Why Do Wine Bottles Have Those Fancypants Indentations At The Bottom?

If you've ever been served wine in a restaurant, there's a good chance they may have done that move where they grip the indent of the bottle, and pour the wine into your glass one-handed. Whilst undeniably fancy, this is likely not the original purpose of the indent, known as a "punt". Side note, but this is occasionally referred to by sommeliers as the "proctologist's grip", which is admittedly less fancy.

So, what is it for? And does it indicate a higher-quality wine, as many people seem to suggest? Well, on that front the answer is that you shouldn't be judging quality too much by bottle shape. Though bottles with punts are slightly more expensive to make, that doesn't mean that you are getting higher quality plonk. 

“The punt at the bottom of a wine bottle is down to the producer's choice and has no impact on the quality of wine,” Stéphane Sanchez, a sommelier and Waitrose Wine Specialist, explained to Good Housekeeping. 

“It makes sense for wine producers whose wines are designed for long cellaring – such as a fine Bordeaux – to use this type of bottle, but not necessarily for a producer whose wines will be drunk within a year from release (like a rosé)."

The reason why punts are there is nothing to do with the quality of the wine either. Though there are wine folk who believe it makes it easier to collect the sediment as wine ages, preventing it from making its way into your glass and tummy, there is little in the way of scientific testing to show that this is correct. 

Punts are likely down the way bottles used to be made by glassblowers. Flat-bottomed wine bottles were less likely to be able to stand upright on their own than a bottle with a nice indent shoved into it during glassblowing, leading to fewer smashed bottles and ruined carpets. As well as this, the punt is thought to make those old bottles more stable, and less prone to shattering. But they are no longer essential.

"Bottles nowadays are much stronger and machine-made, so the punt is simply part of wine-bottle tradition, though some say it helps collect the sediment as wines age," Wine Spectator explains. "Punts no longer serve a structural function except in bottles of sparkling wine, which have constant pressure inside. In these cases, the punt allows for more even distribution of pressure."

In wines that don't need this even distribution of pressure, the punt is there through choice by the producer, and doesn't serve any real purpose, other than making the sommelier look extra fancypants.