I learned to appreciate wines only after I moved to a wine producing country (Portugal). I cook once a week for my girlfriend and try to choose a different wine each time. After a few years you learn a bit, which ones you like and dislike, and how different wines are. It's a lot of fun. There is nothing fake about it.
The "fake" part is the idea that wines are objectively better than each other. Afficianados can invent their own standards, and that's fine, but those standards don't need to apply to people who simply want to enjoy wine.
What muddies the water is that wine has an association with aristocracy that has never been had with Coke and Pepsi, or pizza with pineapple vs no pineapple.
Sure, wine is more complex than many other tastes, but so is beer, and beer has mostly been considered a blue collar affair, historically speaking.
Everyone is right and wrong at the same time. All wine is good and all wine sucks. Any given bottle will be a hit or miss, regardless of price. With price, you may be getting a more rare varietal, but that doesn't mean your friends will appreciate it.
A given wine needs to target its audience. Are your friends adventurous? Then you might actually consider sharing that bottle of Sagrantino, as they may appreciate the experience even if they don't like it that much. But if their tastes are generally more... conventional, then just go with that $9 Cabernet Sauvingnon from Trader Joes that can't offend anybody. Do you have wine snob friends who you want to make jealous? Then the $300 bottle of whatever is right for you, as you'll not only be able to gloat but perhaps spend less as you have an excuse not to crack it open until it "peaks" some time in the next century.
There is nothing fake about that either. You don't have to pass a blind test, you usually see the wine. It's the same with food - the presentation counts, too. Or with almost any kind of luxury good. Almost any brand is more expensive than "no name" products even though the production costs are the same.
Of course, people can be against luxury goods but the point is they're not getting it. People pay for brand and prestige, including some wine affiocionados (though not me). That's perfectly normal for luxury markets.
By the way, beer is way less complex than wine. It's not even remotely comparable, primarily because beers are "designed" by professional brewers for specific target markets. You can't do that as easily with wine, it depends more on the grapes, weather, and location.
