Taste the Wine with Your Eyes

There's a common expression we'll paraphrase here: first you taste the wine with your eyes, then with your nose and finally with your mouth. In other words, a wine may be judged on its color, its aroma and its taste. That's what most tasting boils down to, and those are the characteristics of a wine that you most want to understand.

• Take a clean, dry glass and pour a small amount of wine into it, perhaps a third of a glass.

• Hold the wine up to the light, and note the color. Is it a deep purple, or a lighter ruby color? Is it tinged with green, or is it yellowish brown? Does it appear clear or cloudy? As you gain experience, you'll come to expect the wine to taste a certain way when it looks a certain way.

If it's a red wine, tip the glass gently back and forth, then hold it still and look at it closely. The wine will flow back down the sides of the glass, and some wine will form little rivulets, or "legs." Legs are considered desirable, as they indicate a higher glycerin presence, which indicates an ability to retain flavor and aroma.

Taste the Wine with Your Nose