Come to Westwell on Saturday 5th September to join us for an afternoon of sun, silliness, and sparkling wine among the vines.

But there’s more.

This will be a Silver Sword event with a difference! We will be hosting the Inaugural Sabrage Olympics: a faintly absurd, lightly competitive, very mildly athletic, deeply unserious celebration of English sparkling wine and the noble art of opening bottles with blades in as many different ways as possible.

There will be five events, details of which will be released closer to the time to allow would-be Olympians to start practising, but we hereby confirm that the categories will be: Distance, Accuracy, Speed, Precision, and Creativity.

I’m an Olympian—count me in!

Great! Participant tickets cost £60, and include:

• a welcome glass of a sparkling wine
• a bottle of Sabrage Olympics edition of Westwell’s wonderful Wicken Foy NV to use in one of the rounds
• your official Sabrage Olympics participant pack (details intentionally kept secret 😎)

If you want to enter more than one event, you can just buy another bottle on the day. It’s up to you whether you enter one event, enter everything, or enter everything five times so that you can make a glorious late-career comeback and retire undefeated.

There will be prizes. There will be new Society swag to purchase (or win). There will be an action photographer, videographer, and further opportunities to have your moments of glory, panic, triumph, or theatrical overcommitment immortalised by drone and video glasses.

I’m not quite there yet…

All are welcome to compete, but if you’d rather just watch, you are very welcome simply to come along, drink something lovely, heckle constructively, and enjoy the succession of spectacle after spectacle. Tickets for spectators cost just £20, and also include a welcome glass of sparkling wine.

If you’re curious about sabrage but don’t think you’re an Olympian just yet, our instructors will be available to teach you on the day, and to confer the exalted status of Apprentice of The Society of the Silver Sword upon you (with all that comes with it). No experience required. All ages, ability, and mobility levels are cheerfully and confidently catered for. You may come to Westwell as an enquiring mortal, but you will leave with a new superpower, and a firm conviction that bottles should never be opened in the conventional manner again.

What about food? And… more wine?

For those looking for an edible pairing for their fabulous fizz, fear not—there will be a pizza van selling delicious Neapolitan-style pizzas made from locally-sourced ingredients.

And, just in case this was not blindingly obvious by the fact that this event is taking place in one of our Founding Partners’ wineries, you can buy wine (by glass or bottle) throughout the afternoon at Silver Sword members’ rates. This means that, if you signed up for a spectator ticket, but suddenly get hit by a wave of regret that you aren’t taking part, you can sign up on the day (subject to capacity).

Tell me more!

More detail on the events, exact timings, and format of the day will follow. For now, just put 5th September in the diary. Come to Westwell. Meet one of our favourite producers. Have a glass (or two) in the sunshine. Take part, watch, cheer, laugh, and enjoy one of the last great bits of fun-filled frivolity before the end of summer.

You really would be silly to miss out.