The Physics of Wine Swirling

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Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday November 23, 2011 @09:24AM from the just-drink-it dept.

sciencehabit writes "Meet the new flavor of wine: fruity with a hint of fluid dynamics. Oenophiles have long gotten the best out of their reds by giving their glasses a swirl before sipping. A new study has revealed the physics behind that sloshing, showing that three factors may determine whether your merlot arcs smoothly or starts to splash. The researchers also landed on another important discovery: how overly enthusiastic wine swirlers manage to splash their drinks, possibly staining their sweaters."

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Before you make fun... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-11-23 09:26 · Score: 5, Insightful

Before the inevitable ridicule, the reason the wine is swirled is to get the aroma into the air inside the glass, enhancing flavor perception. As an analogy imagine taking a shit. You plop one, it stinks real bad for a while but then it gets better. Then you drop another, this stirs up the water and brings the stink back again for a bit.
1. Re:Before you make fun... by ddxexex · 2011-11-23 09:34 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Sorry, this is slashdot. Only car analogies work here. :P Anyone have the car analogy?
2. Re:Before you make fun... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-11-23 09:38 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Sorry, this is slashdot. Only car analogies work here. :P Anyone have the car analogy?
  Hm... okay. Imagine you've taken a shit in your car....
3. Re:Before you make fun... by gstoddart · 2011-11-23 09:42 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Sorry, this is slashdot. Only car analogies work here. :P Anyone have the car analogy?
  When huffing gasoline, you should gently swirl the container to maximize the bouquet without spilling.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
4. Re:Before you make fun... by Red+Flayer · 2011-11-23 09:56 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Developing the nose of the wine is one reason to swirl the wine, albeit a very small one.
  
  The real reason to swirl is if the wine hasn't been aerated sufficiently. Red wines in particular (to varying degree depending on varietal, age, etc) have a high concentration of tannins, which are responsible for the astringency of the wine. Aeration of the wine will oxidize the tannins, reducing their astringency.
  
  Aeration will also mellow the other flavors via oxidation. I have found that a lot of people who say "I only like white wine" are actually just not a fan of the tannins in red wine. Proper aeration after uncorking often results in them liking red wines, especially if I choose a fruitier varietal.
  
  Good wine snobs will test the nose of the wine (e.g., sniff it), then taste it. If it's too astringent to properly enjoy, they'll either let the glass sit for a while, or swirl the glass to aerate the wine.
  
  --
  "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
5. Re:Before you make fun... by bobaferret · 2011-11-23 10:02 · Score: 2
  
  Also as an FYI the other reason to swirl is to observe the viscosity of the rivulets of wine running down the glass after you've stopped swirling. The slower and fatter the rivulets the more sugar still remains in the wine. ie. it's stickier so it moves more slowly. Or to put it in car analogies... When you change your oil and you take the old stuff and swirl it around in a bucket the more use the oil the more it will effect how it sticks to the side of the bucket. The longer the wine has sat around, the more sugars are converted and the less viscous the wine. As for the bouquet if it smells anything like a car, it's bad, except maybe that Bordeaux scented air fresher or the breathalyzer you have to blow into to get it started after one too many DUIs.
6. Re:Before you make fun... by Red+Flayer · 2011-11-23 10:03 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  That's a pile of horseshit (though yes, the movie Sideways does suck).
  
  People get all geeked out over all kinds of subjects, and there is no reason for wine geekery to be a less valid form of geekery than, say, smartphone geekery or movie geekery.
  
  I'm a wine geek. I like tasting different wines, identifying what flavors are present and the compounds responsible for those flavors. I like appreciating the difference between a young wine vs. a mature wine due to oxidation in the bottle. I enjoy discussing the characteristics of the wine I'm sharing with friends or family, I enjoy the hunt for a bargain good wine. I delight in understanding the relationships between terroir, grape varietal, cultivation methods, and the flavors of wine. Winemaking is science wrought as art.
  
  To sum up -- you suck for being a bitter, xenophobic geek. Not understanding another form of geekery is not a valid reason to belittle it.
  
