Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2026
A fast, funny, and fizzy ride through the myths, marketing, and madness of Champagne.
Five sparkling suspects. One recovering marketing executive. Zero pretension.
~55 seats per show. Selling fast.
The Show
You sit down. Over the next 55 minutes, five glasses appear in front of you, as your host Prétentieux Branleur de Vin — recovering marketing executive and serious champagne nerd — takes you on a blind tasting through the world's most brilliantly marketed grape juice.
What's actually in the bottle? What's pure myth? And why does an $18 Prosecco sometimes beat a $180 Champagne in a blind taste? The answers are funnier — and more alarming — than you'd expect.
The Brut Truth is comedy for people who love wine, wine education for people who love comedy, and a gentle dismantling of 27 years of marketing instincts for anyone who's ever been upsold by an intoxicating story.
The Format
Blind tasting. No labels. No snobbery. All bubbles.
Suspect A
Suspect B
Suspect C
Suspect D
Suspect E
Which one's the 'real deal'? Which one's been lying to you? You'll find out — after you've already formed your own opinion.
I spent 27 years helping companies sell stories. Champagne is the greatest story ever sold. And the profits are frothy. It's time someone told the truth about it — ideally with a drink in hand.
— Prétentieux Branleur de Vin, The Brut Truth
Show Dates
28 March – 19 April · Two venues · 14 shows
About Prétentieux Branleur de Vin
Prétentieux Branleur de Vin is a Melbourne-born lad, raised by two rather sozzled francophiles.
He spent 27 years as an international marketing consultant in the IT industry — helping companies sell stories, shape perceptions, and charge more than their product might otherwise justify.
He also collects wine. A lot of it. According to his partner, too much.
The intersection of those two worlds — premium wine marketing and the willingness of otherwise rational people to pay for a brand — is where The Brut Truth was born.
"I thought: someone should make a show about this. Then I realised I was the someone."
Media & Press
Complimentary review tickets are available for accredited media. We're also happy to arrange interviews, preview access, and photo opportunities. Press kit available on request.
