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Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, or "Vinny" for short. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the technical aspects of winemaking to the fine points of etiquette. I hope you find my answers educational and even amusing. Want to see more of them? Check out my archive. And here are my most Frequently Asked Questions.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
My friend insists that the size of the dimple at the bottom of the wine bottle is indicative of the quality of the wine. I say it does not matter. What is your experience and does the dimple really matter?
—Terry, Steinbach, Manitoba
Dear Terry,
That dimple is known as a "punt," and in this case, size doesn't matter. Punts are a leftover feature from olden times, when glass was weaker and bottles were made individually by glass blowers, who added the punt to strengthen the bottle (and keep it from falling over when you set it on a table). Modern glass is stronger and bottles are machine-produced, so these days punts are just part of tradition. That said, I've noticed that some bottles on steroids with big price tags have obscenely deep punts, but a bottle's shape rarely has anything to do with the quality of the stuff inside.
—Dr. Vinny
Do you have a question for me? Fire away!
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