In your opinion, are expensive wines worth it?

If you are just getting into wines, try different countries, regions, varietals (types of grapes like pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, etc) and blends (a combination of grapes). You will find the types of wines that you like and then can start forking out more money once you know that you prefer something like a meritage (a blend of cabernet sauv, merlot & cab franc) or something that is 100% of a certain grape. I would steer away from anything less than $10 (store price) since you will find them very hit or miss and for god's sake, don't drink white zinfindales - an exception to the $10 rule is Rosemont Shiraz (a really good wine for $8 - 9) and there are a few good chardonays in that range.

Wine Spectator (www.winespectator.com) usually has a list of wines by price and you can often discover something you really like there.

Trying lots of different wines can be a really fun journey and along the way you will find very good $10 wines and a knock-you-on-your-feet, how can something like this exist $175 bottles.

The best piece of advice is to drink what YOU like and don't get too caught up with what others think and how wine should be paired with food (one of my favs is a chardonay with tex-mex - yummm!).

It depends on if you're an experienced taster or not. If you have a well honed tongue and nose and appreciate the subtleties and all the complexities of the flavors and aromas an expensive wine has to offer, then by all means, go for it.

For example, A really great cabernet sauvignon that costs 80 bucks might have flavors and aromas such as creme de cassis, chocolate, cherries, and toasty oak etc. If you aren't able to distinguish all those flavors, and more importantly, enjoy the way all of those taste together, then it's definitely not worth it. I think the goal for every wine enthusaist should be finding terrific values. Just cuz it costs 2 days wortha work doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna taste great. Hope that helps!

Yes, but generally you get a big bump in quality over cheap wines for not a whole lot of money. You can get some decent wines for $20.00 but it's hard to find anything decent for $10. Ask a knowledgeable wine store clerk to point you in the right direction.

A friend of mine worked in the wine industry in France and gave me the following advice.

"If a wine costs enough that you have to think about the price before you drink it, it is too expensive. Get a wine you can just drink and enjoy, and there are plenty of good yet inexpensive wines."

If you're with experienced wine drinkers, get a nice bottle of wine. After the first glass swich to a more economical wine; be sure the wines are similar (dry white for dry white: sweet red for sweet red).

For most alcohal, the tastebuds disapear after a glass of alcohal.

Have a fun party, and be safe.

You know if you aren't experienced don't waste your money. Go for the two buck chuck at Trader Joes and call it good. Mad Dog and Boones may even hit the spot still for the novice

In my experience, the only expensive wine that is 'worth it' is a champagne -- Dom Perignon. Everything else is just wrethched excess!

Not really, unless you get really expensive.

I say buy a cheap wine, or a bottle of vodka, that stuff goes with everything.