Twelve magnums of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, four of them Edition Vinothèque bottles from Pol Roger’s private cellar 33 meters below ground, are the center of the table at Aquavit on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. For Champagne collectors, that is the line worth circling. The dinner, scheduled for 6:30pm ET at 65 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022, forms part of La Fête du Champagne 2026 and lists Bastien Collard de Billy, part of the 6th generation of the Pol Roger family, as presenter.

Exclusive Members Discount

• 18% discount on the New York Magnum Package, Grand Tasting + Gala Dinner

• Members price: $1,350 + tax (regular package price: $1,650 + tax). Save $300 per package.

• What you get: One ticket to the New York Grand Tasting and one ticket to the Gala Dinner.

• Discount code: PEARL. The booking link includes the code.

• How to book: Book the New York Magnum Package.

This offer applies only to the Grand Tasting + Gala Dinner package. Other dinners and masterclasses are ticketed separately. Taxes and any applicable fees are shown at checkout.

The evening begins with Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV from jeroboam, followed by twelve vintages of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, each poured from magnum. Tickets cost $1,800 plus tax. Exact wines and vintages are subject to change.

The dinner in focus

Bastien Collard de Billy, a sixth-generation member of the Pol Roger family, will present the dinner at Aquavit. Chef Emma Bengtsson will prepare a modern Nordic tasting menu to accompany the wines.

The tasting follows one prestige cuvée across twelve vintages, from 2018 back to 1995. With every Churchill wine served from magnum, guests can compare how the cuvée develops with age.

Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV opens the dinner in jeroboam before the twelve-vintage Churchill vertical.

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Time: 6:30pm ET.
Location: Aquavit, 65 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022. Price: $1,800 plus tax.
Presenter: Bastien Collard de Billy.
Chef: Emma Bengtsson.

The announced Churchill magnum vertical

The Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill wines are Champagne Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2018 en magnum; 2015 en magnum; 2013 en magnum; 2012 en magnum; 2009 en magnum; 2008 en magnum; 2006 en magnum; 2004 Edition Vinothèque en magnum; 2002 Edition Vinothèque en magnum; 1999 Edition Vinothèque en magnum; 1998 Edition Vinothèque en magnum; and 1995 en magnum.

The younger vintages, from 2018 through 2006, can be compared with the more mature Vinothèque releases and the 1995. The range offers a chance to explore how vintage conditions and aging affect the same cuvée.

Every Churchill wine will be poured from magnum. Keeping the bottle format consistent gives guests one fewer variable when comparing vintages.

Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is a Pinot Noir-dominant blend made from Grand Cru grapes in selected vintages. Pol Roger keeps the exact blend private.

The Vinothèque quartet from Pol Roger’s private cellar

The four Edition Vinothèque magnums are the 2004, 2002, 1999 and 1998 vintages. These original disgorgements have been kept in the Pol Roger family’s private cellar, 33 meters below ground.

Original disgorgements retain their initial disgorgement history. These Vinothèque bottles have remained in family-held cellar stocks, giving the flight a shared provenance.

The Vinothèque flight offers a chance to compare four mature vintages kept in the same cellar. The 2004 and 2002 releases sit alongside 1999 and 1998, allowing guests to explore differences in vintage and age.

Pol Roger, Churchill, and the cuvée’s origin

Pol Roger founded his Champagne house in Aÿ in 1849 and moved it to Épernay in 1851. The house received a royal warrant from Queen Victoria in 1877. Winston Churchill favored Pol Roger from 1908 and formed a friendship with Odette Pol Roger after meeting her at the British embassy in Paris in 1945.

In 1965, Pol Roger added black borders to its UK-bound labels to mourn Churchill’s death. The house released the first vintage of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, 1975, in 1984.

The cuvée was created in Churchill’s honor, with a Pinot Noir-led blend and the structure to age. The vertical lets guests explore that style across more than two decades of vintages.

As a sixth-generation member of the Pol Roger family, Bastien Collard de Billy can discuss the house’s history and the wines kept in its private cellar.

Aquavit’s role in the evening

Aquavit is a two-Michelin-starred modern Nordic restaurant led by Chef Emma Bengtsson. She will prepare a tasting menu to complement the Champagne lineup.

The menu will accompany Brut Réserve NV in jeroboam and twelve magnums of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. Individual dishes have not yet been announced.

The address also works for travelers. Aquavit sits at 65 E 55th St, close to the Midtown hotel corridor and within easy reach of New York’s major dining rooms. If you are building a La Fête du Champagne itinerary, this is a dinner to plan around rather than squeeze between appointments. A 6:30pm start and a thirteen-wine announced lineup ask for a clear evening.

Aquavit’s Nordic cooking and signature dessert

Emma Bengtsson’s cooking combines Swedish traditions with seasonal ingredients and precise presentation. Seafood has a prominent place in her tasting menus, followed by meat and a carefully developed dessert sequence.

The lobster dish pictured here pairs the shellfish with braised red endive, smoked yogurt, lobster bisque and chicories. It shows the detail in Aquavit’s savory cooking, from the arrangement of the lobster to the contrasting vegetables and sauce.

The signature Arctic Bird’s Nest reflects Bengtsson’s background in pastry. Goat cheese parfait eggs contain sea buckthorn yolks and sit in a honey tuile nest with blueberry sorbet, chocolate twigs and a scattering of chocolate cake. Yogurt snow completes the woodland presentation.

These dishes illustrate Aquavit’s cooking. The menu for the Pol Roger dinner has not yet been announced.

What to know before booking travel

The dinner opens La Fête du Champagne’s 2026 New York program. Tickets cost $1,800 plus tax. Exact wines and vintages are subject to change.

Tasting twelve Churchill vintages together is an opportunity few private cellars can offer. With family-held Vinothèque magnums, Bastien Collard de Billy presenting and Emma Bengtsson cooking, this dinner brings the wines’ history and development to the table.

Buy Pol Roger dinner tickets on Eventbrite.

Members attending both the Grand Tasting and Gala Dinner: Book the New York Magnum Package for $1,350 + tax with code PEARL, saving $300 (18%) on the regular $1,650 package price.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Pol Roger Churchill Dinner and when does it take place?

The Pol Roger Churchill Dinner is a vertical tasting event featuring twelve vintages of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, all served from magnum format. It takes place on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 6:30pm ET at Aquavit in New York as part of La Fête du Champagne 2026.

How much does the Pol Roger Churchill Dinner cost?

Tickets for the Pol Roger Churchill Dinner are priced at $1,800 plus tax. The event includes an opening jeroboam of Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV followed by twelve magnums of Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill spanning vintages from 2018 back to 1995.

What makes the magnum format significant for this Churchill vertical?

Serving all twelve Churchill vintages in magnum format provides a consistent frame of reference, allowing guests to compare how the cuvée evolves across different harvests without the variable of different bottle sizes affecting development. For a structured, age-worthy cuvée like Churchill, this uniformity matters for comparison.

What are Edition Vinothèque bottles in the Churchill lineup?

Four of the twelve Churchill magnums are Edition Vinothèque bottles: 2004, 2002, 1999 and 1998. These original disgorgements have been kept 33 meters below ground in the Pol Roger family’s private cellar.

Who is presenting the Pol Roger Churchill Dinner?

Bastien Collard de Billy, a sixth-generation member of the Pol Roger family, will present the wines.