the only truly rotten bottle of wine I ever turned back at a restaurant was lindemans.
the cork fell apart in my hand, and it smelled of barnyard.
I had a cracked cork from them too. I just put it down to the cheapness I was going for.
as far as australia goes, I would recommend anything rosemount bottles.
Noted, and thanks. I'm not above asking for help from folks who know their stuff.
If I were to guess the frequency with with I get wine from any given region/nationality then so far my preference has been, in order:
Italy
California
Australia
France
Chile
other U.S. wines (local stuff mostly)
I'm open to trying anything from anywhere, especially when someone else is buying. I even had a really (really, really) good white wine a few months ago that I would give my pinky toe to remember what it was, LOL.