The growth of the online wine industry has resulted in an increase in the number of wine drinkers and has introduced a new customer demographic to the world of wines that were previously excluded from the somewhat elitist element of buying and drinking wines. The Internet has largely revolutionised the wine industry and has resulted in a number of novices beginning to drink wine as they buy it online.

Many people now have an interest in wine but not a vast knowledge from which to draw when it comes to finding their ideal wine. The best way to find out about what wines you do and don’t like is by tasting a wide variety of different wines and slowly building up knowledge of different grapes, and wine clubs can help you achieve that.

By becoming a member of a mail order wine club you can explore the vast and somewhat intimidating world of wine from the comfort of your own home and taste the different wines that are regularly sent to you.

Through wine clubs you can slowly develop an interest in wine as they act as a useful introduction to different wines from around the world. Many people start with classic Mediterranean wines, of which Italian wines are often regarded as the best, and Italy’s long history of wine making – dating back to the Romans – makes it an interesting place to start for most beginners.

There are plenty of good early Italian wines for starters, from the Milani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2008, a classically flavoured full-bodied red wine, to Falanghina Strione 2007, which gains a more unique flavour, being fermented in oak casks before bottling.

Thanks to the ability to buy wine online, too, wine novices can now choose from a selection of different wines without having to face the embarrassment of feeling out of depth in a specialist wine shop. Buying wine online makes it incredibly easy for wine novices to experiment in the comfort of their own home and through a simple process of trial and error find out what they like and what compliments their favourite meal well.

Each website that sells wine online provides information on the defining flavours in each wine, whilst fellow customers also give their feedback on the wines they’ve tasted, so you have a pool of knowledge to use for yourself. This can prove to be really useful when you are starting out, as, although everyone has different tastes and preferences, the recommendations made by other people can assist you in your choices of wines.

When it comes to wine tasting, being part of a wine club is a great way to learn how to judge wines and what you should be looking out for. The first thing to notice when tasting a certain wine is the colour, which will give you an idea of the age of the wine; red wines, for example, lose their colour over time. After smelling the aromas of the wine - generally something you will master over time – things comes to tasting the wine, and you should let the wine slide across your tongue before swallowing a small amount and try to pick up the different tasting notes.

The best way to develop an understanding of the tasting notes associated with each wine is to taste as many different wines as possible, starting with the lightest wines if you plan to taste several at once. By tasting different wines your taste buds will become more sensitive to and familiar with their defining characteristics over time, and soon you will be transformed from a wine novice to a wine aficionado.