Food Unwrapped has shared the real reason for the punt at the bottom of a wine bottle. The Channel 4 series explores the industry secrets behind consumers' favourite food and drink. Episode two of series 22 saw Jimmy Doherty, Matt Tebbutt, and Kate Quilton debate whether brioche is bread or cake, looked at how to avoid the soggy ice-cream cone, and the science behind why some scoops melt faster then others.
They also looked into why wine comes in bottles of so many different shapes and sizes. During the episode chef and television presenter, Matt, visited the largest wine distribution centre in Europe, which is located at Accolade Park in Bristol to meet the general manager and "wine whizz" Richard Lloyd.
Once in the production hall, which sees a million bottles of wine filled every day, Matt asked why wine bottles come in so many different shapes. "Over time brands have become associated with shape," Richard explained.
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Holding up a bottle he continued: "This is actually the oldest shape and it does nothing for the wine. The Burgundy winemaker wanted to make his bottle look different to the Bordeaux."
Matt then asked: "The shape of the bottle, the dent in the middle there, gives no indication of the quality of wine?" Responding, Richard joked: "I think we should educate you, this is a punt it's not a dent. But you're absolutely right [the punt and shape] has nothing to do with the wine at all.
"It's all to do with the heritage of the wine and having an appeal to the end consumer."
Matt then asked: "Now I was told a long time ago it was so you can stick your thumb in it and pour it, is that not the case?"
"It's to help the strength of the bottle actually," Richard clarified. Food Unwrapped next airs on Channel 4 on Monday (May 16) at 8pm.
