Filed under: Wine, Events, The Classicist

On April 16th -18th in New Orleans, more than 50 of the nation’s top sommeliers will be on hand to pour some of the world’s most sought after wines at the Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational (ICSWI), the nation’s first ever conference devoted exclusively to independently produced champagnes and sparkling wines. Industry experts will educate attendees, pouring wines produced in the grower and independent spirit ranging from the superb high-end cuvées of the Grande Marques to the terroir-driven jewels of the small producers. ICSWI sommeliers will represent cities and regions from across the nation, with restaurant representation including Per Se, The French Laundry, NYC’s Eleven Madison Park, Aspen’s The Little Nell, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. All have broad wine industry experience including winemaking, retail, restaurant management and buying for private collectors.

Today, there are over 19,000 independent growers in the Champagne region, accounting for nearly 88% of all vineyard land in the region, with around 5,000 of these growers producing wine from their own grapes. These “fizz farmers” if you will are master artisans, controlling what happens on their farm every day unlike at some of the more large-scale industrial operations at the corporate labels. Worldwide, independent Sparkling Wine production includes Cava in Spain, Asti and Prosecco in Italy, Cap Classique in South Africa, Sekt in Germany and the sparkling wines of California. All together, there are thousands of champagne and sparkling wines to chose from, making the grower category ideal for authenticity, quality, value and ultimately choice. Smaller vineyards allow more site specific wines to be created for a truer reflection of terroir, and their extraordinary attention to detail is reflected in each grower’s unique product.

Continue reading The Classicist: Cheers to the 1st Ever Independent Champagne Invitational

The Classicist: Cheers to the 1st Ever Independent Champagne Invitational originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spirits, Wine

Make your wedding toast truly special by not only toasting with Dom Pérignon but by toasting with Dom Pérignon out of a personalized bottle that features both of your names on the label. Dom Pérignon recently unveiled Dom Pérignon Wedding, a collection coming out just in time for this season’s rush of spring and summer nuptuals that includes 12 bottles of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2000 plus one additional bottle packaged in a pretty white lacquered box with a special label personalized with the date and the names of the bride and groom.

The collection was inspired by the bottles opened at the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles back in 1981 that each had a personalized label and made such a beautiful and classic way to memorialize the occasion.

Dom Pérignon Wedding originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Washington State wines have grown in popularity by leaps and bounds over the past few years. A collection, WInes of Substance highlights both the affordability and versatility of Washington varietals. The brand is a joint venture between Waters Winery and Gramercy Cellars. The wines have bold labels that look like entries from the periodic table of elements and the website picks up on that theme, allowing the user to click on each varietal to learn more (not all of the varietals are stand-alone wines). Most of the wines sell for around $20 and many of the 2008 vintages are sold out.

Wines of Substance, Making the Most of Washington State Varietals originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Wine labels can say a lot about the wine inside, and they’re certainly a great opportunity for artistic and creative expression, but Oggau Estate Wine has taken wine labeling to a whole new level. The Oggau Estate in Austria produces 9 varieties of wine, all of varying ages and characteristics, and what started as simply giving each wine a face, name, and ‘personality’ to help the drinker identify the wine inside (younger faces equals younger, lighter wine while older faces equal more aged varieties) eventually grew into something much more complex. The wines now not only have faces, names, and personalities, but also relationships and stories with each other as they’ve become a family of children, parents, and grandparents. The wines have grown popular in Austria for both their quality and for the novelty of being able to collect the entire ‘family clan.’

Oggau Estate ‘Family Clan’ Wines originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

The latest Nielsen numbers show that South African wine sales have outpaced French wine in the UK for the first time ever, due to South African wine sales growing 20% while French wine sales dropped by 12%. South Africa is now ranked fourth for selling wine in the UK market.

South Africa has been producing wine for centuries but only in the last 15-20 years have exports really begun to grow. This news shows that UK (and world?) shoppers have made a significant shift and no longer ‘default’ to European brands. Jo Mason, UK market manager, Wines of South Africa, was quoted as saying “This is a momentous occasion for the South African wine industry.”

And a bad one for the French.

South Africa is clearly excited and looks for their wine to experience even more success as tourists flock to their country for the FIFA World Cup this year.

South African Wine Outsells French in the UK Market originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Some embarrassing wine news came out of France this past week when a French court found 12 French winemakers guilty of running a scam that involved intentionally mislabeling wine bottles being sold to the American market. In 2008 French investigators noticed that the volume of pinot noir coming out of a certain region of the country were much higher than expected, and after a yearlong investigation it came to light that the winemakers were cutting the pinot noir with less expensive merlot and shiraz.

