There's Already Enough Water in Wine

At every wine tasting there are a few obligatory props that are always present. Cocktail napkins for the messy folks. Paper and pencils for those who keep meticulous wine records, or at least want to look like they do. Dump buckets, and water pitchers. The dump buckets, I find, are either the one thing at the end of a successful tasting that need not be washed or they need to be emptied every 10 minutes and are accompanied by an overall aire of discontent.
The water pitchers are the real bone of contention here. They are a necessary evil at a grand tasting (Grand tasting meaning that multiple vendors are peddling their hooch). At these events the probability that you will switch from white wine to red wine and back to white wine are more than likely. It is always encouraged to go back and "revisit" a wine you liked. There is a chance of intoxication, where you may in all likelihood, forget that you hate port, only to consume 3 different samples of it before wanting to go back and taste that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. All of these reasons make water pitchers a viable tool.
However, in reality, the water pitcher is the most over used (read: abused) item at a tasting. Every time you "rinse" your glass, you are diluting your next taste of wine. Every time you leave water in your glass you are changing the dynamics and texture of that wine.
I previously posted that wine pourers, for the most part, know what their doing. We won't serve you an Australian Shiraz followed by an Italian Pinot Grigio. We wouldn't think of pouring that Napa Valley Merlot before you've tasted the French Pinot Noir. That would be cruel. Believe it or not, we want you to like the wine. All of it. As a matter of fact, we're hoping you like it so much that you can't bear the thought of leaving without 4 or 5 cases of the stuff. It is in our best interest to line up the wines in a way that you needn't do any work. Your job is to taste and evaluate the wines, not to clean the glassware.
I recognize that wine tasting, in a room full of your peers, can come with a certain level of anxiety. Nobody wants to look like they don't know what they're doing. I am a firm believer that that's how many of these "traditions and rituals" are perpetuated (like the old smelling the cork routine). Remember this... there is no instruction book on how to taste wine ( okay, so there is, but who cares ) and wine is, last time I checked, still just a beverage that is meant to be consumed and enjoyed.
So relax, sip your wine, and put the water pitcher down.