Sabrage
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A saber can be used to open a champagne bottle with great ceremony. This technique is called sabrage. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle. The cork and collar remain together after separating from the neck.
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[edit] History of sabrage
This technique became popular in France when the army of Napoleon visited many of the aristocrat domains. It was just after the French revolution and the saber was the weapon of choice of Napoleon's fearsome cavalry (the Hussar). 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 probably encouraged this and is known to have said: "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it."
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.
[edit] The process
Sabrage consists of seven steps:
- Chill the Champagne for at least 24 hours; cold liquid holds more gas which will limit the spillage.
- Select a heavy saber, with a rather short blade and broad back.
- Hold the saber in one hand. If you want to preserve the edge of the blade you can use the back of the saber.
- Hold the Champagne bottle on its lowest part in the other hand, the wire cage loosened or removed.
- Find the seam of the bottle; there is one on each side, running from top to bottom.
- With the arm that is holding the bottle fully extended, slide the blade sharply along the seam of the bottle until it hits the lip of the bottleneck. The jolt will break the bottle and its tip will fly away. Make sure to "follow-through".
- Allow a little of the spray to spill out in order to wash away potential glass splinters; make sure you have a glass ready to catch the champagne.
Caution:
- The collar of the bottle (with sharp edges) remains attached to the cork. This is a moderately dangerous projectile: aim carefully.
- Be careful not to chop off your thumb. A full swing of the sabre isn't necessary; also if one's aim is especially poor, it's possible (though difficult) to strike the hand holding the bottle.
- A bottle which did not get decapitated will be somewhat weakened. Treat this with caution.
[edit] Physics of sabrage
A Champagne bottle holds a considerable amount of pressure. Early bottle designs used to explode and the manufacturers kept making them thicker until they could contain the pressure that is caused by the release of carbon dioxide during the fermentation. The inside pressure of a typical Champagne bottle will be around 90 psi (6 atm)[citation needed]. The diameter of the opening is 0.7 inches (1.8 cm) so there is a force of about 35 pounds (16 kg) 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 the glass is not as uniform, which creates a second stress concentration. At the intersection of the seam and the lip, both stress concentrations combine and the bottle will be significantly less than half its original strength. 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 five to ten meters.
