You can't remember the movie, but you vividly remember the action. A man sliced the top of a champagne bottle off with what looked like a sword. Well, the sword was actually a saber and the action is called sabrage. And there is definitely an art to it. While technically anyone can do it, sabering does take expertise and a certain amount of confidence.

To start, the bottle has to be perfectly chilled for 24 hours. Ideally the temperature should be around 37 degrees Fahrenheit. And it should be carefully handled as well. Shaking the bottle around will only trigger the bubbles to erupt once opened, saber or not. But the real art is in the sliding of the saber back and forth along the seam on the neck of the champagne until with a final strike of the saber, the top flies off, cork intact. If the saber strikes the bottle incorrectly, it will splinter.

There are two stress points on a typical bottle of champagne, one at the lip of the bottle and a second stress concentration on the vertical seam. It's at this intersection that both weak points combine to make the bottle less than half its original strength. By striking the bottle at this precise spot, the weak point creates a crack that spreads quickly and is fueled by the momentum of the saber and the pressure inside the bottle.

A typical sabered cork will fly 15 to 30 feet. Yes, there may be some glass that flies, but none will remain in the bottle. The pressure inside the bottle takes care of that.

The inside pressure of a typical champagne bottle will be around 90 psi. And if you're worried about too many or too few bubbles, don't, because champagne poured out of a sabered bottle pours much the same way had it been opened with your hand. The only visible difference is that the edge of the bottle has a razor-cut appearance.

There are many theories on how the tradition of sabering champagne bottles started, but the most colorful one involves Madame Clicquot and Napoleon's French Army. It seems the mistress of Champagne quite enjoyed entertaining soldiers and as they left, Madame Clicquot gave out bottles of champagne. The soldiers would ride off, bottle in tow but unable to open the bottles in the usual way.

They needed to keep at least one hand on the reins of their horse at all times. So with one hand on the reins, they drew their sabers with the other and with one quick slice, voila, bubbles on the go.

A second theory suggests that this method of opening champagne started during celebrations of Napoleon's spectacular victories across Europe.

Yes, the saber was the weapon of choice for Napoleon's army, and we all know that champagne is the libation of celebration. And Napoleon did have much to celebrate. But even when he didn't, champagne was the drink of choice. For it was he who said, "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it." And I couldn't agree more. There's nothing like drowning your sorrows in a bottle of Taittinger Rosé.

But more often than not, we celebrate with champagne.

It being my favorite wine, a guided tour at Schramsberg winery in Napa last year seemed the perfect way to spend the morning of my wedding anniversary.

After a walk through the caves, our guide sabered a bottle of the J. Schram. We were hooked. Well, not me, but my husband, Mark. It was here that he bought his first saber. I say first, because as he pursues his Diplome de Sabreur, I imagine there will be more purchases.

The Confrérie du Sabre d'Or, the brotherhood of sabering, was founded in France in 1986. Besides certifying sabreurs, the organization's main goal is to promote the enjoyment of champagne and the lifestyle of wining and dining. Only a handful people in the U.S. hold the Diplome de Sabreur given by the Conférie du Sabre d'Or, though a couple of dozen uncertified sabreurs — including my husband — practice the swashbuckling move.

His first attempt was in our backyard. Soon I got used to my sword-wielding husband.

His skill fast became a parlor trick that everyone wanted a part of. In fact, earlier this year he sabered a three-litre bottle at a wedding in front of nearly 500 guests.

Next up, he will saber the Methuselah we have to celebrate the birth of our son due New Year's Day, 2008.

Well, maybe we'll just open that one the usual way.

Another name for a three-liter bottle (the equivalent of four bottles) is a Jeroboam, named after the King of Israel during the founding of Rome.

A Methuselah is the equivalent of eight bottles and is named after Methuselah, the antediluvian patriarch described in the Old Testament as having lived 969 years and whose name is synonymous with great age.

The largest champagne bottle is the Nebuchadnezzar, which is equivalent to 20 bottles or 15 liters, and named after Nabu-kudurri-usur, meaning "Nabu protect the boundary," who became king of the Chaldean empire in 604 B.C.

Lisa Gmur is a fine-wine specialist for Grand Crew Wine Merchants. Raise a Glass is written by a rotating group of beverage specialists.