The wine giant E&J Gallo, who bought the wine and sold it to consumers under the Red Bicyclette label, has said that they’re “deeply disappointed” by the fraud and are no longer selling Red Bicyclette to their customers.

French Winemakers Found Guilty of Falsely Labeling Wine originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

If you want to get a top flight enology education, UC Davis is no longer your only choice. Cornell University has had a grape-breeding program since the late 1800s but as Wine Spectator reports, Cornell didn’t create a full undergraduate enology and viticulture curriculum until the last few years. Dr. Susan Henry, the dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences who joined the school in 2000, and her husband are interested in wine and shortly after her move to the school she met several of the area’s winemakers. Dr. Henry saw that there was a chance to develop a program that dealt with cooler climate enology and viticulture and could work with the growing New York wine culture.

Cornell University has opened a teaching winery near the campus and there is also a seven-acre teaching vineyard on the eastern side of Cayuga Lake. Students can also opt for internships in the region. The four-year degree program offers a small group of undergraduates a complete wine education with Ivy League cachet.

For those interested in testing out what Cornell has to offer in a less permanent way the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions offers Cornell University Viticulture and Enology Experience (CUVEE), a program on the science of grape growing and wine making that will run July 19-23, 2010. The program will include College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Viticulture and Enology Program faculty members with winery owners, vineyard managers, grape growers, winemakers, and others. Students will study viticulture and the importance of microbiology in winemaking as well as hands-on practice working vines and making wine.

Cornell Teaches Cool Climate Winemaking originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Custom winery Crushpad has been in San Francisco for six years but the entrepreneurial start-up will finally have a Napa winery to call its own. The company is moving into a winery in the Oak Knoll District called Silverado Trail Wine Studio. The Wine Studio site is owned by Crushpad’s largest wine grape supplier, Premier Pacific Vineyards and includes both a winery and a 25-acre vineyard.

Crushpad will make the move in early March and will continue bottling at its existing San Francisco site through most of February. The San Francisco Business Times reports that Crushpad founder Michael Brill said that the upstart winemaker is getting a presence in Napa for less than the $10-$20 million it normally costs. The company has seen business boom over the past few years(in 2008 Crushpad was able to raise $9 million from loyal customers) and has expanded their offerings to include both California and Bordeaux winemaking opportunities as well as blended wines available for special events like weddings.

Crushpad Hits The Big Time, Moves To Napa originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Philip Stein is well known for using naturally occurring frequencies to enhance luxury products and now the technology has been applied the art of drinking wine. It can be a pain to let a freshly opened bottle of wine have the time it needs to breath and reach its optimal flavors and aroma, but with one of Philip Stein’s Wine Wands you won’t have to wait more than 5 minutes. Encapsulated glass jewels replicate the natural frequencies of air and oxygen and speed up the aeration process. The wands are available in full or travel sizes and come in almost any color your heart desires. $325 - $525

Via JustLuxe

Philip Stein Wine Wands originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Many of us visit vineyards and wineries as a way to escape. We take in the sweeping, lush scenery and enjoy the aromatic, literally intoxicating fruits of the winemakers’ labors. Often, we wax poetic about how serene it would be to have a vineyard of our own, but few of us ever have the means or the drive to actually do so. On a snowy evening in Minnesota, we sat down with Patti and Tom Shadick (pictured), two Minneapolis residents who own their very own vineyard in Sonoma.

Before you scoff at the notion that a married couple in the icy north could possibly have any real involvement in California grape growing, consider who these two are: two wildly successful entrepreneurs whose magnificent backyard garden transformations have been featured in the pages of many magazines, including Renovation Style and the cover of Better Homes & Gardens.

As we sat at their handsome dining room table, Tom told the story of how his Elk River, Minnesota school superintendent used to feed the schoolchildren with vegetables from a local peet bog, which he was allowed to help farm. “That’s what brought us to this,” he said, referencing a history in several industries including importing Wusthof knives, “I love digging in the dirt.”

With that, we dove into chatting with the growers about the pleasures and pains of owning a vineyard over 2,000 miles away. The Shadicks poured us a glass of Deux Amis, a Shadick Vineyard ‘06 Zinfandel, which has a charming eucalyptus nose. Eucalyptus trees from the next property hang over the Deux Amis area of the vineyard.

Luxist: So, how do you operate a vineyard all the way from here in Minneapolis?

Patti Shadick: We have a vineyard management company that operates it for us.

Tom Shadick: So, we have no employees, which is … (thumbs up). John Clendenon and Kathy, natives of the area in their mid-fifties, they have 85 employees. They have expertise in every end of the business, they own all the equipment, they take care of all the farm labor problems, everything.