  --
  "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
7. Re:Before you make fun... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-11-23 10:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Who needs to imagine?
8. Re:Before you make fun... by pjt33 · 2011-11-23 10:25 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Xenophonic or oenophobic?
9. Re:Before you make fun... by Xoltri · 2011-11-23 10:31 · Score: 1
  
  If you want to know how much sugar is left in the wine just use a hydrometer. Plus, I believe the effect you are describing is what most people call the 'legs' of the wine, which is just a property that a mixture of ethanol and water have when mixed and has nothing to do with quality or sugar content of wine.
  
  --
  -Xoltri
10. Re:Before you make fun... by DanTheManMS · 2011-11-23 10:40 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Obligatory XKCD link. #915: Connoisseur
11. Re:Before you make fun... by bobaferret · 2011-11-23 11:00 · Score: 1
  
  But isn't the sugar turned into ethanol, thus giving it its legs? I'm more than will to be wrong, but that was my understanding. And as far as a hydrometer is concerned, I rarely bring them to tastings. Folks seem to frown on bringing chemistry equipment to haughty affairs.
12. Re:Before you make fun... by snowgirl · 2011-11-23 11:05 · Score: 2
  
  'You Are Not So Smart': Why We Can't Tell Good Wine From Bad
  Not saying that I know definitively that you can't, but a lot of people think that they can, but actually can't. Even when they've been studying it at University.
  
  --
  WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
13. Re:Before you make fun... by snowgirl · 2011-11-23 11:08 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Aeration will also mellow the other flavors via oxidation. I have found that a lot of people who say "I only like white wine" are actually just not a fan of the tannins in red wine. Proper aeration after uncorking often results in them liking red wines, especially if I choose a fruitier varietal.
  I know that I've started enjoying Red Wines a lot more since I learned that you have to let it aerate. Opening a bottle of red wine about 30 mins before I intend to drink it makes the red wine taste a lot better.
  
  --
  WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
14. Re:Before you make fun... by DerekLyons · 2011-11-23 11:16 · Score: 2
  
  Also as an FYI the other reason to swirl is to observe the viscosity of the rivulets of wine running down the glass after you've stopped swirling. The slower and fatter the rivulets the more sugar still remains in the wine. ie. it's stickier so it moves more slowly.
  Not quite. That phenomena is known as the 'legs of wine' or 'tears of wine', and it's related to the wine's alcohol content not it's sugar content.
15. Re:Before you make fun... by sribe · 2011-11-23 11:35 · Score: 1
  
  That's a pile of horseshit (though yes, the movie Sideways does suck).
  There's a big difference between a geek and a snob. I know more about wine (and have a lot more cellared) than the few wine snobs I've met. I just listen, and nod, and never disagree ;-)
16. Re:Before you make fun... by Atzanteol · 2011-11-23 12:11 · Score: 1
  
  Making wine is a process of turning sugars into alcohol. You can't discuss the one without the other. It's as if you said "frequency of light has nothing to do with wavelength."
  
  --
  "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"
  
  - Charles Darwin
17. Re:Before you make fun... by DeathElk · 2011-11-23 14:44 · Score: 1
  
  Hmm, I tried that, but the cask split and red wine went everywhere :(
18. Re:Before you make fun... by ozmanjusri · 2011-11-23 15:05 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Good wine snobs will test the nose of the wine (e.g., sniff it), then taste it. If it's too astringent to properly enjoy, they'll either let the glass sit for a while, or swirl the glass to aerate the wine.
  I just blow bubbles through my straw. Does that make me a good or bad wine snob?
  
  --
  "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
19. Re:Before you make fun... by wahini · 2011-11-23 16:07 · Score: 1
  
  You are basically right, although it is directly the amount of alcohol in the wine creating the legs, which reflects the percentage of sugar which has been converted to wine. Sometimes they add alcohol or more sugar to create a higher alcohol content in the wine, so a sweet wine could have a high alcohol content as a result, but traditionally a wine with more alcohol has less sugar content, because that is needed to create the alcohol unless the wine is fortified with alcohol.
20. Re:Before you make fun... by syousef · 2011-11-23 17:14 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, this is slashdot. Only car analogies work here. :P Anyone have the car analogy?
  Hm... okay. Imagine you've taken a shit in your car....
  Taking a shit in a piece of shit is a little redundant isn't it!?
  
