Great thread. I admit I work with wine daily and am trusted with recomendations so I kinda know my stuff. I'm typically a fan of big Austrailian reds and Californian cabs with a few Zins once in a while. Nothing like a great shiraz that is nice and jammy with hints of cocoa, fruit, and coffee notes too maybe. If anyone is wondering where to start, there is no right answer. Just start buying lots of different bottles to try (definitely start cheap) and even if you love a wine, move on to something new. That wine will always be there to go back to, but you never know if there is something else you may like more. Try different wine regions, too. You'll find out quickly that there are huge differences between old world and new world wines. (I'm a fan of new world, i.e., Aussy, US, mainly because you don't get as much earthy-ness and you usually get more fruit.) Hopefully someone will find that useful.