My only rule on tasting is to enjoy yourself. But it is also important to ensure that the glasses used for tasting are really clean and taper towards the top. If glasses have been stored in the cupboard give them a really good wash in hot water, without washing up liquid and allow them to air dry. Many kitchen towels and washing up liquids leave a residual odor. If you must use washing up liquid ensure that the glasses has been rinsed 
very well in hot water a few times.
Please bear with me. I, like many other people just want to get the wine down my neck! But by following the easy steps below should help you make an informed judgement on the quality of a wine. I strongly recommend that the tasting be undertaken with friends at home, in the pub, or at a restaurant.
Approach:
Step 1: Tilt the glass at an angle and look at the rim of the wine preferably against a white background. If it is a young red it should normally be a purple colour. If it's an older wine it will be red, mahogany and even brown if the wine is old. The main thing to look for is that the wine should look clean and bright . If not there could be something wrong with it.
Step 2: Pour a small amount into the glass and swirl it around. This will bring the wine into contact with the air and will help to open up the wine. Take a sniff. The wine should smell pleasant and clean with fruit and without any odd odours. If you detect the smell of spent matches (too much sulphur) or a damp/musty smell (cork taint) then the wine is faulty and should be sent back to the place of purchase for a replacement.
Step 3: This is my favourite bit. Take a mouthful but not too much as you would need to swish the wine around your mouth in order for all parts of the mouth to taste the wine. After swallowing you should be able to detect if the wine is sweet or dry and has any acidity . Too much acidity will make the wine tart and too little flabby.
Tannin will make the mouth feel dry. Weight is the general feel of the wine in the mouth. Fruit is the overall taste of fruit in the mouth, the better the wine, the greater level of fruit. Length is how long the flavour lingers in the mouth, the longer the better.
Note:
I must stress that wine tasting is very much a personal thing and the more tasting you do the more familiar you will become with recognising certain smells and flavours that crop up in relation to a particular grape variety. I have been with people who are able to pick out all weird and wonderful flavours from a wine, where I could only detect certain other characteristics and vice versa. This is what makes wine tasting such fun, as it is purely a personal thing.
Grape varieties:
Below is a basic list of some of the main red grapes and their associated flavours, which you should normally expect to see when tasting. If the wine has been aged in oak it will have a mild taste of oak/ vanilla and have soft tannins.
- Cabernet Sauvignon: Blackcurrant
- Cabernet Franc: Redcurrant
- Grenache: Blackberry/peppery
- Shiraz: Peppery and spicy
- Merlot: Similar to cabernet but with a softer taste with less tannin
- Gamay: Cherry/raspberry
- Pinot Noir: Soft red fruits
- Tempranillo: Strawberry
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