churchill’s lifetime consumption of Pol Roger has been estimated at approximately 42,000 bottles. The figure comes from his documented purchasing records and the known patterns of his daily habits. A bottle a day, from his early thirties until his death at 90, with allowances for the days he drank more and the few occasions he drank less.
He spent roughly £515 per year on alcohol — 6% of his disposable income. To put that in perspective, three times the entire annual earnings of a manual worker. Churchill was never wealthy by aristocratic standards; he earned his income from writing, lecturing, and politics. That he allocated such a significant portion to champagne says something about his priorities. As he put it himself: he had taken more out of alcohol than alcohol had taken out of him.
His preference was absolute. Pol Roger, vintage years whenever possible, served at cellar temperature. He called the Pol Roger cellars in Épernay “the most drinkable address in the world.”
The Friendship
How did Churchill’s relationship with Pol Roger become personal?
The relationship between Churchill and Pol Roger became personal on November 18, 1944, when he met Odette Pol-Roger at a British Embassy lunch in newly liberated Paris. She was charming, sharp, and shared his enthusiasm for champagne. They became friends immediately.
Odette named her poodle “Winston.” Churchill named a racehorse “Pol Roger.” The horse won several races — Churchill reportedly enjoyed the irony of cheering for his champagne at the track. Odette visited Chartwell. Churchill wrote her warm, flirtatious letters. The relationship was a friendship between two people who shared a conviction that champagne was essential, not optional.
Through Odette, Churchill’s bond with the house deepened from customer loyalty into something closer to family — forged in the same liberated Paris where champagne houses had spent four years hiding bottles from the Nazis. The Pol-Roger family kept a permanent allocation of their best vintages reserved for Churchill’s orders, ensuring he never had to drink a disappointing year.
The Habits
Churchill’s daily routine, well-documented by his private secretary and household staff, followed a pattern that revolved around champagne with the reliability of a tidal schedule.
He woke late — usually around 8 AM — and worked in bed for several hours, reading newspapers and dictating correspondence. A whisky and soda (weak, he insisted) accompanied the morning work. Lunch arrived around 1:30 PM with the first champagne of the day, typically Pol Roger. The afternoon included a nap, more work, and then dinner — the main champagne event, where a bottle was standard and two were not unusual when guests were present.
He was not, by the standards of his era and class, considered an excessive drinker. He drank steadily rather than heavily, maintained the habit for decades without apparent impairment, led Britain through its most dangerous period, won a Nobel Prize for Literature at 79, and continued painting, writing, and hosting until his late eighties. His doctors occasionally suggested moderation. Churchill occasionally nodded and continued as before.
The Last Toast
Why did Pol Roger put black borders on their labels for 12 years?
Winston Churchill died on January 24, 1965, at the age of 90. He had lived through two World Wars, served as Prime Minister twice, won a Nobel Prize, painted over 500 canvases, and written more words than Shakespeare and Dickens combined. Through all of it, Pol Roger had been the constant.
The house’s response was immediate and extraordinary. Pol Roger bordered their labels in black — a thin black stripe around the edge of every label on every bottle shipped to the United Kingdom. They maintained this mourning gesture for twelve years, from 1965 to 1977. No other champagne house has ever modified its label in tribute to a single customer.
In 1984, Pol Roger launched Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, a prestige blend made to reflect his known preferences: powerful, structured, made from Pinot Noir-dominant grapes, aged for a decade before release. The exact composition is a house secret. The cuvée has been produced for every significant vintage since its inaugural release and is widely considered one of the finest prestige champagnes in the world.
The Cellars Today
The Pol Roger cellars run beneath the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, along the same street as Moët & Chandon and Perrier-Jouët. They are among the deepest in Champagne — 33 meters underground in places — and maintain a natural temperature of about 9.5°C, which Pol Roger considers ideal for aging. Our guide to visiting Champagne covers the full Avenue de Champagne route and the best way to plan a cellar-hopping day in Épernay.
The cellars are not regularly open to the public in the way that some larger houses are, but visits can be arranged through the house directly or through specialized champagne tour operators. The Churchill connection is part of the tour narrative, and bottles of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill are available for tasting on selected visits.
In the tasting room, there’s a portrait of Churchill alongside a portrait of Odette Pol-Roger. They’re next to each other, which feels right. Between them, they defined a relationship between a person and a champagne house that lasted 57 years, survived two World Wars, and produced one of the most moving gestures in the history of wine: twelve years of black-bordered labels, because the house genuinely mourned the man.
The Quote That Explains Everything
Churchill was endlessly quotable about champagne, but one line captures his philosophy better than any other. It wasn’t about Pol Roger specifically. It was about the role champagne played in his life:
“I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate… and I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself.”
Napoleon said the same thing, almost word for word, 150 years earlier. Some relationships between humans and champagne are apparently eternal.
FAQ
How many bottles of champagne did Churchill drink?
Churchill’s lifetime consumption of Pol Roger has been estimated at approximately 42,000 bottles, based on documented purchasing records and his known daily habits. That works out to roughly a bottle a day from his early thirties until his death at 90, with allowances for the days he drank more and the few occasions he drank less. He spent around £515 per year on alcohol — 6% of his disposable income and three times the entire annual earnings of a manual worker. His preference was absolute: Pol Roger, vintage years whenever possible, served at cellar temperature.
Why did Pol Roger put black borders on their labels?
When Churchill died on January 24, 1965, Pol Roger bordered every label on every bottle shipped to the United Kingdom with a thin black stripe — a mourning gesture they maintained for twelve years, from 1965 to 1977. No other champagne house has ever modified its label in tribute to a single customer. The gesture reflected a genuine personal relationship: Churchill had been a loyal customer for 57 years, his friendship with Odette Pol-Roger had turned a commercial relationship into something closer to family, and he had called their cellars in Épernay “the most drinkable address in the world.”
What is Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill?
Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is Pol Roger’s prestige champagne, launched in 1984 to reflect Churchill’s known preferences: powerful, structured, and made from Pinot Noir-dominant grapes with around a decade of aging before release. The exact blend is a house secret. It has been produced for every significant vintage since its inaugural release and is widely considered one of the finest prestige champagnes in the world. The cuvée represents the culmination of a 57-year relationship between Churchill and the house — from his first recorded invoice in 1908 to his death in 1965.
Can you visit the Pol Roger cellars?
The Pol Roger cellars in Épernay are not regularly open to the public like some larger houses, but private visits can be arranged through the house directly or through specialized champagne tour operators. The cellars run beneath the Avenue de Champagne — among the deepest in the region at 33 meters underground — maintaining a natural 9.5°C, which Pol Roger considers ideal for aging. The Churchill connection is part of the tour narrative, and bottles of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill are available for tasting on selected visits. The tasting room displays portraits of Churchill and Odette Pol-Roger side by side.
Visit the Pol Roger cellars in Épernay through the Avenue de Champagne trail, which connects six champagne houses within a single walkable street. Churchill’s home, Chartwell, is now a National Trust property in Kent, England, where his studio, library, and dining room are preserved — including the table where 42,000 bottles met their end.
Sources: Pol Roger — Official House History & The Churchill Cuvée, The Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College Cambridge, National Trust — Chartwell, Decanter — The Story of Pol Roger and Winston Churchill, Wine Spectator — Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Tasting Notes, Cita Stelzer, Dinner with Churchill: Policy-Making at the Dinner Table. Explore more champagne stories in the Champagne Odyssey trail.
