Paul and Lois started their wine tasting (drinking) history when he gave her a two day wine appreciation course for her 21st birthday back at UC Berkeley.  They developed their palate on 1st and 2nd growth Bordeaux wines when one could buy them for $4-$10 a bottle.  Paul prefers meritage style wines which give the winemaker more artistic freedom, while Lois prefers the spiciness of Zins.  That definitely doesn’t limit the variety of wines that they like to drink, as they appreciate wines from all over the world.  Pairing wines with good food, and vice versa, is their primary interest, as opposed to drinking wines on their own.  Like several of the members, they are constantly on the lookout for reasonably priced wines that haven’t been price inflated by media hype.