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The Physics of Wine Swirling

Posted by samzenpus on 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."

14 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. Before you make fun... by Anonymous Coward · · 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 Anonymous Coward · · 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....

    2. Re:Before you make fun... by gstoddart · · 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.
    3. Re:Before you make fun... by Red+Flayer · · 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
    4. Re:Before you make fun... by Red+Flayer · · 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
    5. Re:Before you make fun... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who needs to imagine?

    6. Re:Before you make fun... by pjt33 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Xenophonic or oenophobic?

    7. Re:Before you make fun... by DanTheManMS · · Score: 4, Informative

      Obligatory XKCD link. #915: Connoisseur

    8. Re:Before you make fun... by snowgirl · · 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
    9. Re:Before you make fun... by ozmanjusri · · 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."
  2. that's nice, but.... by tverbeek · · 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 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Don't you mean box?

  3. Swine Whirling by Stoutlimb · · Score: 3, Funny

    For some reason I accidentally read the title as "The Physics of Swine Whirling"

  4. Re:"Centrifugal force" by alex67500 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    November 23rd, 2011. This is the day xkcd replaced wikipedia as the central source of knowledge :-)