Launch Party at Squerryes

March 8, 2026

Our Launch Party sold out, and we had a fabulous time.

We kicked off with some outdoor sabrage, off the balcony of the winery restaurant (having dutifully completed our risk assessment, because we care about safety too). While several guests were experienced practitioners of the noble art, it was the first time for the vast majority of attendees, so the evening was regularly punctuated with the sound of slightly surprised delight emanating from people who were just unlocking their new superpowers, and taking the first step in their membership journeys with us.

Willow has promised to open all subsequent bottles in this manner

Estate owner and Wine Estate founder Henry Warde welcomed us all, and talked about his excitement for Squerryes to be one of our founding partners, because of the happy coincidence of our shared ethos. His family motto, which has been hanging above the door at Squerryes Court for three centuries, is licet esse beatis—it is permitted to be joyful. He and the Squerryes team embody that value in everything they do, and we founded The Society of the Silver Sword with the express purpose of bringing joy by celebrating English sparkling wine and the art of sabrage. We have a bit of catching up to do, so we’re glad to have eight generations of Warde family experience to support us on our journey!

Henry brought along one of the many swords hanging on the wall at home… but ended up using ours to open the first magnum of Blanc de Blancs!

Over a hundred bottles—some of them magna—were opened during the course of the evening, and not one of them suffered the indignity of being opened without a sword. We are so grateful to everyone for coming, and thrilled to have been able to share the joy of sabrage with so many people.

Just a few of the empties…

This event would not have been possible without everyone who attended, but we extend our particular thanks to:

our indefatigable instructors (yes, they are available for private bookings!)
our superb socials team (who remind us to tell you to check out our channels)
our intrepid cameraman
our friends who travelled from overseas to join us (and who somehow still ended up helping us emboss dozens of certificates and arrange Apprentice packs for our other guests to collect)
and of course to Henry and the team at Squerryes for their incredible hospitality!

If you missed the Launch Party, don’t worry—we’ll certainly be back, and we have plenty more events coming up.