[1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-ta...
You can find studies that say anything. I would agree that a large number of people including experts can get it wrong, on the other hand a spectrum anazlizer will prove that the make up of a wine changes as it is exposed to air and those changes is something your taste and nose can dectect.
Also I have sat a completley blind tastings and watch as some where able to ID the grape (or mix) and the region it was from.
I suggest you try it for yourself. Go buy Pinot Noir from let's say Burgundy France, CA Santa Cruz and Washington State. 2 different bottles from each area. Then take one set and taste taking care to note how they are different. Then have someone open the 2nd set from the same region and pour a taste of each. You should easily be able to pick which wine was from which region based on what you learned from the first tasting. This is no different then anything else that picks up the characteristics of the input. Grass fed beef vs corn fed for example.
I promise you if you open a 62 1st growth and let us sit for an hour and then open the same bottle and pour a glass from each I will be able to tell you which is which. Heck the color of the wine even changes a bit as it is oxidized.
Drink what you enjoy!
I have a ton of wine but still love going to Trader Joe's and buying every random bottle I have never tried and seeing how it is. Thats the fun part.
In California alone, there are over 4,000 wineries [1]. It's hard to buy genuinely bad wine here.
If you can spend ~$8/bottle and take the opportunity to sample stock from stores like TJ's, you can find delicious wines with excellent (enjoyment/$) values.
[1] https://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/statistics/article12...
We have in the last few years had the opportunity to taste and acquire some older wines from France from the 1960s. It is a completely different taste profile then anything from CA. Then need to open and sit for awhile (a few took 6 hours to really open up).
As far as cost go I think the most expense bottle I buy is around $200 (750ML). I just have never been able to justify the cost vs taste difference. Heck, one of my favorite bottles was $6 from Trader Joe's (a Chilean that they do not sell anymore).
If you live in the Bay Area I and want to try some very interesting wines that are not stupidly priced there are some great producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains area. Try one call Storrs or Silver Mountain.
For Napa - Corison or William Cole on the high end. Both can be aged for years. We had an opportunity to taste 25 years worth of Corison at a dinner and it was amazing to see how the years changed the wine.
I tried Screaming Eagle at a friends. Amazing wine, but not that that price point. But to each their own.
At the end the best wine is the one you like to drink, preferability with friends and family over a good meal.