Getting my feet wet

[GreatGrapes51]

Markus,

In terms of wines, my advice is to stay away from box wine, or anything that comes in a bottle bigger than 1.5L. Too much of it is poor quality plonk.

For specific recommendations, I'm not sure what is available in Canada, but in the States you get consistent quality at a reasonable price from the big Washington State wineries, like Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue and Columbia Crest. California also has some good brands like Mondovi, Fetzer and Kendall-Jackson. With all these wines, you are generally going to get good quality, regardless of the year or grape type, and their entry level wines start around $10.00 per bottle.

You could also try some Cava from Spain. It's a nice sparkling wine that is surprisingly inexpensive.

For building your knowledge about wines, an excellent book is "Great Wine Made Simple," by Andrea Immer. She is a big fan of using wine tastings as a tool to learn about wine. I think it's a great idea, and if you can get your friends to split the cost it is an economical way try many different wines.