plonk (wine term)

I've usually heard it used as "cheap plonk," which may not be as much of a redundancy as I thought.

Mark Lipton

I'd read - but no way of knowing if this is accurate or not - that the word is an onomatopoeia, like a cork 'plonking' out of a bottle. I suppose it could also be the sound of the wine blooping out of a bottle as you pour it down a drain.

I have to admit, 3BC (it's $3 here in Oregon) isn't bad for the money you're spending. If for nothing but day-to-day table wine -- or for use in cooking... I once read a pretty interesting review in which a blind tasting was done, and Chuck Merlot ranked above some quite expensive competitors as voted on by the majority of tasters. :)

So ultimately, I suppose "cheap" is a relative term -- either referring to a wine 'not worth the price', or, 'an inexpensive wine', with "plonk" referring to the former of those definitions. What do y'all think?

Thanks,

David

Interesting. Thank you for the info.

I use the term for wine that is really not up to "snuff." Without going into the derivation of "snuff," let's just say, wine that is not worth the effort to consume. I have possibly/probably use the term incorrectly, but when I mention that wine is "plonk," it means that it is not fit for consumption by a person, who knows better.

Thanks, Hunt

There's a term, "plink plonk", which is a facetious military term for white wine, and "plink" is a shortened form of that.

If it's any good at all. When we got married (my wife and I, not you and I ) we were fond of French Columbard. We have expanded our palate and appreciation of wines; I wonder what that wine would taste like to me now. Where is it that "3BC" is bought? (It's a store with Charlie in the name, or something like that)

I did recently have a chance to taste some wine that was touted by a pilot friend of mine; it was (imho) undrinkable, but he thought it was excellent for the price - he got it for $2.99 at Costco. I don't remember the wine, and I'm thankful for that.

I think of "cheap" as dergatory ("inexpensive for a reason"), and "inexpensive" as a neutral term.

Jose

"Dave" wrote -

Quite accurate: As an old antipodean joke goes "To make (cheap) wine, you just throw grapes into the air, and they come down "plonk!"

However, the expression is from Australian rhyming slang (a carry over from convicts Cockney rhyming slang) "plonk" short for earlier "plink-plonk", a corruption of French "vin blanc" which became "ving blong: (adopted by Australian & New Zealand troops who fought in France in the 1914-18 Great War).

It was in common usage in both countries from the 1930s - "Waltzing Matilda" A fortified red wine of the kind that inebriates with speed and economy is 'pinky' or 'plonk'.

In NZ 1949 "Rows of gaudily-labelled bottles of local 'plonk' stacked on shelves behind the bar."

And for those who may have read Neville Shute's book "A town called Alice" (1950) - "He asked me if I would drink tea or beer or plonk. 'Plonk?' I asked. 'Red wine,' he said."

Actually, this link tells it all

I'd say plonk any wine that is not worth referring to by name. So it IS synonymous with wine in many circumstances. But it would not be used for anythg the speaker considers to be special. (I'm British BTW)

I'd add that I think the term is going out of use now, though journalists seem to have latched onto it - seems they think it is a lot more fun to talk about plonk than wine.

Here in the Boston, USA area, The Boston Globe newspaper runs a monthly column called "Plonk" that discuss inexpensive wines available in the area, which are bargains according to the author.

Neil

We refer to it as weasel piss here.

two buck chuck is really good. I would not call it plonk. Trader Joe's sells it. It's really drinkable. As far as the word plonk - I can't comment, but I have drank a few "two buck chuck's" and think it is really good. Not bad wine in my mind or mouth.