Wine expert says one common habit could be sabotaging every sip

If you want to experience a wine's full range of flavors, sipping water before or between tastes may seem like a natural way to cleanse your palate — but a sommelier says it could keep you from tasting the wine as intended.

"Anything you take in your mouth before your first sip of wine is going to alter its true colors," New York-based sommelier and wine educator Sarah Looper told Fox News Digital.

To judge a wine accurately, Looper recommends giving it a few tastes. The first sip of wine "sets the tone," she said.