Sabrage: The exclusive way to serve champagne

The opening ceremony of the St. Regis Chengdu highlighted the brand's time-honored custom of champagne sabering by the hotel's chief butler, Dec 18, 2014. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sabrage is the French term for opening a bottle of Champagne with a saber. There are several legends of the story of sabering Champagne, and the most well known dates back to Napoleon. It said that when the Napoleon's army returned home after a victory, people would hand bottles of champagne to them for celebration. Instead of using a corkscrew, the soldiers simply took out their sabers, struck it against the lip of the bottle, and sliced off the cork.

Today, the art of champagne sabering has become an evening ritual of the St. Regis, representing the the atrical and exclusive way to serve sparkling wine.