Is It Ever A Good Idea To Sabre Champagne?

The pop of a bottle of fizz always sparks excitement, but have you ever seen champagne struck open with a sabre? Yes it’s ridiculous, but it’s also something of an art in the world of wine, occasionally performed at parties to bring an extra dose of drama to the occasion. So where did the tradition come from? And is it safe?

What Is A Champagne Sabre?

A champagne sabre (sometimes spelt saber) is a ceremonial sword used to slice open bottles. The tool is slid along the bottle’s seam towards the neck, causing the top of the bottle to crack as a result of the pressure, and release the fizz.

The practice – known as sabrage – is said to have originated with Napoleon’s army in France back in the 1800s. There are a few different stories: some say soldiers would celebrate victories by opening champagne with their sabres without dismounting their horses. According to another tale, Madame Clicquot – the proprietor of Veuve Clicquot – would host parties for the army, and as a parting salute officers would receive a bottle, which they would sabre on horseback in a bid to impress her. 

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‘Chopping the top of a champagne bottle off with a sabre is a very silly and completely unnecessary thing to do, but so are most fun things in life,’ says wine expert Tom Gilbey. ‘I’ve never found a sound that gets everyone in the party mood like the crack and pop of cutting off the top of a champagne bottle.’

Aside from the theatrical element, though, there’s no real benefit to opening a bottle of fizz in this way. And, in fact, amateurs will likely lose some of the wine in the process, as it requires skill and practice to slice the bottle in the right spot. 

Is It Safe To Sabre Champagne?

Sabrage is a tricky one to master. It’s important that the bottle is very cold beforehand: experts recommend chilling it for 24 hours before, then putting it in ice for 30 minutes ahead of the celebrations. Then, the correct way to do it, Gilbey explains, is to ‘hold the champagne bottle in the middle (not the neck), have dry hands and a dry bottle, or use a cloth (or even gloves!).’ He adds: ‘you don’t need to wallop it – Mr Firm Precision is your friend!’ Gilbey has worked with knife company Savernake to create a ‘reassuringly solid’ blade which will ‘slice cleanly through the tip of the bottle’, and he notes that ‘as it’s not sharpened there’s no risk of accidents when you’re on to bottle number five.’

Inevitably, though, opening a bottle with a sword can be dangerous: the bottle can explode and cause shards of glass to fly everywhere, harming spectators. Ultimately, for us mere mortals, it’s probably best left to the professionals.