There's nothing wrong with simply picking up your glass of wine and taking a swig. If you really want to understand the wine while you're enjoying it, you might to employ techniques used by wine-industry professionals.

Swirling

After examining the color and clarity, give the wine a swirl. If you are afraid of ruining your brand new polo shirt, set the glass on a smooth surface, grasp the stem near the base, and move the glass in circles. As the wine rotates, aromas intensify and tannins soften ever so slightly. Before the aromas escape and are lost, stick your nose right into the glass. Don't just sniff; rather, inhale deeply.

Once is rarely enough. Swirl the wine again and inhale. You can't possibly take in all the aroma nuances at once. Close your eyes. What scents are you detecting? You may smell something new each time.

Swishing and Slurping

After experiencing the wine's aromas, it's time to taste. Wine pros savor the moment. Take a generous sip and give it time to linger in your mouth. Better yet, swish the wine around in your mouth. Touch every surface of your tongue with wine. Hit every taste receptor. Quickly swallowing a small sip barely does the wine justice. If you are tasting a tart, herbal Sauvignon Blanc, that quick sip will probably just leave the impression of tartness and little else.

Once you've mastered swishing, try slurping. Purse your lips and draw in some air across the wine on your tongue. It's called slurping because that's the sound this technique makes. Slurping intensely aerates the wine, making it easier for aroma compounds to waft up your rear nasal passage and reach the olfactory bulb that allows your brain to make sense of those aromas.

Depending on the number of wines you plan to sample, you may want to spit out the wine you just evaluated. Alcohol dulls the senses over time, so if learning is your goal, it's perfectly fine to spit.