How'd you hear about that wine?

If you're not an aficionado, a vintner, enrolled in a class in wine-making at UC Davis, you probably heard about a particular wine by accident.
Oh, maybe you picked something up at Safeway on a whim.  Or maybe you got  a gift from a friend and have replicated that gift now and then. 
But the most likely place to hear about a wine is from an elightened bartender who knows just enough to be dangerous, or while sharing a glass after hours with a pal. In the first case, you are headed down an alley built by wine distributors who know that women prefer chards over reds, and most guys like cabernet or syrah.
So you're just a mutt in the market.   Yeah, you might be a self-taught connoisseur, but that's a pricey way to go, since you'd need to taste hundreds of wines before you had any serious confidence about your own taste.  
 So most of us stick with 6-10 wines we know we enjoy, along with the usual crowd of appetizers (a little crostini, a cheese plate, or some combination of crackers and cold cuts).   
 How can we expand that horizon?  A trip to St. Helena doesn't hurt.  In a day or two we can sample two dozen wines, sometimes paying a tasting fee that's refunded if we buy a bottle.  Or we can visit a local wine bar, or set up a tasting with friends, each of us bringing a bottle.  
 My own method is to cruise the wine aisle at a decent shop. I look for red wines (we don't drink much white in our house).   I stick with cabernet, syrah, Malbec, pinot noir, or a blend of cab and merlot.  I also like bold Tuscans, barolos, Nebbiolos, and Montpulcianos.   
  I stay at the pricepoint (under $21) my budget can handle.   I belong to a couple of wine clubs but often reject the quarterly shipment.   I scan the new stuff at Costco to see if anything appealing has come into range.  Last month I picked a new wine because the guy unpacking the cases at Costco said casually, "Have you tried this one yet?"
  He pointed to a row of reds:  the centerpiece was a WALTER CLORE Columbia Valley Red (from Columbia Crest Vineyards)  I said I never heard of it.  "Supposed to be one of the best wines in the world," he said.   He could not verify.  He was merely repeating what he heard in the warehouse.   I weighed the matter briefly. 
He was not posing as an expert.  He had no idea how it tasted.  He did not know my preferences or my pricepoint.  I considered the possibility tha the was either a stooge for Costco or even a secret agent for the winery.  Taking his advice would be like taking the advice of a movie usher on which movie to watch.   Or buying a car because the neighbor had one and liked it.   So I did it.   As much as any other informal measure, hearsay is often a reliable path to enlightenment.  If humble monks can teach us humility, why can't a warehouse guy lead us to some worthy contender.   Besides, I figured if Jeff Brotman (Costco CEO) and his crew were willing to stock it, they have done some homework.  I buy my shirts there.  Why not a bottle of wine?   
  I tasted it last night.  I liked it pretty well. It's a lightweight, not a knockout.  Doing some Internet homework I learn it is a blend of 66% merlot and cab. NW Winepress says, "Firm in texture, ..remarkably graceful and harmonious, on the lighter side for a Cabernet-based wine, offering peppery blackberry accents."    Robert Parker adds:  "aged for 30 months in new French oak. It exhibits notes of pain grille, pencil lead, damp earth, herbs, and balsamic."  The winemaker's notes say: "A classic Bordeaux-style winemaking protocol enhances the aromatics of slight spice, earth, coconut, and chocolate in this red blend." 
That explains why I'm not knocked out...it's pleasant, but not husky enough for my palate.   A more useful comment is one from a private party whose comment online suggests that Columbia Crest private reserve wines are invariably "brilliant."  Since most of them cost more than $30 I may never verify that opinion.  And the vintage I bought might wake up a little by 2014, so I'll try it again that year.
  Would I give Walter Clore as a gift?  Sure...if I knew the recipient likes her wines a little less bold, a little more fruit forward.   That's a good enough reason to venture from the box canyon of my usual preferences.