The 8 Worst Mistakes Wine Drinkers Make

1. Filling your wine glass up to the brim

Wine isn't beer. Just because some wine glasses can fit an entire bottle of wine in them, doesn't mean you'll want to fill your entire glass. It makes for a heavy glass, looks silly and makes the wine difficult to drink and enjoy.

Rather, you'll want to stick to about a 5 ounce pour. This will allow you to swirl and sniff your wine and drink and enjoy your wine with ease.

2. Holding your wine glass by the bowl

Hold your glass by the stem, not the bowl. Your wine glass has a stem for a reason. When you hold your wine glass by the bowl, the body heat from your hand warms the wine up.

Unless you want your wine warmer, stick to the temperature the wine was poured at and hold your glass by the stem. In a room full of wine drinkers, you can always tell who are the experienced wine drinkers by the way they hold their glass.

3. Buying wine because of the label

Simple rules: Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't buy wine because of the label. You won't be so amused with that interesting label if, once opened, you find the wine isn't very good.

4. Drinking the same old stuff

Think you only care for white wines? Think you only care for specific varieties? Think you only care for specific regions? Nonsense.

There are over 6 million wines out there, stemming from thousands of different regions and grape varieties. What makes wine fun is the infinite possibilities. You can always find something new and interesting to sip on to explore and enjoy. Don't get trapped into thinking you only like a handful of grapes and regions.

5. Sticking to classic wine pairing rules

There are some traditional rules to pairing wine with food, like pairing red wine with red meat and white wine with seafood. These are guidelines, not absolute rules to live by. Don't always stick to these rules. What makes wine fun is trying new wines, trying new occasions to enjoy wine, and finding new pairings on your own. They're your taste buds; if you like drinking bold reds with light meats, then so be it.

6. Drinking too fast

We're all guilty here. Wine can be so good, sometimes we forget to slow down and learn about the wine. Who makes it? Where is it from? What's going on with this grape variety? What do I like and dislike about this wine? What am I tasting? These are the kinds of questions that help us learn about wine, enjoy it more in the long run, and help us become knowledgeable in wine. Slow down and learn about wine, don't drink it too fast!

7. Dissecting wine on the initial pour

On the other hand, when your server pours you a little splash of wine to make sure it tastes okay before serving the rest of the table, this is supposed to be somewhat quick. Many people think they're supposed to slow down and dissect the wine, talk about it, and tell the waiter whether or not they like it. This is not the point of the initial pour, however. The server simply wants to know if the wine is corked or not, or some other flaw. A quick sip or sniff will do. Taste vinegar or some other flaw? If no, give the server approval to pour the rest of the table. Then you can dissect the wine with the rest of your party.

8. Not using Vivino

The last mistake some wine drinkers make is not using Vivino! With the Vivino app, you can scan wine to make sure you find and remember great wines, track your tasting history, discover your wine profile and more. In other words, Vivino is a wine drinker's dream. Plus it's free, so you better use it and join millions of wine drinkers around the world.