American wine drinkers, how often do you "try something different?"?

I go to a wine shop with experts not just cashiers!

Also took 3 college classes in wine and hospitality but that was 40 years ago.

@Tropical_Willie That’s awesome. So how often do you “try something new” for you?

Maybe twice a year, go to experts. Shop in my city is owned by the younger sister of someone I went to high school almost 60 years ago, 700 miles away.

Also know a wine buyer for a LARGE supermarket chain ! His main store is a 5 hour drive; one way. So I follow him on Facebook !

Usually I stick wth what I like.
Not just for me, but I don’t want to serve guests a wine that isn’t great.
Normally, I drink Silverado Sangiovese, Kinsen Plum wine, or Carlos Rossi Sangria.

Everything I drink is something different – because I like good wine but hate paying for it. So I gamble on the longshots at Grocery Outlet & Trader Joe’s

If there was a slot machine that paid off in Altesse or vintage port under $30, I’d be plugging my quarters into it.

Oh, @gorillapaws, your description in the details is me absolutely. At someone else’s house, I am happy to drink what they offer, and I often enjoy it enough to take a pic of the bottle with my phone, but I rarely change what I drink at home.
Then, after at least five years, I suddenly start on a new one, with which I will repeat the pattern.

I’m not a huge wine drinker, but I am also in a unique situation. I get to try different wines all the time for free. I work for a distributor and when wine is “unsellable” but still perfectly good, they often let us take it home. Unsellable can be anything from a drip of wine (say, from another broken bottle) on the label to a torn or missing label on a bottle to maybe a damaged seal (the part covering the cork. Basically anything that makes it unappealing to the eye so it would not sell in a store. When these come about, they get stacked in a certain area and you can pick and choose what you want. Unfortunately the big boss often sets the really good wines aside for himself. But I have gotten some $100 bottles of wine before.

Back in my wine drinking days, I had a few favorites for day to day use, depending on what I was eating. But I would try different vintages and vintners if I went out to dinner, that way I would be exposed to different wines.

There was a local producer who bottled his own blend and sold it as a jug wine that was highly rated. James Arthur Field came in a Chardonnay or in a red blend of mostly Pinot Noir and Merlot.

Being in Northern California, I used to take my old girlfriend up to Napa for the day to taste different wines. That was a great way to learn about different makers.

I try different wines, but they’re always dry, white, and low-cost. I can’t imagine spending a great deal of money, given how many good choices there are in the $10—$20 price range.

No wine for me these days. I gained some weight during a recent vacation, and I’m on a mission to lose it.

I’m NOT a wine drinker, but before he passed, my father VERY much was, and I can tell you that he definitely liked trying different wines. He definitely had a strong preference for ‘full bodied reds’, but I live near a large wine retailer with ALOT of choices…and he didn’t. So it became an annual xmas tradition that I would go and have them help me pick a bunch of stuff he couldn’t get at his local liquor store to try. He loved it.

In a restaurant, I usually order by the glass. So mostly trying something new all of the time. Though still tend to favor reds.

As for buying bottles, it depends on the cost of the bottle. Pricier bottles, I will go with what I’m familiar with. Cheaper bottles, I’m more willing to gamble.

I wouldn’t call myself a “wine drinker” as I know very little about wine. For example, I’m reasonably certain that cabernets are red.

However, I know a LOT about beer, running a beer blog and being a brewer myself. I also know quite a bit about scotch and am learning about bourbon and gin. In those respects if I have a choice between “known” and “unknown” I will almost always choose “unknown” as it’s something new.