  --
  These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
21. Re:Before you make fun... by iggymanz · 2011-11-23 18:37 · Score: 2
  
  it would be more accurate to say that very inexpensive wines can be found that have the balanced and complex tastes of the very expensive. I'm always happy to find $6 or $11 wines that can rival the $80 a bottle, since I'm married with children the budget isn't there for the latter.
22. Re:Before you make fun... by RivenAleem · 2011-11-24 00:32 · Score: 2
  
  The latter being the Children?
23. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 01:04 · Score: 2
  
  If you open a bottle of wine and let is stand for half an hour, you will affect about the top 2mm at the surface.
  
  I was at a dinner party where your claim was made, and an industrial chemist pounced on the claim, proceeding to scribble half a dozen formulae, and do some quick calculations. There is vastly more aeration from pouring than from even hours of standing.
  
  Do a double-blind test to compare. Include a third sample that's been poured into a decanter, and then poured out again.
  
  You're probably enjoying the wine more due to the anticipation.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
24. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  Not quite. The tears are condensed vapours. They have a different composition from the wine itself, as the different components have different volatilities. He specifically wanted to view the viscosity of the liquid itself, and for that, looking at the viscosity of condensed vapours would be useless.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
25. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 01:54 · Score: 2
  
  I love the thesis he's presenting, but that study is flawed in several ways. It confuses what they sense, and what they *claim* they sense. The claims are obviously bullshit, but that doesn't mean the sensory side is incapable of detecting differences. It's a psychology test, not a physiology one.
  
  I'm a beer taster, much of my spare time is devoted to beer. I hang around with a lot of people who share the same hobby. It is absolutely impossible to pigeon-hole them all together. Some are very insightful, and I always like hearing their views, yet others are clearly full of crap who would be exposed to a double-blind test instantly. I obviously rate myself above average in this field - but that's because I *do* go out of my way to set up double-blind tests - and I'll have the beer multiple times, sometimes years apart, recording scores and descriptions each time, and my rating of a beer is very often identical. (I have a memory like a sieve, there's no way I could recall what I've written in the past.)
  
  I'm prepared to believe there's the same level of variation in wine tasters, and that pigeon-holing them is sloppy. Which of course doesn't counter the argument that a fair proportion of people involved in the wine world are full of crap. It's probably a minority but certainly a very visible minority, as I suspect that the ones most in the public eye are the worst offenders. I'd trust the sommelier at my local big hotel's restaurant much more than I'd trust any of the wine journalists I've seen in newspapers, certainly. (Partly because it's interactive - I can probe him and see if he responds to the right stimuli.)
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
26. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  You either have incredible patience! I'm quite the opposite, I think I always disagree if I hear nonsense being spouted (my field's beer, rather than wine). And by heck, if you were at a beer tasting that I'd organised I'd damn well want you to disagree if you thought I was hallucinating about something!
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
27. Re:Before you make fun... by dargaud · 2011-11-24 02:24 · Score: 1
  
  You miss his point. It's not that some people think that Twilight is better than Lord of the Rings. It's that for people who only know Twilight, they will have their own hierarchy of which episode is better than the others. As for punching his snobby face, have a drink and cool off.
  
  --
  Non-Linux Penguins ?
28. Re:Before you make fun... by dargaud · 2011-11-24 02:26 · Score: 1
  
  When a white wine is too young and leaves sharp bubbles in the mouth, I usually agitate it with a teaspoon for a while, the the horror of wine snobs. Makes it much mellower in a matter of seconds though...
  
  --
  Non-Linux Penguins ?
29. Re:Before you make fun... by sribe · 2011-11-24 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  You either have incredible patience!
  It's no so much patience as cynicism; some personalities are just hopeless, and I don't want to waste effort on them.
30. Re:Before you make fun... by DerekLyons · 2011-11-24 03:24 · Score: 1
  
  In this case, no. The presence or absence of sugar is irrelevant to the formation of 'tears'.
31. Re:Before you make fun... by DerekLyons · 2011-11-24 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  Since the tears aren't condensed vapors, you're wrong.
32. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  True - and if you start them off, they might never stop.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
33. Re:Before you make fun... by fatphil · 2011-11-24 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  Quite the opposite, it appears, you're right. However, they are not the same proportions of water/alcohol as the body of the wine, so my earlier point stands - looking at the tears is different from looking at the liquid as swirled.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
34. Re:Before you make fun... by tlhIngan · 2011-11-24 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  But isn't the sugar turned into ethanol, thus giving it its legs? I'm more than will to be wrong, but that was my understanding. And as far as a hydrometer is concerned, I rarely bring them to tastings. Folks seem to frown on bringing chemistry equipment to haughty affairs.
  Not all of it.
  Yeast used in brewing die around 5-7% alcohol (basically, from alcohol poisoning). It's why spirits and liquor are distilled. It's very possible to still have leftover sugar after the yeast dies. It's also possible to run out of sugar. It's one of those things that makes wine unique every batch.
35. Re:Before you make fun... by Blue+Stone · 2011-11-24 05:04 · Score: 1
  
