Also, this aims to be as un-pretentious as possible - if there's one thing I hate it's a wine snob. There is no right or wrong when it comes to drinking wine; if you find something you like, run with it. However, there are some universal basics that are good to know.

To start off, there are 3 books that I have used with great success. Karen Macneil's 'The Wine Bible' is a great starting point. It's loaded with information and presented in a straightforward, easy to read manner. 'The World Atlas of Wine' takes the information presented in the Wine Bible and moves it one step more detailed. It focuses more on how and why wines taste like they do. Finally, because I believe that the ultimate purpose of wine is to drink it with food, 'The Wine Lover's Cookbook: Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine'. Yes, it's a gourmet cookbook. Yes, some of the ingredient are hard to find. But even if you never use a recipe out of it, the book really gives you a great understanding of why certain grapes go with certain foods.

Now, onto equipment. The first thing you need is a corkscrew, of course. There are a myriad of cockscrews out there in all shapes and price ranges. I prefer simplicity: 'Waiters Corkscrew - Black Handle'. Cheap, easy to use and it doesn't take up a lot of storage space. Just use the little knife part to cut off the foil, screw it into the cork and use the lever system to pull the cork out. I was intimidated by these corkscrews at first but after using it once I was hooked.

Glasses. There's a big debate between Reidel and Spiegelau. I personally use Reidel Vinum, but I'm not convinced that they're worth the price. To start out, I would recommend 'Spiegelau Vino Grande Red Wine Glasses, Set of 6'. They say "red wine" but I've used them for everything with great success. When you get to the point you know what you're looking for in wine, I would diversify a bit. For example, we drink a lot of pinot noir and sauvingnon blanc. I use 'Riedel Vinum Burgundy/Pinot Noir Wine Glasses, Set of 4' and 'Riedel Vinum Sauvignon Blanc Wine Glasses, Set of 6'

That's pretty much all there is to it. There is one other accessory, 'Screwpull Adoma Wine Cooler, Black' which works great if you're going to drink your wine slowly and want to maintain it's temperature. It doesn't get condensation on the outside so you can set it anywhere.

Now go buy some wine and give it a whirl!