Why dent in wine bottles

Justin Knock MW on why, and whether there is a relation to quality - as some people believe. The reasons are largely historical and hark back to different bottle-manufacturing technology in Germany, the homeland of Riesling, though the bottle shape and lack of a punt has persisted across the world today for these wines.

Punts were an artefact rather than an intention of bottle manufacturing. Some saw them as advantageous for reds, enabling better sediment separation for decanting, and for greater bottle strength — important for sparkling wine. It may simply be that the creators of the Hock bottle in Germany had more sophisticated glass-manufacturing technology, with its global adoption most likely driven in an era when Hock-style wines were more highly prized.

If any correlation exists, some have pointed out that wines at cheaper prices must be produced with lower costs. Order wine from a restaurant and you might notice the sommelier pours you a glass in a distinctive manner. Their thumb is slipped into an indent of the bottom of the bottle, their index and middle fingers supporting the body.

From this encounter, one could infer that the indent on that wine bottle, called a punt, is meant to assist with pouring wine. The origin of the punt goes back to when bottles were made by hand. Glassblowers would use a pontil rod affixed to the bottom of the bottle so the opposite end could be fashioned. Once the bottle was finished, the removal of the pontil rod resulted in a permanent indentation at the bottom of the bottle. While the pontil rod is the practical reason for the existence of the punt, people also believe the punt was an intended feature to offset the pressure of holding sparkling wine as it underwent in-bottle fermentation.

There are also those who believe the circular ring around the punt helps catch sediments and reduces the likelihood that they end up in your glass. When machinery replaced glassblowers in the production of wine bottles, the punt remained as a nod to tradition. However, its existence suddenly became important in unintentional ways. In the early days of champagne making, the monks worked with weaker glass and it was a very dangerous job being in the cellar.

Bottles regularly exploded, maiming and killing those nearby. Monks began wearing metal armor and chainmaille to prevent their demise by wine bottle, under they discovered that a bottle with a punt was less likely to shatter.

Another theory is that deceptive merchants could fool their customers into believing there was more liquid than what the bottle could actually hold if their patrons were unaware of the punt in the bottom. This seems a good explanation before there were laws put in place to protect the customer.

Now most wineries use standard bottles that hold ml so no matter if the bottle looks larger or smaller, the purchaser is guaranteed that much wine. When cleaning a bottle, the hot water is thoroughly dispersed by the punt to aid in a more complete sanitation.