Sculpture at Champagne Pol Roger honours Sir Winston Churchill

It is alleged that the late British statesman Sir Winston Churchill drank two bottles of Pol Roger Champagne a day.

Now a two-metre tall bronze statue of Churchill has been unveiled at the Champagne house he had such a lifelong affection for.

Unveiled earlier this month, the striking artwork was crafted by British painter and sculptor Paul Rafferty, who lives on the French Riviera, and has written a book about Churchill’s paintings of the south of France, wine news portal drinks business reports.

While the World War II prime minister was loved for his eccentricities, cigar smoking and Champagne consumption. He was also a prolific artist and painted over 550 pictures in his lifetime.

Rafferty has depicted Churchill at his easel, painting his Bottlescape (1926).

The sculpture also highlights the British statesman’s other passions: not only is he puffing on a cigar, but there is a Pol Roger ice bucket at his feet, in which rests Churchill’s alleged favourite cuvée: Champagne Pol Roger Brut Vintage 1928.

The sculpture was unveiled by Lord Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill, Randolph Churchill, Churchill’s great grandson, and Hubert de Billy, fifth generation family member of Champagne Pol Roger.

Guests enjoyed dinner in the newly built Salle de Bûcher, the former woodshed of the Pol Roger family home, where they were served the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2013 in Jeroboam.

The room sits some 30 metres above the Pol Roger cellars in which lies 10 million bottles of maturing champagne. Less than 100 metres away sits 44 Avenue de Champagne, the former home of Jacques and Odette Pol Roger and immortalised by Winston Churchill as “The most drinkable address in the world.”