  Best way to aerate a red wine is to open the bottle, and instead of letting it sit there "breathing" (like the poncey wine buffs tell you) just put your thumb (securely) over the top and shake the fucker. Take your thumb off, then put it back on and shake it again.
  Also, pouring it so it bubbles, rather than pouring it smoothly, helps.
  No need to wait.
  
  --
  Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
36. Re:Before you make fun... by Waccoon · 2011-11-24 14:30 · Score: 2
  
  I think that makes you a wine slob.
37. Re:Before you make fun... by migla · 2011-11-25 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  If I took out a bottle of red wine and couldn't start drinking it for 30 minutes, it would taste better than if I'd immediately poured a glass, regardless of whether it was opened or not.
  
  --
  Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
38. Re:Before you make fun... by iggymanz · 2011-11-26 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  yeah, those damn little winos. why couldn't they have taken up smoking behind the school like normal little delinquent punks?
39. Re:Before you make fun... by snowgirl · 2011-11-27 23:40 · Score: 1
  
  I think the real point of the study was: noobs suck.
  
  --
  WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
that's nice, but.... by tverbeek · 2011-11-23 09:38 · Score: 5, Funny

I've found that drinking wine directly from the bottle makes all of this irrelevant.

--
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
1. Re:that's nice, but.... by Burdell · 2011-11-23 09:46 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Don't you mean box?
2. Re:that's nice, but.... by bdwebb · 2011-11-23 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  Don't you mean box?
  Not when you're drinking from the gallon size Carlo Rossi bottle for $8. :)
3. Re:that's nice, but.... by linuxhack · 2011-11-23 10:35 · Score: 1
  
  They are like drinking boxes for adults.
4. Re:that's nice, but.... by Jeng · 2011-11-23 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  Don't you mean box?
  
  Why look at the little fancy pants who gets his wine in a box.
  Real alcoholics still get it by the bottle.
  http://bumwine.com/
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
5. Re:that's nice, but.... by Kreigaffe · 2011-11-23 11:33 · Score: 2
  
  My liverspots for a mod point.
  Look, wine snobs, you're all doing it wrong. Wine comes in a perfectly sized bottle with a neck sized perfectly for grasping in your hamfists. It comes with a cork stopper to replace, so that as you bob and weave your way across the room and back, your beverage doesn't slosh out -- and further, it's not carbonated, so all that sloshing doesn't result in a messy explosion.
  The stuff is made to drink by the bottle, from the bottle. I just can't fathom how so many people fail to understand and appreciate this fact.
  
  --
  ... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about. :|
6. Re:that's nice, but.... by dargaud · 2011-11-24 02:28 · Score: 1
  
  This is what you need...
  
  --
  Non-Linux Penguins ?
To avoid splash.. by spire3661 · 2011-11-23 09:40 · Score: 1

1. Place wine glass on flat surface
2. Fill wine glass 1/3 full.
3. While making sure the bottom of the glass never leaves the surface, swirl the glass.
4. ????????
5. Profit (get drunk)

--
Good-bye
1. Re:To avoid splash.. by RivenAleem · 2011-11-24 00:41 · Score: 1
  
  You can, if you try hard enough, get anywhere between 120 and 200 rpm even higher short term spikes if you get a good rhythm going, all while remaining on a flat surface.
  No, what you need to do, is pour your wine through a tea strainer/sieve thus aerating like a watering can/shower-head.
  Also, blowing bubbles through it with a straw, using a whisk or simply pouring it from glass to glass from a height also works.
Re:Way off topic... getting started with LAMP by sexconker · 2011-11-23 09:42 · Score: 1

