Wine Dimple Theory, Part 2

image Back in December I posted about a guy who had conducted an experiment to determine if there's a correlation between the price of a bottle of wine and the depth of its dimple. Now the same guy has issued a press release (in order to make his results seem more official, I suppose):

Birmingham, UK (PRWEB) February 28, 2005 -- A British scientist has shown it is possible to value a bottle of wine just by feeling the depth of its dimple. The theory, which until now had been reported to be an urban myth, was proven by making measurements on bottles of wine of different prices. The fact will provide a useful trick for visitors to parties.

Food

Posted on Wed Mar 02, 2005


Comments

Price may be correlated with dimples (considering that a bottle with a dimple is probably a little more expensive to make), but the price of a bottle of wine is only very weakly correlated with the quality of the wine inside.
Posted by Big Gary C  on  Wed Mar 02, 2005  at  02:08 PM
I prefer to gauge the value of my wine by the ease at which the screw top comes off. But just in case I decide to test his theory, can anyone tell me where to find the dimple on box wine?
Posted by Zsa Zsa  on  Wed Mar 02, 2005  at  02:16 PM
Uhhnn... Do we HAVe to talk about wine? I hhhate wine. I don't want to talk about wine... Uhhnnn... No, I don't WANT to... uuhhhnnn...God, why do I have to be the one? Are we there yet?
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Wed Mar 02, 2005  at  02:22 PM
Well if you've got wine bottle A, 25 dollars without a dimple, and you've got wine bottle B, 25 dollars with a dimple, you've got less wine in bottle B, thus it's more expensive! See?
Posted by Citizen Premier  on  Wed Mar 02, 2005  at  03:28 PM
Citizen Premier, you're right IF both bottles are exactly the same size, and have exactly the same outside dimensions and thickness of glass, but I think this is not usually the case. It seems to me that almost all the wine bottles I see hold exactly .750 liter, 1 liter, or 1.5 liters, regardless of the bottle's shape and regardless of whether there's no dimple, a small dimple, or a large dimple.
I haven't made the same comparison for different boxes of wine ...
Posted by Big Gary C  on  Wed Mar 02, 2005  at  04:09 PM
It does somewhat relate the quality of the vintner, as much as price. On a general scale, you should know your wines well enough to know what details produce what palate (region, varietal, year, vintner rep, accompanying foods, and hints from the label). It all boils down to personal preferrences. I love our local wines from Santa Ynez and am willing to pay 14-22 for typical bottles, but dont get Pinot Grigio because it not my type.
Posted by Cali Smiles  on  Thu Mar 03, 2005  at  01:00 AM
The "dimple", actually called a "punt" has nothing to do with the quality of the wine. The punt is an archaic device to collect sediment which is, today, filtered out of most wines. Like the cork, it is an outdated affrication that wine snobs love to point to as being an indicator of good wine. Neither are a good indicator of good wine; only a more costly way of packaging a very perishable product.
Posted by Dave D.  on  Thu Mar 03, 2005  at  08:15 AM
Does "2 Buck Chuck" have a dimple? 😊
Posted by Winona  on  Thu Mar 03, 2005  at  10:14 AM
2 Buck Chuck was actually the first wine I tested when I read about this theory. It does indeed have a dimple (or 'punt'), but a very shallow one. Which confirms the theory.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Thu Mar 03, 2005  at  10:30 AM
I know nothing about wine, but drink a few bottles a month, so I have been using this theory because I have no other criteria for picking out a bottle of wine. So, of all the choices under $7, I generally pick the one with the deepest dimple.
Posted by Katey  on  Thu Mar 03, 2005  at  05:39 PM
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