Can’t say that I’ve ever paid attention to which direction I swirl wine. Unfortunately, there was no information in the blog post on whether the wine tastes better if you dispense with the swirling and just chug it.
I assume people swirl counterclockwise when holding the glass in their right hand, and clockwise when holding the glass in their left hand. That motion is just more natural. It’s like the difference between hitting a forehand and a (one-handed) backhand in tennis.
I had a client tell me that they rotate the bottles in their cellar 1/4 turn (and specified clockwise) every 3 months. The clockwise was the most important part of their description… People!
Previous long thread on this–perhaps here, or maybe on the Tanzer board. A couple of physics guys actually did some fluid dynamics experiments that were pretty interresting. I actually think there is a difference in how wines show depending upon which direction you go, but I think it mostly has to do with handedness and coordination, and how much turbulence you create…
I remember reading about the turbulence also, but I have also read than as a practical matter, swirling does no good at all. Still I can’t break myself of the habit.