@talljasperman I might not be as familiar as others are here with your health issues. But if your doctor says go for it, you could certainly give it a shot!
Any place that sells wine by the glass should be able to let you try a sample first. If it’s a wine that they’re selling by the glass, the bottle is already open. They’ll usually bring you about a sip so you can see if you like it. Then if you do, you can order a full glass. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
The traditional pairing for a steak is a heavy red wine like cabernet sauvignon. But if you like sweets enough to drink an entire pitcher of pepsi, then a red wine might not be sweet enough for you.
Red wines have a chemical in them called tannins, which has a mildly astringent effect. You could kind of compare it to drinking black tea that has been steeping too long, unsweetened dark chocolate, or black coffee. Along with that, red wine usually tastes like ripe berries or jam, but not sweet.
Also a pitcher of pepsi is a really excessive amount of soda. That’s bananas!