Plonk is a non-specific and often derogatory term used primarily in British and Australian English for wine. It is believed to come from Australian slang, in reference to blanc (the French word for "white"), before it became naturalised in Britain. Despite the reference to the colour white, the term is not limited to white wine, and can as easily indicate a red wine or rosé. In this context, the phrase has even spawned the title of a novel which evokes the perceived tackiness of the 1980s. The word is perhaps influenced by another meaning of plonk - the sound as of something being set down heavily, in this case a glass bottle. The latter word is perhaps influenced by the onomatopoeic plunk. The idea that the sound of a cork coming out of a wine bottle has played its part too cannot be discounted.
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