A race politician, a strategist, war hero, a phenomenon and a language artist. Winston Churchill never seemed to sleep and was always working. In between, he was a lover of the good things in life: wine, champagne, cigars and spirits. Churchill quotes lead a life of their own; the man was sharp and full of humour. With the Pol Roger champagne house, he had a strong bond, as he loved their champagne.
TEXT CHARLOTTE VAN ZUMMEREN
Churchill met Odette Pol-Roger in France after World War II and they became good friends. He also graced this friendship and his love of champagne with his famous statements. When he visited Odette Pol-Roger's house at 44 Avenue de Champagne in Épernay at the time, he called it: 'the most drinkable address in the world.' On another occasion, he told Odette Pol-Roger: 'Invite me over during wine tastings and I will press the grapes with my bare feet.' Incidentally, he named his racehorse after Odette. Pol Roger won one race, that of Kempton Park in the coronation year 1953.
Also strong
Churchill drank champagne every day, reportedly in half-litre or pint glasses. However, it involved a special bottle, because 'half a bottle is too little and a whole bottle too much'. The House therefore made for him the Imperial Pint Bottle, about half a litre. 'I neither want nor need it - champagne and brandy - but I consider it dangerous to get in the way of an indelible lifelong habit.' All strong stories aside, Churchill did not drink a bottle every day but only a few glasses in the morning. Yet he claimed: 'When I was younger, I was in the habit of not drinking spirits before lunch. Nowadays, I never do it before breakfast.' Reportedly, 6,000 bottles of Pol Roger passed through his hands in the last 10 years of his life, over one and a half a day. Churchill's visiting family no doubt enjoyed it with him. Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts notes in his book Churchill The Biography that the statesman kept his personal household financial records tiptop - even the bottles of Pol Roger were counted.
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