Yeah, this is off topic, but when dealing with such a meaningless story, I figure I cannot do any more harm
I am interested in learning about coding in a LAMP environment. My thought is I'd like to find a hosting partner (low cost) that has the infrastructure already. I want to do some of the configuration, and get started coding a PHP hello world, then work up to some more advanced topics involving mysql database access.
1) Who would be a good hosting partner for this? Not looking for free, but not looking to spend $100/month either.
2) Any good tutorials for basic configuration, sercurity considerations? PHP tutorials?
Set it up yourself in a VM, then when you're ready to make it actually do shit, export it to Amazon C3 or whatever they call it now.
Re:"Centrifugal force" by need4mospd · 2011-11-23 10:05 · Score: 2

I think imaginary forces fit in quite well with most wine drinkers.
Nutty aromas and all.
IgNobel Prize in Physics? by ClickOnThis · 2011-11-23 10:08 · Score: 1

These guys deserve at least an honorable mention at the next IgNobel ceremony.

--
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
1. Re:IgNobel Prize in Physics? by hawk · 2011-11-23 15:50 · Score: 1
  
  Someone actuall published a peer-revieWed article someithing like 10 years ago using med lab equipment to do controlled aeration, Nd then double-blind texting.
  I forget the results; my main relation was, "why didn't I write that article."
  hawk
Re:"Centrifugal force" by Anonymous Coward · 2011-11-23 10:12 · Score: 2, Interesting

http://xkcd.com/123/
Did anyone else read "swilling"? by JaneTheIgnorantSlut · 2011-11-23 11:26 · Score: 1

I need another glass...
Swine Whirling by Stoutlimb · 2011-11-23 11:47 · Score: 3, Funny

For some reason I accidentally read the title as "The Physics of Swine Whirling"
1. Re:Swine Whirling by vikingpower · 2011-11-24 01:29 · Score: 1
  
  I read: Wine Sign Whirl Which is the negative-red vorticoidal thing you see in your bath tub when you vomit into it on coming home after that w(h)ine tasting party
  
  --
  Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Re:"Centrifugal force" by alex67500 · 2011-11-23 12:43 · Score: 3, Insightful

November 23rd, 2011. This is the day xkcd replaced wikipedia as the central source of knowledge :-)
You're all missing something: it's fun by Anonymous Coward · 2011-11-23 14:50 · Score: 1

Yeah, it helps to aerate the wine to improve the taste, it makes it easier to sniff the aroma. But fundamentally it's fun.
And it looks cool.
Yes. Yes, I did. by HiggsBison · 2011-11-23 15:23 · Score: 1

The Physics of Wine Swilling.
Plain as day, I saw it. That's what a bottle or two of cheap root beer will do to my perceptions.

--
My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
shaken but not stirred, wine vintage 1.3.3 by Teeroy32 · 2011-11-23 19:47 · Score: 2

So do I have to swirl my computer around to get wine at its best, that must be why I can't get COD to install on ubuntu. LOL

--
I don't have an attitude problem, Its you that has a problem with my attitude
Right.I knew that. by tinkerton · 2011-11-23 20:48 · Score: 1

Wine tasting is all about getting sloshed.
1. Re:Right.I knew that. by itmanCH · 2011-11-23 22:37 · Score: 1
  
  Na - replace sloshing with slurping - and you just stepped up in the art of wine-sipping.
2. Re:Right.I knew that. by vikingpower · 2011-11-24 01:30 · Score: 1
  
  Ah. So there is argument sloshing and argument slurping from the command line ? Aha.
  
  --
  Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
I know verbing wierds language by tinkerton · 2011-11-23 20:54 · Score: 1

but any subject can be geeked. Or geekified. I've done the wine geek bit - thoroughly, and the hifi geek bit and other things. It's fun. It's fascinating how a subject can be so boring for one person and interesting for somebody else. Part of it is a skill: can you take any subject and make it interesting for you.
Re:Drinking liquor is sinful by vikingpower · 2011-11-24 01:31 · Score: 1

All you sins ? Hm. I did not know that sins could be adressed as if they were a public ?

--
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
Re:Drinking liquor is sinful by vikingpower · 2011-11-24 01:35 · Score: 1

Although.... hmmm. You may be right. "Wine tasting party" is an anagram of "Satan typewriting". Hmm.

--
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
I think it just looks cool. by greycortex · 2011-11-24 07:48 · Score: 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13122283@N04/2688454970/in/set-72157606286431778