World of Fine Wines believes that tasting wine begins, oddly enough, with your eyes and nose before it gets to your lips.

LOOK: Hold it up to the light.
The color of a wine can tell you a lot about its age, and the age of wine is reflected in its flavor.

Red wines fade in color with years in a bottle. They start out a vibrant, cherry red and as time passes they take on an increasingly tawny, brick-like color. Look at the top edge of the wine in the glass. The more deeply red colored, the younger the wine. Eventually, the edge turns pale and then the entire glass turns a brownish-red.

Some young wines are already lighter in color depending on the grapes used to make the wine. Beaujolais, for instance, is light red, while Petite Syrah grapes make a characteristically inky-purple wine. The difference is the presence or absence of the brown tint that changes "red" to "brick".

White wines undergo an opposite metamorphosis as they age. Young whites are clear, lemon-gold in appearance, and mature into amber or straw-color.

SMELL: Stick your nose in the glass.
The clichéd motion of swirling wine in the glass may seem pretentious to some, but there's a very good reason for this strange, time-honored ritual. Swirling increases the surface area of the wine that comes into contact with oxygen. As wine mixes with the air, its aromas are realized more readily, allowing the taster a fuller expression of its bouqet.

We're serious when we say stick your nose in the glass and take a good sniff. The first pleasure of wine begins with the smell (or the "nose") of the wine.

There are two stages in detecting the nose. The primary aromas you'll notice are of fruit. So when you hear a wine described as having "gobs of blackberry" or a "bouquet of citrus" that references the first blast of aroma.

The secondary aromas release the earthiness and complexity of a wine. In red wines, the smell of tannins can be noticeable. Tannins are what is released when grape juice ferment and left in contact with the grape skins. A red wine's ability to age well depends largely on the level of tannins.

TASTE: Enjoy!
Your first sip should be the size of an egg yolk. Think of taking just enough wine to cover your tongue and hold the wine there for a moment or two. Next, softly draw air through your mouth over your tongue which is still holding that first sip. This will blossom the aromas and flavors of the wine inside your mouth.

Wine flavors can be described more traditionally as, for example, "oaky", "buttery", "coffee and dark chocolate", and as having such unusual nuances as "Lifesaver's pineapple candy" or "crisp autumn leaves." Don't be afraid to come up with your own descriptions. That's why tasting wine can be so much fun: experiencing the complexity of flavors and developing your palate. Reading the back label on the wine bottle for hints on flavors or food pairings is a good place to start, but the real joy and learning comes from trusting your own palate.

TALK: Share what you've tasted.
The lips play two important roles in the enjoyment of wine: first tasting and then talking about your wine.

For many, the best part of tasting wine is sharing what you can detect in the nose and palate with others. Wine is a natural conversation-starter. Once you taste the wine, you'll want to compare what you like in the wine and imagine the possible food pairings.