“I love bubbles. It is a great feeling now after I am done. I had so much respect. And it was even mounting as I took the bottle of the cooling box and saw how big and heavy it was. I was really scared what might have happened if it had exploded. But after the first cut, when the sabre handle wasn´t stable and started moving, I took an axe and knew it had to work that time,“ said Tomáš Vyšváder, the sommelier of the year, after completing the sabrage successfully. He confessed he hadn´t been training the technique on 9-litre bottles as there hadn´t been a chance to do so. “This is the first 9-litre bottle brought to Slovakia. I had to be sure, it was make-or-break but I did it,“ smiled one of top 10 Slovak sommeliers.
“If I hadn´t been successful on first try, it would have meant that the bottle was too cold. In such case you can hammer as long as you want but the bottle may explode. If a bottle has a temperature of 12 degrees, the pressure inside gets balanced, it is higher and when you have a good swing, it is a piece of cake,“ added Vyšváder with a bright smile on his face. When asked if he felt like making a similar record later again, he said: “Of course, Mt. Lomnický štít would be great. It is a big challenge, the view of the Tatras, feeling like the master of the Tatras, with a 12- or 15-litre bottle. I would go for it for sure.“
The sabrage was performed using a special ceremonial technique of opening a champagne bottle with a sabre. The history of sabrage dates back to the time of French revolution. Sabres, which are used for sabrage, counted as a dreaded symbol of the Napoleonic cavalry. It was their triumphal military campaign in Europe that was accompanied by celebrations and bottles of champagne were opened with sabres. The 9-litre Bollinger was brought to Slovakia exclusively to be used for the sabrage. One of the best world-class champagne wines has a straw colour and endless tiny bubbles. It has a unique and special aroma of truffle, chalk and a soft touch of wood. The taste is cool, even metallic, with an exceptional structure of this prestigious champagne.
The Von Roll Culinary Week will please taste buds of all lovers of top-class gastronomy with delicious French cuisine prepared under the guidance of Chef Ján Punčochář from Le Terroir (Prague) and Tuscan wines of the Antinori family. For more information about a multiple-course tasting menu please visit http://www.jasna.sk/aktivity-a-eventy/eventy/von-roll-culinary-week/.
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Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. is a top subject in the field of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe, which itself or via subsidiaries owns and operates attractive ski resorts and hotels in the area of the Low and High Tatras. These include the resort Jasná Low Tatras and the following hotels: Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri studničky, Chalets Záhradky De Luxe and Mountain Hotel Srdiečko. In the High Tatras, TMR owns and operates resorts Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec and the following hotels: Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec and hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso. TMR also co‐operates the resort Štrbské Pleso and since the winter season 2012/2013 it has been leasing the mountain resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic in cooperation with SMMR, a.s.. TMR owns Tatralandia, the largest Slovak water park with all-year operation, which offers a lot of water and other entertainment, a Fun Park, relaxation in a special tropical hall with sea water and accommodation in bungalows and suites of the Holiday Village Tatralandia. TMR also owns and rents hotels Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky and Bungalows. More than 190 million Euros were invested by the end of 2013 in the above mentioned resorts, which helps increase the standard and visitor turnout in the Tatras. The TMR shares have been traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw since 2012.