On February 27, 2008 the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival announced the first ever Champagne Sabering Spree at the prestigious Vancouver Club. The event was designed to capture a place in the Guiness World Book of Records for the greatest number of saberers at one time. 30 bottles out of 37 were successfully sabered in 10 seconds, see below for sabering participants!
The art of sabering bottles is a technique using a saber to open a champagne bottle and is thought of as a ceremonial technique. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass and separates the collar from the neck. The cork and collar remain attached after separation from the bottle. There are two versions of the history:
1. Sabrage became popular when the armies of Napoleon visited French aristocrat domains. It was just after the French revolution and Napoleon’s cavalry (the Hussars) used the saber as the weapon of choice. Napoleon's grand victories across Europe gave them many occasions to celebrate. During these parties the cavalry would open the Champagne with their sabers. Napoleon probably encouraged this and is known to have said: "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it."
2. There is much lore about this tradition. One of which is the tale of Madame Clicquot. She was a widower at 27 and inherited her husband’s small Champagne house. She would entertain Napoleon's officers in her vineyard after victorious battles 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.
It is the biggest and oldest wine festival of its type in the world. And it certainly is the best: New York, Monterey, Colorado, Europe - this one's got them all topped. Ask anybody.
