The strategy I've always employed is to pay no more than $6-9 unless it's a special varietal. Some of the best wines I've ever had were South American bought as

The strategy I've always employed is to pay no more than $6-9 unless it's a special varietal. Some of the best wines I've ever had were South American bought as one-offs for $10-15 though much of the enjoyment came from the novelty. Much better than honing your pallet to the taste of expensive wine is to learn to pair wines with food. Learn what varietals you like and then play with foods spicy, sweet, and sour. The most enjoyment from wine comes from learning how the tastes combine and change wildly. Pairing wine is a game of combinatorics. The tricks tend to be to maximize the number of other flavors you can try with your wine. In this way, you can transform a single bottle into 3 or more different flavors. Some tricks: Bread, cheese, and wine is a common thing but don't go overboard on the bread. Much of the time the heavy starch is going to wipe out the flavors. Invest in more variety in the wines and cheeses. Spice comes in many, many varieties (from peppercorn to bright red ground cayenne, to Chinese sichuan pepper) and each one often has a different reaction with wines. Steak and wine is a great combination because well-prepared meats have tons of interesting flavors thanks to the "maillard reaction". Sausages are a particularly good choice.