What is the concave bottom of a wine bottle called?

Historically, the bottom of a wine bottle has a concave shape into the vessel. This is not accidental, and the phenomenon has its own name. Moreover, over many decades, the shape of glass containers for wine has not changed at all, and today there are even rows of bottles with concave bottoms on store shelves.

The name of the bottom with a recess on the bottle

This feature of containers for alcoholic beverages is called punt. It is believed that expensive and high-quality alcohol must be poured into such a vessel. Some even note that the bottom is more concave if the wine has been aged for many years. The older you are, the larger the depression.

This statement is extremely controversial, since producers prefer not to highlight the high cost of wine through the container in which it is placed.

At a certain period of time, it was believed that the punt helped collect sediment around itself. And the masters also claimed that this form is intended for strength. This was still true at a time when vessels were made by hand by glassblowers. Today, the production of bottles has been put on stream, they are initially made strong and reliable, but the recess is still almost always present.

Why does a wine bottle have a concave bottom?

Today, this phenomenon also has several functional explanations.It is made not only for the sake of winemaking tradition, although such a version has its place. Over the years, the production of wine vessels has been modernized and improved. But winemakers prefer to follow traditions and provide customers with familiar containers with high-quality drinks.

Imperfect packaging

Such containers were first invented by French glassblowers. They could not create a stable vessel with a perfectly flat bottom so that the bottle could stand straight and not fall. Then they decided to make it even more uneven, concave, in order to ensure the safety of the drink.

It is noteworthy that German glassblowers almost immediately learned to make vessels with a perfectly flat bottom. They openly laughed at their French colleagues. But still, the tradition of making a concave bottom has survived to this day.

Transportation difficulties

Such a vessel was very convenient for transportation over long distances. When loading into wooden boxes, which were then loaded onto carts and ships, the bottle's cork was placed into the pint of another container. This provided better stability and the goods easily survived transportation.

For greater safety, a large amount of straw was placed in the box. This helped during storms or other troubles on the road.

Versatility

With regard to champagne, the statement about the quality of the drink being correlated with the presence of the item is true. Only a concave bottom can save the bottle from explosion if the sparkling wine has been properly aged and matured in the cellars.

The fact is that this design of the vessel ensures uniform pressure in the bottle. As a result, the sparkling wine remains inside and waits in the wings.

If you see champagne on sale in a bottle with a flat bottom, we advise you to refuse such a purchase.

Sediment masking

Quality wine is constantly undergoing fermentation and decay processes, even after it has been bottled and put on sale. Its presence indicates that the product is good. But observing the lees and drinking it along with unsurpassed wine are two different things.

The punt prevents flakes from getting into the drink by collecting them around the bottom and promoting compaction. Therefore, a bottle with an uneven bottom is an excellent solution to get a pure grape drink, without impurities and sediment.

Still, when choosing wine in a store, pay attention to the design of the container. Having a punt is considered an advantage by all measures. If you have the opportunity to buy such a copy, do so.