(Forbes) - There is a basic protocol to follow when visiting a wine region to taste its wines. Let’s get this out of the way first.

The protocol varies from place to place and from country to country but, for the most part, here is what you need to know:

• You’re looking for the tasting rooms of wineries, which are public spaces where staff will “taste you through” a selection of the winery’s production by pouring a small amount of wine in the glasses they set in front of you.
• The sequence of wines is usually organized from white to red or from dry to sweet or from youngest to oldest, or another configuration that showcases the characteristics and strengths of the winery.
• There will be a “spit cup” on the table or counter, which you can choose to use or not.
• It is fine to drink the wines rather than spit them out, but it is not fine to drink too much. Obviously, take the necessary precautions regarding transportation.
• Normally you pay a fee to taste, which is often applied toward your purchase of the wines you especially enjoyed.
• At wineries with more developed sales strategies, you’ll be encouraged to join their wine club. You’re a captive audience, and wine clubs are a high-profit-margin segment of the business.

The logistics are straightforward enough.

Now let’s move on to the more interesting parts.

The most important thing about traveling in a wine region is to be a traveler, not a tourist.

It’s a distinction that makes all the difference. Yet it’s the kind of thing that maybe you sense viscerally but don’t quite articulate, even though articulating it and being mindful of it throughout your stay vastly improves your experience.