Grapes of Mirth was conceived in 2017 from a simple idea: combining comedy with wine. Since then, the Adelaide-based business has hosted two festivals and dozens of outdoor comedy shows at wineries around the country.

Grapes of Mirth consists of head clown Merrick Watts, “behind-the-scenes guy” Jason Nikolas, festival director Rowan Smith, content producer Saige Prime and local DJ Pedro Moshman.

CityMag spoke to Jason about their 2025 drop.

CM: How did you get involved in Grapes of Mirth?

I was working in the wine industry at S.C. Pannell Wines in McLaren Vale.

Merrick Watts was one of our number one customers. He loved calling up and having a chat about wine and I sort of said, “We’re doing this music festival, would you like to come as a VIP guest”.

Obviously, everyone had a great time – it was a sold-out event – I think it was maybe a week or two after that he rang to place an order and he said, “I’ve always wanted to do comedy in a winery”, and I said, “This is your favourite winery, you should do it here”.

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We didn’t really know what we were doing at the time… comedy had never really been done in an outdoor fashion like that before, especially when you’re exposed to the elements.

Why does the pairing of wineries and comedy work so well?

I think it’s a great pairing when you’re put into that environment where you’re surrounded by vineyards and the sun’s shining. I think it’s a very different way to appreciate and enjoy comedy. Obviously, after a couple of glasses of wine, everything feels and probably appears a bit funnier.

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There are breaks throughout the day, they can go to the bar, get a bottle of wine, put their picnic rug out and there’s no rush.

(L–R) Jason Nikolas, Merrick Watts and Rowan Smith.

Is this a unique format or are there others like it?

No, is the short answer, which is why we’ve seen some more outdoor comedy introduced since we started.

It’s such a nice experience to be able to go to a place like Orange in New South Wales and sell out an event… you feel like you’ve helped bring Orange or whichever wine region to people’s attention.

Is the comedy or the winery element more important?

Ultimately people buy the tickets for the comedy because that’s what resonates with them initially, but we’re hoping to flip that.

I think people are surprised that maybe they used to drink Sauvignon Blanc and all of a sudden there’s Valentino that they drink and they’re like, well, this is not too dissimilar, but I actually prefer it.

Do you showcase any specific wineries or labels?

For events, we look for partners that firstly, they’ve got to have a beautiful site. The fact that we can take comedians and give them an experience after the show means a lot.

We’ve worked with everyone from small producers to Brown Brothers in the King Valley. There are plenty of examples of smaller producers that we’ve gone to just because they’re good people, they get what we’re trying to do, and they’re open to working with us, and they’re good to work with.

Do you have any favourite comedians?

I do and this is based on not so much the comedy – they’re all great comedians – but the personality. Someone such as Dave Thornton, Tommy Little and even Rove McManus.

For the Adelaide Fringe, The Grapes of Mirth have moved from the vineyards into The Spiegeltent in The Garden of Unearthly Delights to present Merrick Watts – An Idiot’s Guide to Wine until March 10.

This article first appeared in The Festivals edition of CityMag, which is on the streets now.