Follow these steps and you’ll soon develop a finer appreciation of the drop 

Look at it 

First, check the wine has no obvious faults. That is, it isn’t cloudy or fizzy and there are no solid elements floating around. 

Second, check it is the right colour for its type and age. A young white (one-to-three years old) is usually a pale straw colour with a tinge of green around the rim.

As a white gets older, it becomes yellowier. Later, it turns golden and when it is old, brown.

A red wine is usually a deep crimson with a purple tinge. Then it takes on a brick red colour. When really old, it turns to brown. 

Nose it

The simplest way to “nose” a wine is to lift up the glass, swirl the wine around a little to help release the aroma, put your nose over the top of the glass and take one short sniff. Try shutting your eyes and asking yourself, Is this wine clean? That is, make sure it does not smell like wet hessian (corked wine), vinegar (volatile wine), rotten eggs or sulphur (too much sulphur dioxide at bottling). 

Next, ask yourself, Is the smell typical of the variety? This requires a little knowledge, but generally, there are one or two key indicators. For example, chardonnay often smells like melons or peaches. If it smells like fruit salad, it probably does not have the typical chardonnay characters. 

Taste it

Finally, you can drink it! Two things are now going to happen. First, you will get some impression of the sweetness, acidity, tannin and body of the wine via the tongue. The rest of the taste sensation comes from the aroma of the wine in the nose.

Take a generous sip and hold it in your mouth for a few seconds. Then swallow it or spit it out. (OK, spit it out only if you are in a wine-tasting session, not in a restaurant.)

Winemakers have another trick that helps them uncover a wine’s nuances  – but it takes a little practice. Take the wine in your mouth and tilt your head down. Now open your lips slightly and at the same time draw air in through your mouth so that the wine is aerated. This makes a slurping, gurgling sound.

Weigh up the flavour components. Pay particular attention to the “persistence of flavour” – how long you can taste the wine after you have swallowed it. The longer the taste, the better the wine – assuming, of course, the flavour was enjoyable!

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