Colour and hue

Hold the glass against a white background and tilt it slightly. White wines range from almost colourless yellow-green to deep amber-gold. Rosés run from pale salmon to vivid cherry-pink. Red wines vary from translucent ruby to near-opaque dark violet. The hue – the colour visible at the outermost rim – often differs clearly from the deeper tone at the centre. In young red wines the rim is violet or purple; with age it shifts to brick-red and finally brown. It is at the rim that you find the first signs of ageing, making the appearance phase an early clue to the wine's history.