Champagne Saber

Using a Champagne saber is one of the most theatrical and amazing ways to serve wine. It is also one of the most dangerous and little known! Sabering a Champagne or other sparkling wine bottle, known as sabrage in France, is a custom which probably dates back to the time of Napoleon. In brief, you use a sword, or other similar heavy object to knock off the end of a Champagne bottle in one clean piece, cork, glass and all. The end of the bottle, with the flanged lip with the cork intact splits off from the rest of the bottle in a clean break. The pressure inside the bottle pushes out any pieces of glass so that you are left with the open bottle to pour and enjoy. It is a dramatic and impressive way to open a bottle of sparkling wine. However, done wrong, the bottle can explode and cut you. Additionally, even if successful, the bottle tip and cork can fly off at high speed and break something or hurt someone. Therefore, sabrage should not be taken lightly and is not advised for the inexperienced! However, it makes a great conversation piece at wine tastings or dinner parties and a real Champagne saber is a great gift for a lover of fine wines!