“Sabre the moment” can be read on the tiles at Uncorked Academy. Translation: “savor the moment” in sabre version (sabre, in English). If you want to feel like a samurai, you’ve come to the right place. The difference is that you will not be trained to be one, but to open a bottle of wine with a saber.
The workshop at this unique academy will train you to uncork a bottle in one sitting, although other courses (wine tasting, cooking and food and wine pairings) are also offered. It has been open to the public for two years and you can see the cork impacts on the wall as a sign of the corking.
Learn how to open a bottle of wine with a saber
Initially, you will be taught to identify the weak points of the bottle, like a master swordsman. The important thing is that you manage to find one of the two lines that cross the bottle from top to bottom, just where the glass joins.
Then you place your thumb at the level of the label and hold the bottle tightly with the rest of your hand, although it will be a little heavy. Then you put your arm as low as possible and you will immediately receive your saber to draw.
The batten and the bottle should form an angle of 45 degrees and the bottle with the ground, another 45 degrees. Aim directly at a green circle on the wall, like a shooting target, so that you can identify the target point to hit with the cork.
Then look straight ahead, back straight, breathe normally and strike with the sharp side. Just like that, the cork flies out while the instructor hands out the glasses and narrates the legends of the art of corkscrewing.
The history goes back to the tradition of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was a great champagne drinker. He said that “in victory you deserve it and in defeat you need it,” referring to a bubbly drink.
Does everyone make it?
According to instructor Zara Patterson, wine taster, wine expert and samurai swordsman, 99.99% of the people who try it, succeed. But he claims that uncorking with a saber is achieved more by women than by men. Apparently it’s all because they wield the sword with great strength and the issue is one of fluidity and speed.
The workshop to learn how to open a bottle of wine with a saber at Uncorked Academy has already been attended by a hundred people. Some say they go because they want to prove to themselves that they can do it, others because it’s a fun and different experience. There may be many reasons for you to try to identify yours.
When you finish you will receive a diploma that gives you the title of “sabrage connoisseur” or expert in the technique of uncorking with saber.
