Tasting Technique -- Some of you out there might be asking, "What technique can there be to tasting something? Put it in your mouth and taste it!" First of all, you're right. There are some wine snobs who will say that there isn't much point in drinking some wines, and they'll point to rating guides saying that you should drink wine with a certain rating to cultivate your taste for fine wines" Drink wine that you like, not what other people tell you that you ought to like.

Look. Pour yourself a small amount of wine, perhaps an inch or so. Hold your glass up to the light or against a white background and observe the color. Red wines can be lighter or pale reds, but they also range to brownish red and purple. White wines are usually greenish or brownish and typically gain color with age. The tint observed at the "rim" allows expert tasters to judge the age of the wine - a purplish rim might be a younger wine while older wine usually has an orange or brown rim tint. Swirl the wine and see what sort of body the wine has. Also called the "legs," body refers to the viscosity. A more mature wine will have more body.

Smell. Swirl the wine and hold your glass to your nose. Some tasters prefer taking on deep whiff while others will take a small whiff for the impression followed by a deeper impression. Either way, pause to get a good impression of the smell before moving on to the actual tasting stage. The aroma, also called the "nose" or "bouquet," should remind you of things that you might smell in nature.

The smell usually correlates with the taste, and wines might smell fruity, earthy, woodsy, or spicy, or any number of combination of things. Try closing your eyes and imagining yourself someplace else -- perhaps in the middle of an outdoor market. What is it that this wine's smell makes you think you might be standing near? Most good wines have a pleasant flavor in both smell and taste, though some wines -- even some good ones -- don't really have a nose at all.