Illiterate forgers who misspelt Australia on hundreds of bottles of fake Jacob's Creek wine have sparked a warning to drinkers from Surrey County Council Trading Standards.

Twenty bottles of bogus Jacob's Creek wine were found with labels on the back claiming the drink was a 'Wine of Austrlia' – rather than Australia. They were all seized in Surrey over the past month.

The abysmal spelling gives new meaning to the phrase thick as thieves. Another sign that the cheap plonk is a smuggled counterfeit, thought to be from Asia, is that it tastes foul.

The drink has been sold for as little as £2 a bottle despite the fact Jacob's Creek usually sells for around £10. Tests of the wine have shown that it is not a health hazard but drinkers have been urged not to buy it.

Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: "Although this wine does not appear to be harmful to your health, there are no guarantees when dealing with smuggled alcohol and criminal gangs. The sale of fake alcohol funds organised crime around the world so I would urge people to keep their eyes peeled for tell-tale signs of forgeries when buying their next bottle of wine."

Steve Ruddy, from Surrey County Council Trading Standards, said: "My advice to people is to check the label on wine bottles and if you think it could be fake don't buy it. I would ask shop owners to stick to reputable suppliers and report anyone approaching them with fake alcohol to Trading Standards."