ever observed a cat analyzing his food dish? He doesn't shove his nose into it, he just takes a few discreet sniffs a little ways from the dish, usually moving his nose around a little bit. When you smell your wine the important thing is not to breathe in as much as possible with the nose, but to open your mind up to what the wine reminds you of. Professional wine tasters, especially those in Europe, are taught to sniff the wine with one nostril (most people have one that's "better" than the other) just around the rim of the glass. When you stick your entire nose into the glass, the tendency for most people is to be distracted from the actual thought process. It is the brain that tells you what a wine smells and tastes like, and even how much or little pleasure you're getting from that experience; and so you need to practice smelling and sipping in a way that best allows you extrapolate your sensory impressions.

A good Chardonnay, for example, reminds most people of apples; and when the Chardonnay is fermented and aged in oak barrels toasted on the inside with an open fire, a Chardonnay retains additional qualities of vanilla, cream or smokiness in the aroma and flavor. Why is this important to recognize? Because if you've spent Rs 1000, Rs.2000 or more on a bottle, this is the complexity you've paid for. You don't lay down Rs. 2000 for a concert and then sleep through the first hour, and it doesn't make sense to drink any fine wine just for its alcoholic content (liquor, as Ogden Nash would say, would have been quicker). Discreetly sniff at your wine first. One of the most common errors made by inexperienced wine tasters is assuming that what you smell (as important as smelling may be) automatically carries through on the palate. A Zinfandel or Syrah, for instance, can be beautifully rich, lush and juicy in the nose, yet unpleasantly rough and grainy on the palate. Aromas define flavor, but they do not necessarily determine how fine or smooth, balanced or harmonious a wine ultimately comes across once it reaches the mouth.

All you really taste on the palate is the tactile feel of body (the weight of a wine, mostly determined by its alcoholic strength), and then the primary sensations of sweetness (or if the wine is dry, lack of sweetness), sourness (in white wines - not so much in reds - determined by level of acidity in wine), and bitterness (in red wines - not so much in whites - contributed mostly by tannins derived from skins and seeds of grapes). These sensations give physical definition to aroma and flavor; and in the finest wines, these sensations are imparted with positively fresh, lively, compelling qualities. In fact, a wine with just a so-so nose but tastes smooth and balanced tends to be more enjoyable than a wine that smells great but is dull, harsh or off-putting in the mouth.