A Cut Above
St. Regis wine experts talk about the tradition of sabering Champagne.- By Michelle Franzen Martin
Legend has it that when Napoleon’s cavalry would visit Madame Clicquot, a young French widow who owned a vineyard, she would offer them a bottle of Champagne when they rode off in the morning. With the Champagne in one hand and a saber in the other, the cavalry would slice off the neck of the bottle to impress the young woman.
Just as Napoleon and his cavalry sabered bottles for the kings and queens in France, the tradition continues with a sabering ritual at the St. Regis that celebrates the transition from dawn to dusk. It has become a time-honored practice that guests from near and far look forward to experiencing and watching.
“Every evening we perform the Ritual of Sabrage in front of the bar as we transition day to evening,” says Robert Brandenberg, director of food and beverage at The St. Regis Atlanta. “I truly believe that over the centuries, Champagne became the symbol of power, royalty, aristocracy and celebration.”
The nightly tradition is held in a slightly different way at each St. Regis hotel and resort.
“Our special way of celebrating is by tying in our past to the sabering,” says Sebastien Verrier, food and beverage manager and sommelier at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort. “We talk about how Lady Astor (wife of the hotel’s original owner, Col. John Jacob Astor IV) and her 400 Club used to saber and celebrate at The St. Regis New York in the King Cole Bar under the King Cole mural, very similar to how we do it at our St. Regis Bar under our ‘Eyes of the Stars’ mural by Santiago Rubino.”
At The St. Regis Aspen Resort, the sabering tradition also is about sharing great happiness. “It is my honor to share my unique expression of joy with guests, friends and family,” says the resort’s knowledgeable sommelier, LeeAnn Kaufman.
Many of the St. Regis properties use a special type of Champagne to celebrate the evening. At The St. Regis Monarch Beach, Laurent-Perrier Champagne is used for the nightly ritual.
“As we pour it into the glass, we encourage our special guests to toast their own celebratory moments while taking in the breathtaking views of the majestic Pacific Ocean,” says Brian Neubauer, assistant director of food and beverage at The St. Regis Monarch Beach.
“We have the ritual on a daily basis to celebrate the transition between day and night, but on Wednesday we have a very special occasion,” he says. “We gather our guests, clients and residents to get to know them personally, telling the story, opening the bottle of Champagne with a saber and sharing a glass with them.”
Sabering also is special at The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, where the lights are dimmed and the candles are extinguished to celebrate the tradition on the terrace.
“We offer our guests a sabering menu with specialty Champagne cocktails and special discounted bottles of Champagne,” says Gianluca Carletti, sommelier at the resort’s Fern restaurant. The cocktail menu includes mango, raspberry or strawberry juice mixed with Cancella Prosecco sparkling wine.
Though The St. Regis San Francisco and The St. Regis New York do not saber bottles of Champagne due to safety restrictions, the hotels still celebrate by opening bottles of Champagnes in grand St. Regis tradition.
Current offerings in San Francisco include Krug Grand Cuvée, J. Lassalle (a smaller house wine) and Argyle, a domestic sparkling wine from Oregon.
“The offering is diverse in terms of regions and styles,” says John Vuong, wine director and sommelier for Ame, the restaurant at The St. Regis San Francisco. “It is a very luxurious offering.”
Winter Warm-ups
St. Regis beverage experts share some of their favorite drinks for cold winter nights.- By Michelle Franzen Martin
Irish Coffee
A delicious blend of coffee, brown sugar, Irish whiskey and heavy cream, Irish coffee is perhaps one of the most popular cold-weather drinks. The drink dates back to the 1940s, when American passengers coming off a flight to Ireland were offered a cup of coffee that had a shot of whiskey.
John Vuong, sommelier at The St. Regis San Francisco, says the hotel serves the drink in traditional style with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and thick cream.
Sebastien Verrier, food and beverage manager and sommelier at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, prefers to serve it cold—with a fresh cup of Columbian coffee poured over ice with refined sugar shaken, then poured, into the coffee mug. Irish whiskey is layered under the iced coffee and topped with freshly whipped cream.
“Miami has a considerably warm climate,” Verrier says. “Our iced version is a classic, simple cocktail done right and greatly appreciated by our guests.”
Specialty Sips
At The St. Regis Monarch Beach, Brian Neubauer, assistant director of food and beverage, serves a unique alternative to traditional Mexican coffee.
“We call it ‘Cadillac coffee,’ ” he says. “It’s similar to a Cadillac margarita, but the coffee version.”
Instead of regular tequila, The St. Regis Monarch Beach bars and restaurants use Patron XO Cafe tequila mixed with Grand Marnier, a shot of espresso, steamed milk and a touch of foam.
With Puerto Rico’s year-round warm temperatures, iced coffee drinks always are in season.
“We sell plenty of mocha iced coffees, especially in the morning,” says Fatima Bonano, general manager of The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort’s Fern restaurant. “With chocolate swirled around the glass, a shot of espresso and milk, guests usually come back the next day for another.”
Mulled Wine
Robert Brandenberg, director of food and beverage at The St. Regis Atlanta, has created a special cold-weather tradition of serving mulled wine by the fireplace.
“During the winter and holiday months, when our guests can enjoy the wonders of our resort and our extremely popular Astor Holiday Ice Skating Rink, we began serving this old recipe,” he says.
He brings together a select red wine with Grand Marnier and infuses it with orange peel, cinnamon sticks, honey and other “secret ingredients.”
“It seems to be the perfect, warm beverage to relax with before an ice skating session,” Brandenberg adds.
LeeAnn Kaufman, sommelier at The St. Regis Aspen Resort, also prefers mulled wine.
“When winter weather swirls in, nothing could be cozier than a toasty mug of mulled wine,” she says. “It’s the vine’s version of the classic hot toddy—a traditional holiday treat in many Old World countries.”
The key to a good mulled wine: “They are sweetened, spiced and slightly heated—a delightful alternative to traditional coffees, ciders and toddies,” she says.
