you're supporting less diversity in wine making and you're selling yourself short on variety. In Italy there are a great many varietals worth tasting.
Some will be to your liking and some not but then you will have found out for yourself instead of following some else's tastes - tastes you may
share or not, but you won't know if you don't experiment. Learning vintages, varietals and vineyards can be fun and lead you to wines you might
not ordinarily get to try because you followed some guy's tastes that may not fit yours. Food is very important for regions of wine. Wines were
produced to match the foods and flavors of the land they are found and grow on. Italy has 300 + varietals and they vary in tannins, structure and tastes. I recommend
"Vino Italiano, the regional wines of Italy". Great stuff - you can learn how the varietals pair with foods as well as why certain regions are only
allowed to use certain grapes and blending grapes.
For France, especially Southern France you can pick up books on the regions and how their foods connect with the wines. It's all very interesting
and fun.
Pairing wines with certain foods/herbs and spices is one of the really great gastronomy experiences in life. It really is. California doesn't offer this type
of experience. They just make wines - no real rhyme or reason.
Good Luck.