If you are absolutely clueless when it comes to wine appreciation and wine tasting, the prospect of dining with wine fanatics can be quite daunting. The one thing you should know is that wine lovers in general, take their hobby quite seriously and the last thing you want to do is to embarrass yourself by making inappropriate comments. Wine tasting is not at all as complicated as some people make it out to be. It's a bit like appreciating a fine painting - you simply need to know what to look out for.

Making wine is without a doubt an art form and many of the fine wines from all over the world is the result of generations of knowledge that's been handed down and refined by master wine makers. Although paying $1,000 for a bottle of wine might sound ridiculous to some, to others it might be a bargain. To the untrained eye, there is no real difference between a genuine Picasso and a print you buy in Kmart.

Appreciating fine wine is very much the same in that you have to simply learn to appreciate the beauty and this start by learning what to look for. Wine is obviously about taste, but to the more discerning wine lover it also involves smell, texture aroma and all the other senses.

Learning to appreciate fine wine is not something that happens overnight. There is quite a bit to learn and just familiarizing yourself with the 'lingo' is quite a task in itself. So, whether you are heading over to your future father-in-law's for a dinner or whether you are about to entertain some important clients, here are some handy pointers to avoid making a complete fool of yourself.

* Don't pretend to know something you don't. Most knowledgeable people are keen to 'show off' and nowhere is this more true than with wine enthusiasts. Acknowledge that you are learning about wine and show a keen interest instead of trying to 'fake it'.

* When dining out, don't choose the wine unless your guests insist on it. If you are uncertain about which wines to pick, be polite and hand the choice to your most important guest. That way you will be a polite host and even if the wine sucks, no one can point any fingers at the host.

* When dining with a wine fanatic, it's best to follow their lead. Since there is quite a bit of etiquette involved, it's best to let the expert lead the way. When asked for your opinion of the wine, just be honest and be very wary of making negative comments.

* Rest assured that wine tasting is a lot about personal opinion and taste and most of the time a sincere and accurate comment of your sensory experience of a particular wine will be more than satisfactory to provoke a discussion.