One reason many people shy away from wine is their perception that drinking it is fraught with arcane ritual and esoteric jargon. It's true that wine professionals evaluate wine in an analytical way and use a variety of metaphors to describe it. But learning how to appreciate wine, assess its quality and talk about it with confidence is actually fairly simple. You'll be able to degust* a glass with the best of them once you understand how to evaluate wine's essential features.
 Look |
 Smell |
 Taste |
*(Our favorite bit of esoteric jargon: "to relish, or savor.")
