Haha, indeed. I studied abroad in Italy, and one of my classes was a history and culture of food class, which included a day of wine tasting. I remember the "culture" part of that lesson was that Americans like their crazy expensive wine, simply because it is expensive, and fancy. Whereas Italy it is more generic, red or white, sweet or dry. Some go with red meat, others with fish. You go to the risterante, and pretty much get red or white "table wine", no expensive wine list or anything of the sort. The culture was not expensive fancy wine, just a good taste to compliment the flavors in your meal.
Now, I've put down a good bit of wine in my time, but nothing quite hits the sport for me like an $8 bottle of Chianti. I can tell a difference in brands too, and have my favorites, but the price per bottle for a great wine never seems to need to go above $10.