I can't answer for taste, as I don't drink wine. My wife does, and it's my job to remember what she likes. The nose, however, can usually type a grape or at l

I can't answer for taste, as I don't drink wine. My wife does, and it's my job to remember what she likes. The nose, however, can usually type a grape or at least distinguish things like Cabernet with soft reds like Pinot Noir. Does that mean they taste better or worse? No idea, but the combination of color (intensity) and smell lets me guess the grape pretty well. Given the repeated success of things like $2 buck Chuck, it seems that typical people would do well with $4-14 bottles of table red or table white for most applications. There's a lot of options in these price ranges. My wife has obvious preferences for wine selection based on meals. So I have to assume there's taste differences involved.