Summoning The Champagne Warrior, or someone who can bear light to this… Was just wondering… I was arranging things at home tonight and noticed that Cristal does not have a punt. I am surprised. Why is that so?
There was no need for a punt because the old bottles were made of crystal and, thus, very strong - so no need to equalize pressure. It is said the producer made the bottles out of crystal for the Russian tzars. As far as I know, these days, the bottles are made of thick glass, but I could be wrong.
Thank you, Noel!!
Cristal was made for the czar and has no punt due to concerns that something could be hidden in the punt that would harm him. That tradition/marketing continues today.
Amazing!
Love details like that. Thanks for the info, Ray.
Nothing to add to the above. Ray pretty much has it… though the no punt and clear glass to make sure no one was hiding anything never made much sense to me as I always figured that if someone wanted to find a way to hide something in the Champagne they would find a way to do it without affecting the color.
Couldn’t they just hit him in the head with the clear, punt-less bottle?
And waste all of that wonderful Champagne? Surely not. ![[pillow-fight.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/3/365d4ae6de5fe0cd9e7345760c12ceae1ed5e206.gif "[pillow-fight.gif]")
I think the concern may have been about the possibility of a bomb which might have fitted into a traditional dark bottle but which would have been difficult to hide in clear crystal.
The punt may have been considered as possibly facilitating the construction of such a device but the change to clear crystal [rather than plain glass to further differentiate the Tsar from his subjects] was presumably to expose such a threat since, as perhaps you were implying, poison would not have to change the colour of the champagne. In addition it was probably easier to make a crystal bottle with a flat bottom without compromising its ability to handle the pressure.
The Tsar may have been somewhat paranoid BUT they were out to get him - and did, with a bomb when, en route to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, he got out of his carriage to check on his Cossack bodyguard who had been wounded by a first bomb thrown at his coach.
The irony is that “hidden in” most crystal glass is – toxic lead which can leach into the wine over time. That is why you shouldn’t keep your port or sherry in those beautiful cut crystal decanters on the sideboard. Unless you don’t mind a drop in IQ and other problems.