Finding out about wine is like space travel: once you take off, there's no end in sight. Fortunately for those who want to ride on the journey and choose to be educated wine drinkers, learning about wine is a fascinating experience, full of new flavours, new places, and new friends.

Wine tastings of all shapes and sizes

Wine tasting events are designed to give enthusiasts the opportunity to sample a range of wines from all over the globe. The events can very much be a learning experience and can be conducted like classes (seated, seminar-like events), or they can be more like parties (tasters milling around informally). Compared to a wine class, the participants at a wine tasting are more likely to have various levels of knowledge. Tastings don't come in beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels — one size fits all.

Wine tastings are popular because they override the limitations of sampling wine alone, at home. How many wines can you taste on your own (unless you don't mind throwing away nine-tenths of every bottle)? How many wines are you willing to buy on your own? And how much can you learn by tasting wine in isolation — or with a friend whose expertise is no greater than yours?

At wine tastings, you can learn from your fellow tasters, as well as make new friends who share your interest in wine. Most importantly, you can taste wine in the company of some individuals who are more experienced than you, which is a real boon in training your palate.

To attend a wine tasting in Bahrain, follow and like BMMI Shops on Facebook. Visit our retail store in Mina Salman, where you can get information for any events (this is besides the informal sampling opportunities offered in the store itself!).

If you've never been to a wine tasting, be aware that a few matters of etiquette apply at most tastings. Familiarising yourself with this etiquette will help you feel more comfortable. Otherwise, you're likely to be appalled by what you see or hear. Why are those people behaving like that?!

To spit or not to spit?

Professional wine tasters long ago discovered that if they swallow every wine they taste, they're far less thoughtful tasters by the time they reach wine nine or ten. So spitting became acceptable. In wineries, professional tasters sometimes spit right onto the gravel floor or into the drains. In more elegant surroundings, they spit into a spittoon, usually a simple container like a large plastic cup (one per taster) or an ice bucket that two or three tasters share.

At first, naturally, some tasters are loath to spit out wine. Not only have they been brought up to believe that spitting is uncouth, but they've also paid good money for the opportunity to taste the wines. Why waste them?

Well, you can drink all of your wine at a wine tasting, if you wish — and some people do. But we don't advise that you do, for the following reasons:

• Evaluating the later wines will be difficult if you swallow the earlier ones. The alcohol you consume will cloud your judgment.

• Swallowing isn't really necessary in order to taste the wine fully. If you leave the wine in your mouth for eight to ten seconds, you'll be able to taste it thoroughly — without having to worry about the effects of the alcohol.

• If you're driving to the tasting, you're taking a risk driving home afterwards if you drink instead of spit. The stakes are high — your life and health, others' lives, and your driver's license. Why gamble?

• The simple solution: Spit out the wine. Just about all experienced wine tasters do. Believe it or not, spitting will seem to be a very normal thing to do at wine tastings after a while. (And, in the meantime, it's one sure way to appear more experienced than you are!)

If you know that you can't bring yourself to spit, be sure to have something substantial to eat before going to a wine tasting. You absorb alcohol more slowly on a full stomach — and the simple crackers and bread at most wine tastings are not sufficient to do the trick. At BMMI's wine tasting events, our guests can indulge in cheese and canapés, which pair excellently well with our wines.

What's with the sound effects?

Do you have to make that loud slurping or gurgling noise that you hear "serious" wine tasters make at tastings?

Of course you don't. But drawing air into your mouth does enhance your ability to taste the wine. With a little practice, you can gurgle without making loud, attention-getting noises.

More fine points of wine etiquette

Because smell is such an important aspect of wine tasting, courteous tasters try not to interfere with other tasters' ability to smell. This means

• Smoking (anything) is a complete no-no at any wine tasting.

• Using any scent (perfume, after-shave lotion, scented hair spray, and so on) is undesirable. These foreign odours can really interfere with your fellow tasters' ability to detect the wine's aroma.

Courteous wine tasters also do not volunteer their opinions about a wine until other tasters have had a chance to taste the wine. Serious tasters like to form their opinions independently and are sure to throw dirty looks at anyone who interrupts their concentration.

Most of these wine-tasting etiquette guidelines apply to wine classes as well — and are also relevant when you visit wineries around the world.