Effect of vibration on wine quality Most people that have ever visited a viticulteur (winemaker) will know that it is common wisdom that vibrations are bad for the wine quality. When I was just a kid the winemaker always told me that we should be silent because the wines needed to sleep, but later a different one explained that this must have been to stop me from running around and causing vibrations.

Even scientific research (e.g. Chung et al. 2008 Journal of Food Composition and Analysis (21)8) has shown that vibrations will indeed change the wine and, among others, accelerate the aging process.

What I am wondering is why these vibrations matter? Is it a chemical effect, in which the vibrations accelerate certain chemical reactions? Or is it more physical in nature, in which the vibrations increase mixing rates and therefore somehow change the evolution of the wine?

If it helps to get your minds working: Vibrating wine in a glass
One of the effects could be that vibrations increase mixing on phase boundary between wine itself and air above it. 

Other thing is that vibration are generally not good for crystal growing process (instead big and nice monocrystals one gets polycrystalline solid).  Usually you can find nice crystals of tartaric acid in the bottom of bottles and barrels. I do not know chemistry behind it but certainly it will change taste of the wine if the tartaric acid stays longer in wine (slow crystallisation) instead of falling rapidly out of solution when you shake it.

Of course if there is still a sediment earlier during fermentation, certainly that will be not good if this mixes with clear wine.