Wine tasting is a fun adventurous activity that will leave you with a deeper appreciation of the various types of wine available. During wine tasting, the key senses of sight, smell and taste are what take center stage. If you want to become a wine connoisseur, you will find the following tips on how to taste wine very useful.

Look

Pour the wine into the right wine glass and observe it to take note of its color and clarity. Tilt the glass away from you and observe the wine's color from the glass rim to the middle of the glass. For a better view, have a white background such as a white napkin, paper or tablecloth. Go beyond the basic colors - red, white or blush, by checking to see if your red wine is maroon, purple, garnet, ruby or brownish. White wine may be clear, pale yellow, light green, straw-colored, amber, golden or brown.

Opacity

Next, check to see whether the wine is: dark or watery; opaque or translucent; brilliant or dull; clear or cloudy. Look for any sediment such as floaters or bits or cork at the bottom of the glass, by tilting and swirling it. Note that older red wines tend to be more translucent that younger red wines.

Smell

For a proper analysis of a glass of wine, your sense of smell will play an important role. First, properly take in the aroma of the wine by gently swirling the glass, and then quickly inhaling to get an initial impression. Swirling is important as it helps in the vaporization of the wine's alcohol, thereby releasing more of its natural aromas.

The next step in smelling the wine is to stick your nose down into the glass and deeply inhale the aroma. Try to discern flavors such as berry, oak, vanilla, flowers or citrus. A wine's aroma is the best indicator of its unique characteristics and quality. Gently swirl the glass again to allow the wine aromas to mix, and then give it another sniff.

Taste

The final step in wine tasting is to taste the wine. Take a small sip and allow the wine to roll around your tongue. The tasting stage has three phases:

• The Attack - This phase gives your palate its first impression of the wine, by receiving initial sensations of the wine's alcohol content, acidity, residual sugar and tannin levels. Ideally, these 4 sensations should be well-balanced, without one taking prominence over the rest. These components do not give off a specific flavor such as spicy or fruity, but instead offer a medley of impressions on the wine's intensity and complexity, and tell you whether the wine is firm or soft, heavy or light, dry or sweet, or creamy or crisp.

• The Evolution - This phase is also known as the mid-palate or middle range phase, and is the stage at which the palate gets an actual taste of the wine. At this point, what you want to do is discern the flavor profile of the wine. For white wines, you may discern flavors such as pear, apple, citrus or tropical fruits, or more floral flavors such as honey, butter, herbs and earthy tastes. For your red wine, look for fruity flavors such as berry, plum, fig or prune; spicy flavors such as clove, pepper or cinnamon; or woody flavors like cedar, oak or a smoky taste.

• The Finish - This is the final phase at which you take note of how long the wine's flavor leaves an impression on your palate after you have swallowed it. This is where the wine's aftertaste takes center stage. Take note of how long the aftertaste remains on your palate, whether it is full-bodied with the consistency of milk, or light-bodied with the consistency of water. Observe whether you can still taste the wine remnants at the back of your mouth and throat, whether the wine is bitter at the end and take note of the last flavor impression you are left with. Also note whether the taste persists or if it only lasts a short time after you are finished.

Once you are done, you may jot down some of your impressions which will help you decide whether you will want to buy that particular wine again, and if so, what sumptuous meal you would love to have it accompany.