We usually do not keep wine in the house but decided that maybe we should keep some for company...In your own opinions what is the best wine to have on hand that most people enjoy. What can we not go wrong with.
Thank you for your input as we aren't big wine drinkers but feel the need to be up to date on the selections 
(dust off that wine rack we got for our anniversary 2 years ago)
TIA
Christi
It depends on how much you want to spend, the level of alcohol content, and whether you want a red, merlot, white, chardonnay, whatever.
I happen to love wine so...
My favorite is Landmark Overlook - without question my favorite. It's about $25/ bottle and the alcohol content is relatively high. It's a chardonnay and good with darned near everything (but like I said, it's my fav). This is my "special" wine.
For grocery-type wines, my favorite brand is Kendall Jackson. It's about $13/bottle. This is a good wine imo to keep around the house. The alcohol content is average, this is my "everyday" wine.
I don't do reds. I hate merlots. I really hate white merlots (tastes like raw beef).
Now, there is a type of wine that is catching on called ice wine. It's expensive ($50 for half bottle) and let me tell you what here and now - that business is SWEET. This is definately a dessert wine, no question about it, or something good to serve with spicy food like thai. I've tried it once, but I don't think I served it in the proper glass. I'm going to try it again, but I need a really good occasion to risk it.
If you want to try something new though to keep on a shelf, there are a lot of specialty wines out there with cute names and fancy labels. I try these every now and again because I do just adore good packaging. For instance, theres an "Old Fart" label, I think there's a companion label of "Old Hag", etc.
I'd advise to go to the wine store (not the beer joint) , tell the lady (usually) what it is you're looking for, and she ought to have some good suggestions.
I dont' drink red wines, so I'm no help there. But in white wines, if you don't like dry then stay away from chablis (bleck!!!!!!!!!). I drink chardonney only....Mondavi if they have it. If they don't, I request a white chardonney from the Italian region. I had a friend who was a wine hobbyist and he gave me the "Italian region" advice on how to order wine in a restaurant.
He also said the more detailed the location on the wine bottle, the better the wine:
"From California" = cheap wine.
"From Napa Valley, CAlifornia" = better wine.
"From 123 main street, napa valley, california" = best wine of the three.
Agree with the above post on the "ice" wines. Very good wine!
I'm not a big wine drinker. I won't drink red wine (well, except for the drop at Communion every week) and there's very few white or blushes that I will drink. I love Riesling, however. And the Arbor Mist fruit flavored wines are amazing (such as blackberry merlot or the strawberry white zinfandel).
in my opinion, there is nothing like a nice dinner with the perfect bottle of wine. ( these are so few and far between since we had our daughter but great to dream about nonetheless )
anywho, for white wine, i am a big fan of sauvignon blanc. 'Bogle' is only about $10 a bottle in the store. i think its a great value for the taste.
for red, i really like pinot noir, red zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. there are so many different brands that are great.
you should check out www.wine.com. they have lists of recommended wines for different price ranges. also, if you go to the liquor store, many times you can find rated wines with a small bit of info explaining their taste and food pairings.
good luck and have fun!
There's a wine called Relax, it comes in a blue bottle and isn't very expensive I believe it's around $10 a bottle here. My husband's boss served it at a dinner last fall and almost everyone liked it, most of the people who didn't don't like wine.
Yummmm Relax is is a wonderful Riesling from Germany. I love red wines, but cannot drink them because they are huge migraine triggers for me. 
So, I stick with whites. I do like Kendall Jackson Chardonnay--a nice woody but fruity taste too. Another Chardonnay I like is Montes (from Chile). I have tried so many, but ended up trying som sweet Rieslings and got hooked on those. I don't like extremely dry wines and I also don't like spending a ton of money. There are plenty of great tasting cheaper wines. Take for instance, Peter Mertes Riesling (Germany), I can get for $4.50 a bottle and it is an excellent tasting Riesling. My top prefrences for Rieslings are Seneca Shore and Glenora. These are NY wines.
Your best bet is to walk into a liquor store and just start asking questions--you will then get asked a ton of questions, but you may end up with a few wines that you may end up really liking.
Everyone likes a Riesling (Relax is a Riesling) because it is sweet, but not too sweet. I am more of a white wine drinker, so I keep Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and White Zinfandel. My hubby likes Merlot and more dry reds.
Christi ---
I, like you, like a fruity wine. I don't like having my breath taken away with every sip!
Anyway, my all-time favorite is called Wild Vines Blackberry Merlot. It is full, rich, and very fruit flavored. The cost is $5-6 bottle for the smaller ones, and $10-15 for the large party-sized bottles. So, it is right up my alley, being a frugal gal! I have not found a bottle of Wild Vines yet that I did not like.
Otherwise, Arbor Mist's wines are always a good choice too, for us fruity girls. 
Good luck!
Angelena
I suggest Fisheye Winery's Pinot Grigio, and their Merlot isn't too bad either. Both are great for cooking, and easy on the wallet. 
Though across their entire selection Redwood Creek Winery never fails to please either.
Another that I would suggest, especially with something chocolatey is Concha y toro- Casillero del Diablo 2004 Merlot.
And to showcase my home state of Ohio, I suggest Brietenbach Winery in Amish Country.
Most of these are under 10 dollars a bottle, with exception to the Casillero del Diablo wich might be about 15.
Hope this helps!!!
Add another vote for the Rieslings! My husband and I are like you...not too into it, but have been trying to find some we like for special occasions and company. Polka Dot (in a blue bottle) was a good one...and has a name I can actually remember!
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