Remember... what's the word? THUNDERBIRD! What's the price? Fifty twice!
-hic!-
Honestly, I wouldn't touch that cheap nasty 'plonk' (what Aussies call their wines colloquially) with a 20-foot pole! Same stuff goes with MD 20/20 (hangover of the century) Boone's Farm, Wild Irish Rose, Ripple and 'Eifel Diesel!' (The local 'grappa' distilled from the pressings of German Moselle grapes -- pretty f*ckin' potent!)
I tend to like the German wines, having spent two years in Germany getting wasted on the local beer, wine and bratwurst!
German wines are not too expensive, though they're mostly white wines (it's extremely rare to see a German red wine). They also have one of the most convoluted and complicated labeling regulations that will thoroughly confuse the novice German wine drinker.
There are two major wine-growing regions: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (identified by long, tapered green wine bottles) and Rheinhessen (identified by brown glass wine bottles closer to what's seen in America). I won't bore you all with the details as far as the labeling is concerned, so check out this website:
http://www.germanwine.de/english/ .
My usuals are Zeller Schwarze Katz (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) and when I can afford it (and that's rarely), the 'Bernkasteler Doktor.' (The Cadillac of Moselle wines -- hard to get, since it's only grown in one vineyard in the town of Bernkastel that was once owned by the town doctor, hence the name 'Doktor'. Depending on the grading, a good vintage can cost well over $50 a bottle or more.)