Wine Prices to Come Down?

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Being 21 myself, I really don't see a lot of others in my age cohort into wine. Most see spirits and alcohol-containing bevarages as a means of getting a buzz, nothing more. Wine, if they do consider it, is simply a fruity tasting way of getting a buzz (read wine coolers, white zins, etc). Most of those who don't drink to get drunk simply don't drink at all. There are a few in between who pursue wine as a refined, civilized pleasantry.

When I was still in college, the beer-mongers coming home acting like lobotomized baboons on caffeine and hosing the walls with vomit made me desire to set myself apart and be respectable, classy, refined. So one day I decided to start learning about wine, having never drunk before. Went out, bought a copy of Wine for Dummies, and never looked back. I especially enjoy the academic aspect of wine - learning about grape varieties, winemaking regions and methods, etc., - as it is a an enjoyable study to help keep the mind disciplined.

Another issue is price. Just out of college and heading to graduate school, the meager income I pull has to go towards bills, groceries, rent, and savings for grad school. I include wine under groceries, and $12 a week - if that - is about the maximum I and others in my cohort could afford. California wines, being proliferated, are diluted in quality at that price range (I haven't found a decent _full-bodied_ Cab Sauv from Cali in that price range yet). A nice $8 Aussie Shiraz fits the bill a little better, as do some nice Virginia wines (lots of wineries in the greater Charlottesville area and throughout the state).

Note that I'm an odd one in my age group, as I pull my nose out of a book rarely, listen to Petual Clark, watch Any Griffith reruns, and have a "trust noone UNDER thirty" attitude. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]