Reddit reviews Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition (Kevin Zraly's Complete Wine Course)

As has already been said, start trying different varietals and learn your general preference ... much like beers, there can be great differences between regions and/or styles. "Learn what you like" is basically it... and it will take a while and a bit of investment.

If you're close enough to a decent wine country, you can get a bit of experience (at least in that region) for not too big an investment... many will host bus tours that will take you around to a good number of wineries and tastings. Washington State (Seattle/Tacoma area), California (Napa, Sonoma, Monterey/Carmel, Paso Robles, Lodi), Colorado, Northern Michigan, New York and Oregon are all decent starts... there are more.

Tasting in restaurants can be expensive (they often double the bottle price , though you can sometimes spot good/reasonable deals). Some states may have a decent corkage fee (ie. bring your own bottle). Good restaurants may also staff a sommelier, which can talk to you intelligently about your wine choices and pairings.

Some big cities might host wine bars. For example, I've seen Blanc et Rouge around San Francisco. Bottle price is about 30% over retail... but you can get the bottle "to go" and pay pretty close to retail price. And, of course, the staff there is generally pretty knowledgeable about what's on the shelves.

There's also the option of big stores like BevMo, and they'll often host tastings... or big sales (eg. Buy One, Get Second Bottle for $0.05 Sale) that can really help expose you to more wines.

Lastly, if you want a huge amount of technical knowledge, I'd recommend Windows on the World - "A Complete Wine Course." It's a bit of reading, and will give you an enormous amount of knowledge... some might argue "enough to make you too picky."

Most importantly, though... it's just learning what you like, and then enjoying it as you branch out and discover new tastes.

General Reference:

Wine Atlas

Oxford Companion

Windows on the World

Specific Reference:

Vino Italiano

Wines of Rioja

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

General Reading:

Wine and War

Adventures on the Wine Route

Liquid Memory

Billionaire's Vinegar

Judgment of Paris

I suggest going to Barnes and Noble, flipping open Wine Spectator and look at their Best Under $10 list. Buy those, research basic info, drink, make notes, rinse and repeat. You can find a best list pretty much anywhere, I just say Wine Spectator because of accessibility. Also, the November issue will be the Top 100 best in the world, and probably a Top 100 on value.

Good luck.

P.S. Buy this book, it will help a ton.

If you read one book to learn wine, make it this one. No offense to everyone leaving long comments, but if you're new to wine it's good to know the basics before listening to people offer their opinions. For example, there's no way to group wines produced from certain grapes as smooth or fruity or spicy. This has more to do with the the winemaker's own style and the age of the cuvee than the specific grape.

My introduction to wine course used Windows On the World Complete Wine Course. Excellent book because it starts with the basics and gives a good foundation to build on.