Stand your glass on the table so that you can inspect the appearance of the wine it contains:

• Its exact colour
  White wines come in a range of colours from very pale yellow to golden and even amber-yellow. Rosés come in shades varying from grey to an orangey pink. Red wines come in a very wide range of colours, from purple-red, through all the different possible shades of ruby red and to orangey hints known as brick red.

• Its intensity (pale, strong, deep)

• Its shine (lively, frank, dull) and clarity (crystal clear, transparent, hazy, cloudy, with or without sediment).

Take your glass by the stem and tilt it gently towards the light to observe the different shades in its appearance, swirl the wine delicately in the glass to inspect its “legs” or the ”tears” that will give you an idea of the consistency of the wine – whether it is more oily and concentrated or light and fluid.

"Colour is the face of a wine -  in it, one can read its age and its character"