I'm a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz myself. Francis Coppola makes a good blended red that I like alot.

I'm sorry, I'm not going to be much help with the whites. I haven't tasted a Chardonnay that I've liked yet. I can tell you that my aunt swears by Santa Margherita Pino Grigio, which I've only had once but I liked well enough.

Rezz- I know price varies depending on style because each wine uses different kinds of grapes, but as a whole I wouldn't say white or red is more expensive. You're basically paying for quality- the older the wine or smaller/more prestigious the winery, the more expensive.

Neopolitan- I endorse your suggestion of Portoguese Port! Some of the best stuff around.

Pete- cheap wine, have you dabbled in the Two-Buck Chuck? $2 merlot, and it's actually not bad (and in a bottle, not a box).

Wifey- Coppola is a good recommendation. I liked his Zin, it was so leathery it was like licking a cowgirl.

From my wine drinking experience, I can tell you that wine is very region based. The best wines in your region are probably very different from the wines in my own or anyone else's for that matter. I had a wonderful wine I loved to drink back in Indy called Oliver Soft Red($7), but they don't have that here in Cali so I have since come up with a new favorite, Camelot Merlot. Which is about the same price range and is probably the best wine I have ever tasted. Basically the deal with wine is, every time you pop a new bottle, you never know what you're going to get. That's what makes it so cool, the ability to try something new every time you go to the store. My best advice is just start trying different types of wine until you get an idea of what you like.

hehe. I do believe you meant to say "connesuir"

Red wine contains tannins which gives it its color and rather woody taste, and also tends to be more complex and sometimes heavier than white wine.

White wine is made from either red or green grapes without the skins and tends to be sweeter and lighter with fruitier flavors. More palatable to the majority of people.

but you probably already knew this considering the fact that you actually drink the stuff. Obviously I'm not going to be much help...except with spelling lol.
But really, it cracks me up that you're trying to get into wines because you ran out of other booze *rolls eyes* nice.

Pretty much all I drink (well, aside from water) is wine. Mainly reds, but in the summer I like a nice chilled white or blush. I can't really describe the kinds of whites I like, other than that I used to shy away from them because I often found them dry. So I guess I preferred the fruitier ones. However, over the past summer, I realized that I don't mind the dry ones so much. For blush, or white zinfandel, I'm not very picky at all.

No for the reds. I used to not be very picky, and would often pick out bottles of Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon in the $8-11 range. I used to not even mind the huge jugs of Carlo Rossi or boxes of Franzia (maybe those still aren't bad, haven't had them in years). But over the past two years, I really got sick of the standard Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Even though I was trying different "brands" a lot, I found that most of them just weren't going down easy, they were making me scrunch my face, as Alfred suggested. I'd had enough.

So I sought the advice or some online buddies on another forum, and one of the recommendations was Argentinian Malbec. I have had great success with this wine. Some are better than others, and I have had one I didn't like at all, but they don't make me cringe and most are really good. I was also advised to check out some French wines such as Cotes du Rhones, Beaujolais and several others but I've only tried those two and have been happy. I've also been recommended a few Italian wines, specifically from Tuscany or Sicily, but I don't remember what I've had. I've really been happy enough with the Argentinian Malbecs and some French ones that I haven't strayed too far from those.

The week of Thanksgiving I decided to pick out a Portuguese wine, which I liked a lot and picked up another bottle this week. I'm often unsure with foreign wines which is the house name and which is the wine type. This bottle says Vale do Bomfim, Douro Valley. Ah ok, it often helps to read the label on the back. The first part is the type of wine, the second is the region that it's from. Anyway, it's good. I also picked out another random one, from Spain, called Oristan by La Mancha. Label says it's a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo grapes. It's pretty good, no pucker face. It should be obvious by now that I'm no wine connoisseur, so don't ask me to describe it beyond that.

Point is, it wasn't until I started to really drink red wine on a regular basis that I started to get more picky and try to find what I like. There is still much more to explore. But in general I've found the American wines pretty bitter and foreign ones much smoother.

i hopped on the reisling band wagon a few years ago
i'm kinda a wine snob in that i only drink texas wines (stop laughing), and could help you out there,...but no where else

if your parents drink wine quite often, why don't you ask them? It seems like they'd be your most immediate refrence and probably more reliable and specific to your preferences than any of us would be.

I don't usually drink a lot of the stuff. Mainly go for all the hard liquors over it. That said though, pinot noir is where it's at.

Modest commonsewer. :)

I have enjoyed some Pinot Noirs in the past. Haven't had one in ages though, any you'd recommend?