PS: We just have to write them a good sized check.

TS (laughing): Every month we get a bill, and we send them a check.

Continue reading Owning a Vineyard, an Interview with the Shadicks

Owning a Vineyard, an Interview with the Shadicks originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Dining, Wine

Sake and cheese? It sounds a bit off doesn’t it? In the U.S. sake is generally sipped warm from tiny porcelain cups at sushi joints. But what if we’ve got it all horribly wrong? What if sake should be treated with the same respect we give to fine wines, what if it should be poured into glasses that allow its aromas to gather, its color and legs to be seen and its flavors to be slowly sipped and savored? The offerings from Banzai Beverages make a good case for that. I got to taste some delicious sakes paired with some of Wisconsin’s finest cheeses chosen for the occasion by the Barrie Lynn, the Cheese Impresario, at an event hosted by Learn About Wine in Los Angeles.

We started the event with Banzai Bunny sparkling sake, not something I would ever have thought I might enjoy but it has a nice effervescent fizz courtesy of a secondary fermentation. It’s not really like a Champagne, I found its slightly citrusy sparkle to be more like a Vinho Verde.

As with any fermented grain beverage the making of the mash forms key importance for sake. Although sake is called rice wine it is really more akin to a beer or a whisky. One thing that makes sake, which is made from rice, different from other beverages is the focus on not just the type of rice but on how much of it is polished away. Before processing into mash for sake, the rice is polished to remove the protein and oils from the exterior of the rice grains leaving a starchy core. The finer sakes have more of the rice polished away, in fact a new ultra premium sake promises to remove a full 91 percent of the rice, making the sake from the remaining nine percent. As you might expect, it has a hefty price tag, $2,000 a bottle, earning it a someday space on my drinking “bucket list.”

Continue reading Cheese and Sake, A Delicious Pairing

Cheese and Sake, A Delicious Pairing originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Back in November I wrote about the hard times befalling David Weyrich, a winery and hotel owner in the Paso Robles area of California. Weyrich owned several businesses in the area including the Martin and Weyrich Winery and Villa Toscana, a luxury bed and breakfast in Paso Robles but as the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports Weyrich has had to give the Martin and Weyrich Winery, the Villa Toscana inn, the York Mountain winery and the Jack Ranch Vineyard to the Aegon lending firm after an unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer for the properties.

Since we first wrote about this story in November Aegon had postponed the auction three times with the hopes that Weyrich would be able to find a private buyer to take over. But no terms were reached and so the foreclosure was eventually the only option. After some lawsuits, liens and other claims are sorted out it is likely that Aegon will try and sell off the properties separately. The Villa Toscana officially closed down last week.

The Tribune article says that Weyrich has more to lose. He also owns a a housing subdivision in Paso Robles, Santa Ysabel Ranch, about 1,000 acres near Lake Nacimiento and The Carlton Hotel in Atascadero. These properties are also in trouble and are in default but so far the lender on those properties has not decided to initiate foreclosure proceedings yet.

Martin and Weyrich Winery Goes Back To The Lender originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine, Green

Thankfully just because a person wants to be green and support recycling doesn’t mean they have to compromise on style and quality. This Italian Carafe and set of wine glasses is a great example of having the best of both worlds. Handmade of recycled glass in Portland, this set is processed in an electric furnace that’s powered 100% by eco-friendly wind power. No two pieces are the same but they all have the beautiful foggy white color variations and charming, slightly misshapen organic appeal. Get the carafe alone for $174, or with a set of 4 glasses for $370.

Italian Wine Carafe Handmade of Recycled Glass originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

The Bollicine del Mondo is an international wine contest organized by Italy’s leading wine magazine Euposia. Held at the famous restaurant Antico Bottega del Vino in Verona, Italy the contest revealed a surprise winner in the sparkling wine category. The winner this year was Nyetimber’s Classic Cuvée 2003 produced in Sussex. It is probably the very first time a British wine maker has held the honors of producing the best bubbly in the world.

The contest winner was chosen in a blind taste test by a panel of winemakers, oenologists, sommeliers and journalists and beat out such established makers such as Bollinger and Louis Roederer. There were 52 entries in the category and Nyetimber was the only producer to have two wines make it into the top 17. The Nyetimber 2001 Blanc de Blancs, which was also entered, came in 12th ahead of seven of the champagnes.

