In soccer, when a team fails to make a first down, the team in possession of the ball kicks or “clears” the ball to the other team. The term “punt” in the wine industry has nothing to do with football but with the shape of the bottom of a wine bottle.
In the world of wine, the “Punt” is the concave base at the bottom of a wine bottle. In other words, this intriguing look can be called a dimple or a tooth. Why the hell would wine bottle manufacturers put a rather large dimple in the bottom of the bottle? What is this concave tooth on a wine bottle for? There are several explanations, some logical and others, “because it has always been done that way.” These are some of the many theories that have been considered over time.
- The dimple was thought to be a byproduct of the manufacturing process.
- The trough holds bottles in place on pegs on a conveyor belt as they go through the filling process at manufacturing plants.
- Provides a grip for manually piercing a sparkling wine bottle in the traditional champagne production process.
- With the punt, the bottle is easier to hold and pour and therefore helps the expert sommelier or wine server to pour the wine. By inserting your thumb into the pan and allowing the bottle to rest on the palm of your hand, you have better control in pouring the wine from the bottle.
- The deeper the vat, the more expensive and therefore the better the wine was thought to have been.
- Long ago it was thought that the bigger the vat, the better the quality of the wine. Good quality wine, like Burgundy and Bordeaux, definitely had a clearance in the bottom of their wine bottles. In subsequent years, all red wine bottles had a clearance at the bottom.
- With a smaller flat surface, the bottle was less likely to scratch a table.
- The wine bottle was built this way to provide more stability and less chance of tipping over.
- The shape of the tray was used to collect the sediments of the wine that were consolidated in a thick ring at the bottom of the bottle.
- The punt increased the strength of the bottle, allowing it to withstand the high pressure of sparkling wines and champagnes.
- The vats also allow the bottles to be stacked neck in a vat, which is actually a frequent storage practice in the Champagne region.
The real reason seems to have been lost in time. Although there is no common explanation or even agreement, the theories have quite a fascinating history and history. Today, in the wine industry, almost all bottles of wine come with trays. Whatever the reason, clearance is a truly unique feature of the wine bottle.
