Champagne sabrage

Champagne sabrage refers to the spectacular opening of a bottle whose neck is severed with a saber struck along the glass toward the lip. Internal pressure ejects the collar and cork, leaving a clean break. The practice dates to cavalry officers of the Napoleonic era, who uncorked Champagne this way. The saber is deliberately left unsharpened, the break relying on impact and pressure rather than on a cutting edge.