Certainly there has been a growing appreciation recently of sparkling wines that are made outside the Champagne region of France. In fact, many people never have been exposed to the lovely sparkling wines that come from other countries such as Prosecco from Italy and Cava from Spain. Not only are these wines often just as good as Champagne but their price tag is significantly lower. The sparkling wines from England are no exception and retail for around £25 to £30.

Another point of interest is that the grapes used in the winning wine are grown on vines in the south of England whose soil composition is very similar to that of the Champagne region. In fact Luxist reported in 2007 that French champagne maker Roederer was investigating buying land in the very area that the winning vineyard is located. Stuart and Sandy Moss who own the vineyard specifically chose the 120 acre estate for this reason and started cultivating the three classic champagne varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

French Champagne Loses To British Sparkling Wine in International Competition originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

It’s the question that burns in the mind of every novice wine drinker: do all the different sizes and shapes of wine glasses really matter?

The short answer: Yes. Although wine glasses are often admired for their beauty each element, from the bowl to the stem to the foot, serves an important purpose in making sure the wine is served up and enjoyed in its most perfect state. Here’s how the basic anatomy of a wine glass breaks down (no pun intended).

The Foot The foot is the flat base that allows the wine glass to stand on its own and not tip over, especially when filled.

The Stem The stem was created so that a wine drinker’s hand need never come in contact with the bowl and risk either smudging the glass (and ruin the view of the wine) or warm it with body heat.

The Bowl The bowl of a wine glass is perhaps the most important element, as well as the most stylized. The shape and size of the bowl affects how the aromas are trapped and circulated, how much aeration occurs, and how the wine is showcased

Continue reading The Anatomy of a Wine Glass: Size & Shape Matter

The Anatomy of a Wine Glass: Size & Shape Matter originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

Exactly how long a bottle of wine keeps after it’s been opened is a question that has no easy answer, but Eurocave’s SoWine bar aims to extend the shelf-life of your half-empty bottles for up to 10 days. Designed as both a preservation and storage system it has two compartments, each with independent temperature control settings, and vacuum seal technology so you can keep a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine at the same time. Holds standard 750ml bottles only. $395

Eurocave SoWine Bar Wine Preservation System originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

If you’re fanatic about your water, you probably already know about Klean Kanteen.

Klean Kanteen makes safe, 100 percent BPA free, responsibly manufactured, stainless steel (not aluminum, which requires a dubious chemically-created lining) bottles in varied sizes. The lack of an inner coating, besides saving you from alleged health risks, means that from drink to drink, even from hot drink to cold drink, the flavor never gets muddled by residual particles which can seep into the lining of most bottles. And that means you can even use one for wine.

The Wine Karafe bottle looks surprisingly small but can, in fact, hold an entire 750mL of wine — its capacity is actually 800mL. This is perfect for picnics in areas where glass is prohibited or for sneaking into your jacket and using like a flask (you didn’t hear that here). It will also never shatter if you throw it in your bag or suitcase. The slim bottle is 9″ x 2.75″, comes in silver or claret and says “wine” in ten languages on the back (pictured, left). Most importantly, it’s easy to clean completely, so if you have syrah in there one day and pinot grigio the next, it won’t disturb the flavor.

The Klean Kanteen Wine Karafes are created by a family owned and operated company in Chico, California, and each bottle is assembled and welded by hand. They are available from Klean Kanteen from $20.95.

The Perfect Portable Wine Carafe originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine

It’s the question that burns in the mind of every novice wine drinker: do all the different sizes and shapes of wine glasses really matter?

The short answer: Yes. Although wine glasses are often admired for their beauty each element, from the bowl to the stem to the foot, serves an important purpose in making sure the wine is served up and enjoyed in its most perfect state. Here’s how the basic anatomy of a wine glass breaks down (no pun intended).

The Foot The foot is the flat base that allows the wine glass to stand on its own and not tip over, especially when filled.

The Stem The stem was created so that a wine drinker’s hand need never come in contact with the bowl and risk either smudging the glass (and ruin the view of the wine) or warm it with body heat.

The Bowl The bowl of a wine glass is perhaps the most important element, as well as the most stylized. The shape and size of the bowl affects how the aromas are trapped and circulated, how much aeration occurs, and how the wine is showcased

Continue reading The Anatomy of a Wine Glass: Size & Shape Matters

The Anatomy of a Wine Glass: Size & Shape Matters originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wine, Tell Us Everything

Patricia Kluge, 61, is probably best known as the former wife of Metromedia billionaire John Kluge, although their divorce happened nearly 20 years ago. It takes a while for folks to forget about that much money. In the 1990s they were said to be the wealthiest couple in America known for their lavish parties and high-profile friends like Malcolm Forbes, Frank Sinatra and Katherine Graham. But more recently the English-Iranian Kluge has put her fortune to work.

