How to Saber a Champagne Bottle

I'm Patrick Capiello, partner and wine director

of Pearl & Ash Restaurant in New York City,

and this is how you saber a bottle of champagne.

So, as far as the type of wine that you want to use,

definitely sparkling wine or champagne,

which is always preferred for me.

But you make sure it's a heavy bottle and a wine

that's got a fair amount of pressure behind it

because really that pressure is what is making

all this magic happen.

You wanna make sure the bottle is nice and cold as well.

Before you saber you wanna remove the foil

and then the capsule as well, or the cage as it's known.

So once you do that,

remember you're gonna have a cork

that potentially could come out,

so use safety and don't point it at yourself

or definitely at any of you friends.

Basically you're making contact at the glass base

of the neck and when you run the sword you wanna make sure

you keep the sword flush on the bottle the entire time.

Don't pick it, you're not smackin' it off,

you're just sliding the sword essentially up the neck

of the bottle until you make contact at the tip.

Also the angle of the sword,

you don't wanna keep it completely flat

because you probably will come off.

You wanna have it just like at a 45 degree angle

at the bottle,

and then just a full swing and a follow through.

Also it's usually best to go to the tip of the sword,

maybe you don't have a sword this big,

even if it's just like a chef's knife,

and in that point you would want to use the back of it

just so you don't dullen the blade.

For me this blades already very, very dull so.

Just pull back and (cork popping) swipe forward.

(energetic instrumental music)

And that's it.

And this is how you saber a bottle of champagne.

Oh, maybe not.