The Physics of Wine Swirling
Vladimir Ajaev, mathematician at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, talks about the science behind the wine swirl.
by Daniel Strain
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.
Twirling a wineglass gently creates smooth arcs in the liquid that then circle, coating the sides of the glass. The gesture isn't just for appearances, says study co-author Martino Reclari, who studies fluid dynamics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Scientists and enthusiasts alike have long known that the swirling motion mixes oxygen into a red, enhancing its flavor. ...
The team's analysis is "simple" but does "make sense," says Vladimir Ajaev, an applied mathematician at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. And the study illustrates well how seemingly everyday physics, such as the swirling of a glass of wine, might help scientists and engineers develop better lab tools: "At first it might seem like a matter of curiosity," he says. "But then it turns out there are some specific applications."