Step 3 of 5

The Champagne bottle

A pressure vessel, not a bottle. Wider and noticeably heavier, often with a deep punt (the indentation at the bottom). The thickness isn't decoration — it's structural. Sparkling wine has up to 90 psi (6 bar) of pressure inside.

A standard wine bottle would explode. The Champagne bottle is engineered to hold it, with about 900g of glass (vs. ~400g for a standard wine bottle). The deep punt distributes the pressure evenly.

A Champagne bottle held by the punt with the index finger inside it, the classic sommelier pouring grip
The classic sommelier grip — inside the punt. Discovered, basically, by trial and error.