What is the purpose of the dimple at the bottom of some wine bottles?

     This dimple is called a punt or kick up.  In ancient times a wooden tool called a pontil stick was attached to the bottom of the bottle while it was being blown.  When this pontil stick was removed it left an indentation which actually was a good thing because it made the bottle stable when standing upright.  Making the bottom of the bottle completely flat was difficult and when attempted it was found that the bottom turn out to be convex and it would topple over. 

  

     Other reasons suggest the following:

  The punt helps collects the sediment. 

              The punt helps strengthen the bottle.

              It is a perfect spot to place your thumb when pouring wine.

     That was then but what about now.  The wine industry has always been a traditional business with specific marketing techniques and a bottle with a punt makes a great looking bottle.  Tradition may be changing with the new boxed wine or plastic bottles but the punt has been around since the ancient times.  How long will it last…….your guess is as good as mine. 

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Why do wine bottles have different shapes?

     There are many answers and all of them may be correct.  Different wine regions in different countries adopted their own bottle shape, maybe it was partially an economic reason.  It could be that the some bottles shapes were chosen over another because they stack better or possibly it was just for esthetic reasons.  In any case these different bottles shapes help us distinguish the different wine types.  So after many years it has become a tradition.  We are used to seeing German Riesling in long slender bottles or a Cabernet in a Bordeaux bottle.  

      Even the use of colored glass bottles seems to follow this tradition.  Next time your shopping for wine take note of the different colored bottles and type of wine and region they come from, does there seem to be a consistent pattern?  Also notice how boring and difficult it would be to choose a wine if they were all in the same style bottle.  

     There are no hard rules when bottling wine since the bottle shape will not affect the taste.  That’s why some winemakers create a special bottle for some of their wines.  

      Champagne is the only exception since it requires a thicker bottle to withstand the pressure created by the champagne.  So if you’re a home wine maker use whatever bottle you choose for you latest vintage and toast the tradition.   

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Valentine Gifts

Valentines Day is right around the corner. It’s not always easy to choose the right gift but we have done our best at Twisted Corkscrew to give you a large selection of wine accessories to choose. We have the Lover Boy and Lover Girl metal wine caddies which will show your fun side, just add a nice bottle of wine to toast the evening. Our Celebration hand painted wine glasses are cute and funny as well as memorable. Take a look at our complete line of Ravenscroft wine glasses and decanters, these are top quality. We carry all types of corkscrew and wine openers including Laguiole Waiters Corkscrews in case you really want to impress a wine lover. Our special for January is the Artful Winemaker which is the perfect gift for those wanting to get into wine making. Whatever you choose don't wait until the last minute, express shipping could drive the price of your items out of reach. Follow Twistedcorks on Twitter.