The art of sabrage

It looks more dangerous than it is. Anyone who’s successfully sabred a bottle of sparkling wine before knows how it can wow your guests. Our tips make it super easy to sabre a bottle – give it a try!

1. Remove the wire cage fitted over the cork.
2. Use your thumb to find the seam of the bottle under the bottleneck.
3. Grab as large a blade as you can find.
4. Hold the bottle at a 45-degree angle facing away from you.
5. Slide the blade along the bottle seam in a jaunty gesture, using a fair amount of pressure.
6. Et voilà: you can now bask in the admiration of your guests.

Please note: precaution must be taken when opening a bottle of sparkling wine with a blade. The high pressure that builds up inside the bottle can cause the top of the bottleneck to fly several metres through the air …

One more thing about the history of this unusual opening method: According to legend, Napoleon I used a sabre to open a bottle of Champagne with his officers after winning a campaign against the Russian Empire. To this day, it is traditional in France to mark the broken-off bottleneck and cork with the date of sabrage and keep it as a lucky charm.