In my years of travel across the globe I have seen 90% of the hotel staff in the world pour Champagne by holding the bottles with thumbs inserted in the punts, or the small indentation at the bottom of a Champagne bottle. I don’t know how, when and where it started but even the most sophisticated hotels seems to follow this religiously. I am sure they might have made it as their SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). It might look very stylish for the members of staff serving at table or as a matter of fact for the guest also. But I dread to imagine if he spills that precious bubbly as the bubbly itself weighs 750 ml plus the weight of the bottle. Can you imagine someone serving you wine like that from a magnum bottle? The punt was never intended for such a purpose. Originally, punt was a way of preventing the jagged pontil mark – the point left over after a glass bottle was blown and shaped – from scratching the surface of a table as technology was not that advanced those days when it all started.

By pushing the pontil up into the interior of a bottle, a punt was formed and the table was saved. When the mould made wine bottles were introduced, the punt stayed, since it adds to the stability of the bottle when it is upright. With Champagne bottles, however, the punt serves entirely a different purpose. During the second fermentation, which gives Champagne its bubbles, a lot of pressure is built up inside the glass wall of the bottle. The amount of pressure a Champagne bottle is equivalent to the amount of the air pressure present in a truck tyre. The Champagne bottle’s prominent punt helps in the even distribution of the pressure inside the bottle, preventing the dangerous explosion, which was a common phenomenon in the early stages of Champagne making.

SOME FACTS ABOUT CHAMPAGNE:

1. Legend has that Marilyn Monroe once took a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne.

2. True Champagne comes from the region of ‘Champagne’ situated in northeast of Paris.

3. All Champagnes are blend of thirty to sixty separate still wines.

4. The complex process by which Champagne is made involves a secondary fermentation in bottles, which traps natural CO2 inside the bottle.

5. Dom Perignon is referred as father of Champagne.

6. A bottle of Champagne has approx 56 million bubbles. (Courtesy house of Bollinger)

7. The name Champagne is derived from Campagnia, a Latin term for the countryside north of France.

BIBLICAL BOTTLES:

1. SPLIT 187.5 ml (About 1.5 Glass)

2. HALF – BOTTLE 375 ml (About 2.5 Glasses)

3. BOTTLE 750 ml (About 5 Glasses)

4. MAGNUM 2 bottles (About 10 Glasses)

5. JEROBOAM 4 Bottles (About 20 Glasses)

6. METHUSELAH 8 Bottles (About 40 Glasses)

7. SALMANAZAR 12 Bottles (About 40 Glasses)

8. BALTHAZAR 16 Bottles(About 60 Glasses)

9. NEBUCHADNEZZAR 20 Bottles (About 100 Glasses)

SOME FACTS ABOUT INDIAN SPARKLING WINES:

When we talk about Indian sparkling wines a notable contribution comes from the house of Champagne Indage Limited. The company holds a virtual monopoly in this segment and why shouldn’t as they are make wine in the similar method as made in ‘Champagne’ region in France.

1. The first Sparkling wine made in India was Marquise De Pompadour.

2. The first and only sparkling wine made by Methode Champagnoise is Marquise De Pompadour.

3. The First sparkling wine exported from India is Omar Khayyam, which comes from the abode of Champagne Indage.

4. The First Indian sparkling wine to win an international award was Marquise De Pompadour which won a Bronze medal at International Wine & Spirit Competition in 1986.

So I am sure next time you order a bubbly you might tell your attendant to take it easy and say cheers for the wonderful creation called Champagne!!!

AJAY GOTHWAL

Ajay Kumar Gothwal is a Wine Educator   with experience of working abroad as well as in India. He can be reached at divineajay@yahoo.co.in for further communication.