Red vs. White

There is a sort of "one or the other" attitude about red and white wine. Up until a year ago, I was a red wine drinker. Then I read this fabulous book called What to Drink With What You Eat and noticed one sommelier point out that it drove him crazy when people refused to drink white wine. Now just because this guy says so doesn't mean you have to start drinking it. My point is that this particular statement sort of broke me from thinking that I was bound by loyalty to the red grape. So I experiemented. And I found that in the at the time in Georgia heat, a cool white wine became very welcome. On the whole, I still generally prefer red, but it depends on my mood and what I am eating.
Typically I like to pair my food, but I will talk about that later. More importantly, it's about what you like. If you are eating shrimp scampi for dinner and you want to drink Cabernet, then do it. The wine police won't arrest you. But I will say that a nice Sauvignon Blanc might be worth a taste in that case. If you are already a white drinker, you may find that your Chardonnay is hard to taste next a big heavy steak. But that doesn't mean it's less refreshing.
White wine drinkers are in luck for price points, because you can drink rather cheaply. I personaly have to speand more on white than on red before I like it. I'm not entirely sure why this is, I find value reds more complex and satisfying than value whites I suppose. But of course, there are some winners in the white department that I love. Oregon Pinot Gris are usually wonderful, as well as dry German Reislings from Mosel or Chilean Savignon Blanc from Casablanca Valley.
And let's not forget the bubbly. Sparkling is absolutely my favorite, and it will justly recieve it's own blog in the future. All in all, I have found there is a time, mood and meal for just about any wine, but of course personal preference will always come into play. So two things really: drink what you like, but at the same time stay mindful that what you think you don't like may be keeping you from an ethereal experience.