Began a lifelong interest in wine in 1974 (due mostly to Karen, who had a huge positive impact on my life in many other ways as well), while recovering from a motorcycle accident.  Went to most French wine regions (except Bordeaux, unfortunately) in the 1974 Europe trip.  Have been many times to Napa, Sonoma, and the South of S.F. winery areas.
    For almost a decade, beginning in the late '70's, I taught a wine appreciation/tasting course once or twice a week in Boulder (first at the Boulder Free School, later out of my home).  The course was called "Wine Taste and Talk," and the theme was to drink better for less.  My professed goal was to find a wine that each course participant would like *better* than what they were currently drinking, but that cost half as much.  Usually, this was possible.  We drank everything blind-bagged from the beginning (show an expensive label and the temptation is just too great to find something good about the wine--even when it's not there!).
    I am convinced that the world's best wines come from the U.S. now, though there is much to recommend in many other places.  The good French wines are too expensive and the inexpensive ones are often unclean.  The hot places to look for bargains are Australia (making wines akin to those made in the U.S. in the '70s and early '80s, plus their interesting Shiraz and Shiraz-blend wines) and Chile (just beginning to burst on the scene in a big way...always worth trying).  It is not practical to attempt to list specific value-priced wines here (because they keep changing), but when you find one you like check out the next vintage, too.  Be absolutely certain to e-mail me about any really high quality bargains you taste!  :)  I'm moving up a bit in price to get yet higher quality bargains, but would naturally prefer to pay less--as we say in economics, it's "marginal utility per dollar" that matters!
    I don't "collect" wine (what a bizarre concept!...like collecting pasta).  But I do like a little age on the reds and a fair amount of variety; as a consequence, I was once up to around 2,500 bottles.  I have now downsized, in part because I live in a smaller place and in part because I am finding that I like my wine younger than I used to think that I did.  The vast majority of my wines are red.  Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are my favorites and most of the fads away from them (e.g. most sauvignon blanc, most merlot, etc.) are just that.
    Wine is part of a pleasant, healthy life and has been for millennia.  I'm not sure who said it first, but a day without wine is like a day without sunshine.  And, of course, life is too short to drink bad wine...a votre sante!