Don’t let some snooty ‘wine snob’ scare you away from all the fun you can have by exploring wine. There are countless varieties of wines that you can learn about and try. It can be very relaxing to have some friends over, open up a bottle of your latest ‘find’ and sit back and enjoy the company and the wine.

Today more than ever a lot of the old ‘rules’ about wine just don’t matter. The single most important rule you need to remember is that you are supposed to enjoy your wine. It doesn’t matter how expensive it was or what you’re having for dinner. You need to enjoy the flavor of the wine you are drinking.

Here is a list of the 5 most common wine myths — debunked…

1) Good wine has to be expensive. Nope. Good wine is whatever you like the taste of even if it comes in a box!

2) You have to take out the cork to let it breathe. While it is true that many wines will benefit from adding oxygen to them, just taking out the cork won’t allow enough oxygen in the bottle to do any good. If you want your wine to breathe pour it into a wide mouth wine decanter or glass prior to serving.

3) You can’t store an open bottle in the refrigerator. As long as you put the cork back in a bottle of wine should be just fine in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

4) You can tell if the wine is good by smelling the cork. Generally the only thing you will learn by smelling the cork is whether or not the cork is moldy. If you want to know if the wine itself is any good smell it. And then taste it.

5) You have to have white wine with fish and red with meat. This is probably one of the best known ‘wine-isms’. And it’s true, to a point. It’s all about combining the flavors of the wine with that of the food for the maximum enjoyment of both. You don’t want one flavor overpowering another, you want them to compliment each other.

It’s important to keep in mind though that just adhering to this guideline might get boring and you should never follow it if you don’t like a certain type of wine.

Let’s say you’re having a nice steak for dinner. According to the guideline you should have a white wine with dinner. But what if you don’t like white wine? Wine is all about enjoyment and relaxation. So have the type of wine you prefer no matter what you’re having for dinner.

There you have it, 5 of the most common wine myths debunked. Just enjoy your wine and your friends and family. That’s what it’s all about. Don’t get caught up in all the wine etiquette. Enjoy your wine and enjoy yourself!