A Backyard Spectacle

Posted July 30th, 2010 09:07 by Tom Firth

The wine industry is full of what could be politely called ‘one-upmanship,’ which aside from the usual “what I drank vs. what you drank,” or with whom, or where, it also includes a number of other measuring sticks. This would include using a butler’s friend or ‘ah-so’ bottle opener, opening a bottle with a shoe and one of my favourites, opening a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine with a sabre.

Where and when would you want to open a bottle of wine with a sabre? Technically never, since it is either guaranteed to at least put a hole in your drywall or spill wine all over your new hardwood floors. You could open it outside, if you don’t mind possible fragments of glass in your backyard for the wee beasties or the lawnmower to find. Furthermore, many people open their sparkling wine when winter grips Canada and no one wants to force their guests to march outside and witness the spectacle of you smashing a bottle of wine into the snow.

This is what leads me to the real reason you would want to open wine with a sabre…impressing the ladies.

Lots of mystique goes into the stories of why this showy tradition began, but it most likely involved French cavalry officers showing off for the ladies where they were stationed. Most of the stories involve not having a corkscrew, the cork not popping on its own and such, but it was probably a bunch of soldiers trying to shine on some girls and it probably worked.

I first learned to open wine with a sabre at a wine festival back in 1996 from one of my mentors in the wine industry, Ed Haddon. He was the head wine guy at my employer, Willowpark Liquor Store, now known as Willowpark Wines & Spirits and ran the champagne and sparkling wine station at the earliest incarnation of Winefest. It changed ownership a few years ago and is a great way to spend a night or two trying wines.

At that time, the sabre of choice was a blunted machete, which is probably the easiest tool to learn on. It’s heavy, solid, and virtually impossible to ruin. Whatever bladed tool you use, you will most likely ruin the blade if you use the blade side, including proper champagne sabres (which are ridiculously expensive.) The skilled and seasoned sabragiste can use virtually anything from a denture plate to a Sears’s catalogue to open the bottle.

Before I tell you how to do it, I feel the need to share this bit of information. THIS IS DANGEROUS! Try it outside first and please wear safety glasses.

Starting with a well-chilled bottle of wine, at least a few hours in the fridge and an hour on ice or in the freezer, remove the capsule of the bottle and the cage taking, care not to disturb the cork. If the cork starts coming out of its own accord, don’t use that bottle.

With the neck of the bottle free of the capsule and the cage, you should be able to see a thin seam running around the neck of the bottle, underneath where the cage was. If your cheap wine selection doesn’t have that tiny little seam, congratulations, your wine was a tremendous deal. Buy something better. (In all seriousness, most sparkling wines in a typical and classical champagne style bottle will have that seam so don’t worry too much.)

Hold the wine bottle at 45 degree angle, pointing away from anything breakable such as windows and your friends. Using the spine of the blade (the opposite side of the blade,) strike the lip of the bottle below the cork with a good amount of force and a pushing motion (keeping your wrist straight.) This isn’t a chopping motion, lay the blade along the shoulder of the bottle flat, the blade and spine of the knife should both be touching the bottle.

If you’ve done it right, the cork, along with a little ring of glass, should be hurtling through your living room’s Tiffany lampshade, where I told you not to do it. The resulting train wreck should only be a little bit of wine on your hand and a mostly intact bottle of wine. The gas released during this little show will blow away all the potential shards of glass, so the bottle is safe to enjoy. Though keep in mind the edges are quite sharp and unless you like a little bit of pain, drinking from the bottle should now be avoided.