The Paris Traveler

Sabrage: Think Twice Before Trying This In Your Own Home

by Kim on May 15th, 2008

 Champagne:  love it as much as I love wine.  Pink or white, I am a fan of both as long as it’s chilled and bubbly! It is the quintessential definition of celebration.   Over the next few weeks, there are many happy reasons for my family to be popping the corks on bottles as we toast numerous transitions in our family’s lives.  I say “popping” the corks but if we were really adventurous, we might try making a bigger,  far more romantic splash at our next party!

Sabrage or the Sabering of Champagne is a method of opening a champagne bottle by cutting the top off, cork and all with a saber.  The legend of sabrage has its beginnings with Napoleon’s army returning home after a victory, being cheered on by the local townspeople who offered the soldiers bottles of champagne in celebration.  While they were astride their horses, with no means of uncorking the bottle properly, they merely pulled out their swords and lopped off the top at the lip of the cork with an upward blow to the bottle.  Let the party begin!!  

 A second legend has Mme Clicquot(the widow Cliquot), a woman who years before it was fashionable for females to be successful in a male world, did just that by taking over her late husband’s affairs ranging from banking and wool trading.  She devoted all her efforts to their champagne business, making Veuve Clicquot, then and now, one of the premier champagnes in the world.  Her gift to the art of sabering was again offering Napoleon’s soldiers champagne in return for safe keeping of her property (I think that’s what’s called a bribe).  Offering soldiers on horses bottles of the bubbly and glasses to drink it from, they tossed the glasses to the ground and drew their swords once again while drinking right from the bottle.  Ooh la la!!

For those of you non-romantics (boo), there is a scientific explanation to this trick.  I don’t profess to understand it, but apparently, done properly, if one hits the bottle right under the lip of the cork at the bottle’s weakest point, on a well-chilled bottle, the cork and glass fly away, spilling little and leaving a rather smooth break.  The pressure from inside the bottle ensures that no glass enters and all that yumminess is safe to drink.   

A friend of mine, Olivier, who is a sommelier in Paris has put together a series of videos about wine, food pairings and champagne that I will send you to.  This particular video is about….sabering.  We find him at the foot of the Eiffel Tower demonstrating what I think is a most romantic way to open a bottle of champagne.  You really have to watch closely and check out the knife that he uses…..he obviously has done this before.  Happy Sabrage! 

Additional information:  Champagne Sabering, WineRendevous, O-Chateau

Photo credit:  flickr: willi_hybrid, *Garron Nicholls*, wikipedia 

Share This

Related Stories

CendrillonA Sign of ReflectionHôtel Saint DominiqueI’m Back!Longchamp Handbags: Can You Have Too Many?

POSTED IN: Food & Beverage, Miscellaneous