Wine Industry
Comedy
More Than A Good Drop
In The Tourism Ocean
By Candace Keller
S
outh Australia and its iconic
wine regions star in the
second season of satirical
comedy Plonk, heralding a
new frontier of tourism.
The Plonk series takes an off-kilter
look at the South Australia wine
industry that is “part comedy
narrative, part documentary”. The
mockumentary follows the many
misadventures of a film crew who
are making a wine show – but the
true star is the burgeoning wine
and hospitality industry of
Australia’s south.
After a successful first season set in
New South Wales, the famous wine
regions South Australia were a
natural choice the series’ follow-up
foray. But Plonk’s creator, Nathan
Earl, says that in many ways South
Australia was always the prime pick.
“South Australia was on our radar
from the very beginning,” Earl said.
“It is the Ground Zero for wine in
Australia, it has the largest amount
of wine regions.”
Earl – who also co-writes and stars
in the show – pitched the idea with
co-stars Chris Taylor and Joshua
Tyler to the South Australian
Tourism Commission (SATC) in
October last year. But - Earl said it was a reasonably simple sell.
“The SATC knew the story and
understood the humour and the
audience we are trying to reach,”
Earl said. “The SATC is also well
known for being risk takers and for
being a little bit edgy... coming off
the Barossa’s ‘Be Consumed’
television advert, perhaps they
thought the beautiful, elegant,
art-directed piece was done.
“What’s the harm to try something
a little more subversive?”
Screen Australia, the SATC, the SA
Film Corporation and Wine Selectors
sponsor the second season of the
web series.
South Australia Tourism Minister
Leon Bignell said Plonk was an
organic fit for the state’s wine
regions: Barossa, Clare, Adelaide
Hills, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.
“The show is quirky, irreverent and
creative and plays beautifully to
South Australia’s strengths,” he said.
“It was only fitting for Plonk to film
in our state and shine the spotlight
on our inspiring wine stories.”
The series will premiere exclusively
on STAN, a digital streaming service,
in June.
The production schedule was a tight
squeeze. There were 44 filming days
across South Australia’s five wine
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