Ten years ago, Aussie and Kiwi wine were great bargains and I bought a lot of it. It's still pretty reasonable, but as its popularity has increased, so has the price. Same with Chilean and Argentinian wine - price has gone up a lot.
I still head to the U.S. wine displays first, CA, WA, OR. Haven't bought French wine in years.
I'm not super picky and rarely spend over $10/bottle except for a special occasion.
On a wine tour I once asked what makes a good wine. The tour guide responded with "The one you like." I've had some highly rated wines that tasted nasty and some lower rated wine that was absolutely yummy. I keep track in a wine log with my own rating system. I can never taste all the things that other can taste in a wine. I simply go by; Do like it? and rate it -2 (tastes like kerosine) to +2 (so good I think about the next day). It's a cheesy system but it keeps me from buying a nasty wine a second time.