Here is a short list of wine etiquette tips that I found on the blog A Cup of Jo. How cute are the illustrations?!? My favorite tip is the last one which says to happily forget all of these rules and just eat, drink and be merry! But if you are hosting a party or in a situation where you need to bring out your inner wine snob, here are some basics.

1. Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine glasses 1/2 full, and sparkling wine 3/4 full.

2. Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips (and to give it a flourish!).

3. Cheers! When clinking glasses, make eye contact with the other person. Otherwise, according to French superstition, you’ll risk seven years of bad luck. You should also clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone’s arms.

4. If someone is toasting you ( your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don’t take a sip. Just smile and look humble.

5. Always hold your wine glass by the stem. Many people mistakenly think you only need to hold white wine by the stem (so you don’t warm up the wine), but experts say you should hold red wine by the stem, too, so you can see its color and clarity, as well as to avoid smudging the glass with your fingerprints. Otherwise, wine snobs might call you a “bowl grabber”!

6. On the table, your wine glass goes to the right of your water glass.

7. While taking a sip, you should politely look into your glass. (And not at another person, if you’re in the middle of a conversation.)

8. The host’s duty is to make sure glasses stay filled. “My eyes go to empty glasses immediately,” wine expert John Thoreen says. “It’s a real radar thing for me.”

9. Or happily forget all the tips above, and just eat, drink and be merry!