Of course all the natural colors of wines are enhanced by beautiful table settings like candle or perfect lighting and especially the proper glassware as I recommended in a prior column.

However, apart from aesthetic consideration, it will be the relative depth of color and the variations in hue which, in combination gives us so much advance information that we supplement later by our sense of smell which is confirmed and enhanced on the palate.

Let's examine how these observations can be made: once the wine is poured, the tasting glass is tilted at an angle over a mat white background, like a napkin or a regular piece of paper and after having appropriately swirled the liquid, I will check for the viscosity of the wine -we call them legs! -, telling me how extracted and concentrated the wine is, the meatier and heavier wines being usually the richer and probably the most expensive.

I will not buy a wine without viscosity and no legs as it will tend to be insipid and the flavors watered down, simply because that's what it is: colored water, a step above resides Two Buck Chuck!

Voila, see you soon at Mille Fleurs and Mister A's