Sabrage is a technique for opening a champagne bottle with a

saber A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the ...

, used for ceremonial occasions. The wielder slides the saber along the body seam of the bottle to the lip to break the top of the neck away, leaving the neck of the bottle open and ready to pour. The force of the blunt side of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle. One does not use the sharp side of the blade. The cork and collar remain together after separating from the neck.

History

The technique became popular in France when the army of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

visited many of the aristocratic domains. It was just after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and the saber was the weapon of choice of Napoleon's light cavalry (the Hussars). Napoleon's spectacular victories across all Europe gave them plenty of reason to celebrate. During these parties the cavalry would open the champagne with their sabers. Napoleon, who was known to have said, "I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate... and I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself", may have encouraged this. There are many stories about this tradition. One of the more spirited tales is that of Madame Clicquot, who had inherited her husband's small champagne house at the age of 27. She used to entertain Napoleon's officers in her vineyard, and as they rode off in the early morning with their complimentary bottle of champagne, they would open it with their saber to impress the rich young widow.

Champagne sword

A champagne sword (''sabre à champagne'') is an instrument specially made for sabrage. Some swords have short blades, around long and resemble large knives, although others have longer blades. The edges of the blade used should be blunt; a sharpened edge is unnecessary because in sabrage it is the impact that is important. If using a sword with a sharp blade then the flat blunt back of the blade is used. A champagne

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stop ...

can be opened with a spoon, edge of modern

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

or other similar item using the same method. The bottle neck is held at an angle of approximately 20 degrees and the sword is cast down on it. The experienced ''

sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in fin ...

'' can open the bottle with little loss of champagne. However, it is advised to allow a small flow in order to wash away any loose shards of glass that may be adhering to the neck. The first glass poured should also be checked for small glass shards.

Physics

A champagne bottle holds a considerable amount of pressure. With early designs, bottles tended to explode and the manufacturers kept making them thicker until they could contain the pressure caused by the release of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

during the secondary fermentation. The inside pressure of a typical champagne bottle is around . The diameter of the opening is , so there is a force of about trying to push the cork out of the bottle. At the opening of the bottle, there is a lip that creates a stress concentration. On the vertical seam of the bottle there is a thin, faintly visible, prepared seam, which creates a second stress concentration. At the intersection of the seam and the lip, both stress concentrations combine and the strength of the glass is reduced by more than fifty percent. The impact of the saber on this weak point creates a crack that rapidly propagates through the glass, fueled by the momentum of the saber and the pressure in the bottle. Once the crack has severed the top from the bottle, the pressure inside the bottle and the transferred momentum from the saber will send the top flying, typically for a distance of .

Records

The greatest number of champagne bottles sabered in one minute to be officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records is 66 and was achieved by

Ashrita Furman Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a ''Guinness World Records'' record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds 530 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for th ...

(USA) at the Sri Chinmoy Centre, Jamaica, Queens, on 2 August 2015. Ashrita used an "Arabian sabre" with a 13-inch blade. He beat the previous record of 47 held by Mirko Rainer, who managed this feat on 6 September 2014 in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The greatest number of champagne bottles sabered simultaneously was 623. It was officially recognised a world record by an occasion of the Sciabolata del Santero in Santo Stefano Belbo in Italy in June 2016.

References

External links

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Champagne sword
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'' {{winemaking Champagne (wine) Etiquette Sparkling wines Sabres