Look

The best way to get an idea of the color of a wine is to use a white background such as a napkin or a table cloth, and hold the glass of wine in front of it. 

Here are some of the typical colors you may see:

 White Wine

Pale yellow-green
Straw yellow
Yellow-gold
Gold
Old gold
Yellow-brown
Brown

 Red Wine

Purple
Ruby
Red
Garnet
Brick red
Red-brown
Brown

Color can tell you a lot about a wine.

For instance, as white wines age in the bottle, their color goes generally from lighter to darker. Aged Chardonnay may take on deep golden hue, though they generally start out with a lighter straw color.

On the other hand, as red wines age they tend to go from a darker color to a lighter one. Cabernet Sauvignon, generally starts out with a vivid, deep purple color in its youth, may develop a tawny, even brownish color as it ages.

It is important to understand that color change in wine is a natural occurrence that takes place with age. Because a wine's color has evolved over time from light straw to a golden hue, does not mean the wine has gone bad.

In addition to color, you may notice other visual aspects of the wine.

A wine that shows "legs" - rivulets of wine that seem to run down the sides of the glass after you swirl it - indicates a high level of viscosity. This results from a higher level of alcohol and thus glycerine in the wine.

Sediment is another visual aspect. When sediment accumulates at the bottom or side of a bottle, or in your glass, it is not something to be concerned about. This kind of accumulation is usually due to the wine undergoing only a very light filtration or no filtration at all prior to bottling. Total clarity may imply heavier filtration which can have the effect of removing some of the wines character as well as it precipitates.

Always begin a tasting by asking, "What does the wine look like?"