Champagne bottles have an indentation, called a punt, in the bottom of the bottle because it relieves the pressure on the bottom of the bottle. Without the punt (or kick, as it is also called) the bottle might well blow out at the bottom. For still wines, the punt in the bottle has been there since glass was first blown by hand. A pontil, or wooden stick, was used to secure the bottom of the bottle while the glass blower spun and blew at the neck end. Naturally, the stick indented the bottom of the still molten glass. Today, molded glass bottles do not require the punt, but tradition decrees that it shall be there.
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bevcoronado | June 10th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Oh my god you just made my day. I’m totally putting that on my blog.
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