Wine tasting is an art. Wine connoisseurs follow some general guidelines when judging a wine. It's very easy to learn the techniques of wine tasting and most people can become excellent tasters with just a little practice and by following a few basic ground rules.

Wine tasting is subjective in nature, but there are three general guidelines for judging a wine's character. The nuances of a wine's look, smell and taste will increase the pleasure you derive from each tasting.

You can tell much about a wine simply by studying its appearance. Tilt the glass against a white background and look at the wine. Look for the clarity of the wine and the brilliance of the colour.

The wines will vary in their intensity of colour even within the same type of wine. White wines range from almost water white to deep straw yellow, depending on style and age. More colour in a white wine usually indicates more flavour and age.

Red wines are not just red; they range from light cherry red, through deep ruby to almost mahogany brown. The more purple the wines, the younger it is. In young wines, the colour is usually uniform. The more brown, tawny or orange the wine, the older it is. With age, the colour is not uniform and is lighter at the rim of the glass compared with the centre.

Swirl the wine in your glass by rotating your wrist. This releases molecules in the wine allowing you to smell the aroma, also called the bouquet or nose. Smell the wine and contemplate the aroma.

If the wine is corked it will have a musty smell. The more intense the nose, the more likely that the grapes were grown in a hot climate and the level of sugar and alcohol is higher. Fruity, floral, woody, spicy and herbal smells are all characteristics of different wine styles. Many mature quality wines tend to smell more savoury and spicy and less of fruit. Some grape varieties have very distinctive bouquets.

After smelling the wine it is time to taste the wine. Swirl it around your mouth, swallow a fraction and spit the rest. The first discernible factor is sweetness, whether the wine is dry, off dry or sweet. Sweetness is tasted at the tip of the tongue and tastes sugary. The taste comes from the sugar in ripe grapes that is left after fermentation has finished.

The next important consideration is acidity. Acidity is tasted on the sides of the tongue and tastes citric. It occurs naturally in grapes and is important to balance sweetness. White wines have more acidity than red wines.

Certain grape varieties taste of certain flavours. It could be gooseberry or green apples in a Sauvignon, tropical and pineapple in a ripe Chardonnay, soft blackberry and cedar in a mature Cabernet.

Tannin is tasted at the back of the tongue and tastes bitter like a strong cup of tea. It also has the sensation of a green banana. Tannin comes from the skins of the grapes and from oak ageing. It is mainly found in red wines.

Alcohol is sensed at the back of the throat and gives a warming sensation. The higher the level of sugar in the grapes before fermentation, the higher potential alcohol the wine will have.

A good sign of quality is balance. A wine is balanced when all of the wine's components (sweetness, acidity, and tannins) blend together. A wine is mature when it has achieved optimal balance.

Developing the skill of wine tasting takes practice. The more wines you taste, the better you will become with ascertaining and describing each wine's characteristics.