Suggestions, please

[karelou74]

I started a wine club in July - we meet once a month and each meeting has a theme. So far, we've done rose, pinot grigio, pinot noir, and the other two times the themes didn't work out for one reason or another. I'm looking for some fun and interesting new themes. Regional suggestions? Unusual (but not too hard to find) varietals? We tend to hover in the $8 to $20 range. I should note that I started this club even though I knew next to nothing about wine. I work for a small fashion/beauty/lifestyle magazine and have *somehow* become wine writer in residence [I know only a little more about writing than I do about wine...]. It hasn't become too demanding yet, but I'd like to get out of the shallow end and swim with the adults sooner rather than later - without breaking my bank! My first article comes out in a few months and talks about learning about wine, my wine club, and how easy it is to start one. I'm still looking for some 'never fail' food and wine pairings to inlcude as a sidebar.
Any suggestions would be great! By the way, I live in Los Angeles.