Ten years ago she began planting grapes on her 1,800 acres of rolling Albemarle County, Virginia property - one of the most enviable plots of land in all of Virginia. Her ambition was to become the most prestigious winery on the East Coast and with advice from Robert Mondavi, top wine consultants from France and a state-of-the-art winery, she’s getting there. Her wines, which sometimes seem a bit ambitiously priced, have done well in competitions (especially the Blanc de Blancs sparkling Chardonnay and sparkling rosé), are now available in 16 states and China, and she has one of the most lovely tasting rooms in the area.

Most recently in the news for putting her 25,000-square-foot, 45-room estate on the market for $100 million, Kluge and her husband, William Moses, are downsizing, but still keeping 1800 acres and the winery. They had architect David Easton build them a 6,500-square-foot “old Virginia”-style home on another portion of their land which they’ve designated to be “Vineyard Estates,” an über-high-end community of which, they’ll be the first residents.

On the 10 anniversary of her Kluge Estates winery, we asked Patricia to tell us everything:

1. What made you want to go into winemaking 10 years ago?

I’ve always loved wine, particularly the art of pairing wine and food. I’m an avid gardener and consider myself a steward of the land so I was not surprised to learn, when studying my genealogy, that I have farmers in my ancestry. For some time I would look out over the rolling hills and the many acres surrounding my home and felt that creating a vineyard and winemaking operation was a natural choice. I also researched this very thoroughly, studied the soils, consulted with experienced individuals within the industry. Their affirmation of my dream proved that my gut was pointing me in the right direction.

2. For many in Virginia a vineyard is something of a gentleman farmer’s pursuit but from the start you have been very serious about making Kluge world-renowned. Did you ever consider just dabbling in it as a hobby?

Although I have hobbies, gardening for instance, I don’t do anything halfway. I really throw myself into every endeavor and try to be as educated as possible. So to enter into the wine business with anything less than 100 percent commitment, the utmost passion and excitement never crossed my mind.

3. How close are you to your goal?

The problem with goals is that I keep raising the bar! When we started we had about 30 acres and a handful of varietals. We launched with three wines. Kluge Estate now has over 220 acres under vine, 8 varietals planted and 4 brands. My new goal is to see our wines available in all 50 states.

4. What have you learned in that time about the art/science of winemaking?

In addition to our fabulous vineyard staff and winemakers at Kluge Estate we work with two great consultants from France: Michel Rolland for our red program and Laurent Champs for our sparkling program. Their time in the field and blending in the cellar prove that there is an art and a science to it. There is a saying that anyone can be a cook but a handful of people study and train to become great chefs. There is that difference when working with an experienced winemaking team.

5. What’s a common misunderstanding about wine?

I think people can take wine very seriously, to the point where the fun is taken out of it. As a business I do take it seriously but wine is meant to be enjoyed, shared and it can enhance an experience much like music. When I think of a meaningful evening, a great meal or special celebration, there is always wine involved.

Continue reading Tell Us Everything, Winemaker Patricia Kluge

Tell Us Everything, Winemaker Patricia Kluge originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Spirits, Wine

Essentially unchanged since 1894, the champagne bottle is a study in beauty, elegance, and scientific function. Everything about it, from the cork on the top to the indentation on the bottom, serves a crucial role in keeping your champagne safe and at its best.

The Cork Usually larger than corks used to seal wine, champagne corks are made in two parts: the bottom (inside the bottle) is a natural cork composite while the top (outside the bottle) is a mix of cork bits glued together. Corks are straight when first put into the bottle then swell when removed, creating the famous mushroom shape.

The Wire Cage The first champagne bottles used string to restrain the cork, but in 1844 Adolphe Jacquesson invented the metal cage system we still use today.

The Foil Foil was needed to deter rats and other pests from nibbling on the cork. Now it’s a decorative and traditional part of the champagne experience.

The Rim It’s there strictly to serve as an anchor for the wire cage.

The Glass The glass in champagne bottles is much thicker than that in wine bottles due to the pressure, which can be upwards of 70-100 pounds per square inch. The very first champagne bottles were not as thick and strong as they are today and bottles (especially when kept in volume in champagne cellars) were considered somewhat dangerous as they regularly exploded.

The Indentation The indentation in the bottom of the bottle isn’t a sneaky way of serving less champagne per bottle, but instead a means of keeping the pressure from building up near the bottom. Also called the punt or ‘kick-up,’ it helps redistribute the pressure to keep the bottle from exploding.

The Champagne Bottle: Beautiful and Scientific originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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