Snap up a Quidditch star with your chocolate treat

The times are changing fast.

Nowadays, you don't just buy a chocolate treat.

Instead you are being influenced by emarketers talking about "the blind-box boom" and the "surprise-and-delight economy".

From Squishmallow collectors to Labubu enthusiasts  to Funko Pops, blind unboxing and surprise collectibles are having a cultural moment – particularly with the folk known as Gen Z.

Apparently "the thrill of the unknown, the hunt for rare pieces, and the social media shareability of the 'big reveal' " are cementing mystery-box culture as one of retail’s fast-growing trends.

Kinder Joy is tapping into the phenomenon with a launch that blends millennial nostalgia with Gen Z’s obsession with unboxing: releasing a limited-edition Funko Harry Potter Quidditch collaboration.

Launching this month, each Kinder Joy egg contains not only the brand’s signature chocolate and wafer treat, but also one of 18 Quidditch-themed Harry Potter figurines and accessories.

Kinder Joy is teaming with pop culture and lifestyle brand, Funko, to launch this new Harry Potter Quidditch collection.

There are 18 Quidditch-themed figurines and accessories hidden inside Kinder Joy's twin-chambered eggs.

The figures represent Hogwarts’ most recognisable Quidditch characters and equipment, including a golden Harry Potter figurine; Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley adorned in Gryffindor colours and rivals Draco Malfoy and Cedric Diggory. I want a Diggory!

“Kinder Joy sparks heart-fluttering moments of discovery - like the magic of Harry’s first flight on a Nimbus 2000 - only this time, the thrill comes with a delicious chocolate treat.” says Kinder ANZ marketing manager Antony Foulet, obviously a keen fan of the fantasy world.

"We’re delighted to offer Kinder Joy fans the playful collectibles that Funko is renowned for, whilst celebrating the enchantment of the Harry Potter universe.”

Kinder Joy (RRP $3.30) is available at Coles and other leading retailers across Australia.

Find out more at www.kinder.com/au/en.

A white wine was Australia's most-cellared drop in 2024

 

Australians tend to cellar much more red wine than white, but the most collected drop in 2024 was a white: Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2021 from Margaret River.

No surprise about the producer with the most bottles collected overall this year : Penfolds. 

Australia’s largest wine storage provider, Wine Ark, has catalogued the 195,000 bottles placed in its care in 2024 to reveal the most cellared wines of the past 12 months. 

The data gives insights into the tastes, trends, and the collections of some of Australia’s most-discerning wine drinkers.

With 15 facilities across five states, Wine Ark houses over one million bottles, making it the country’s premier wine storage provider.

It reported there was a 15% increase in the number of bottles placed into storage from 2023 to 2024 and that the Barossa Valley was the region making up 23.4% of the wines submitted this year. 

It was followed by Margaret River (14.8%)

Wine Ark’s John Cuff notes that the 2024 results demonstrate a growing awareness of the ageability of Australia’s biggest white wine variety, but expressed surprise at seeing Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay crowned as the most collected wine of 2024.

“Over the years, we’ve observed a marked increase in the appetite for age-worthy chardonnay," Cuff says. "However, I fully expected a red wine to take the top spot this year. 

"There are over seven chardonnays in the Top 25 wines added in 2024 including four in the top 10.”

The results also highlighted a growing preference for boutique and family wineries. Cuff noted, “It’s been a tough year for the wine trade. It’s heartening to see that the vast majority of wines purchased and stored at Wine Ark this year were produced by smaller, family-run wineries. 

"While iconic names like Leeuwin, Giaconda, and Pierro Chardonnay dominate the Top 10, I was truly blown away to see the 2022 Savaterre Chardonnay from Beechworth rank as the 7th most cellared wine of 2024.”

TOP WINES ADDED TO CELLARS

1. Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2021, 2. Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2018, 3. Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2024, 4. Mount Mary Quintet Cabernet Blend 2022, 5. Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023, 6. Giaconda Estate Chardonnay 2022, 7. Savaterre Chardonnay 2022, 8. Pierro Chardonnay 2023, 9. Standish Lamella Shiraz 2022, 10. Lake’s Folly Shiraz Merlot Petit Verdot 2022

TOP FIVE PRODUCERS ADDED TO CELLARS

1. Penfolds, 2. Rockford, 3. Tyrrells, 4. Lake’s Folly, 5. Mount Mary

TOP FIVE VARIETALS ADDED TO THE CELLARS

1. Shiraz, 2. Chardonnay, 3. Pinot Noir, 4. Cabernet Sauvignon, 5. Cabernet blends

TOP REGIONS ADDED TO THE CELLARS

1. Barossa, 2. Margaret River, 3. Hunter Valley, 4. Yarra Valley, 5. McLaren Vale

Something different for wine lovers and collectors

Looking for something to jazz up your cellar or bar at home? 

Long-time wine industry professional Philip Meyer has just the thing. 

Meyer has collected some "wine bling" during his career, including many panel boards from wooden crates that contained highly collectible wines, including from from Bordeaux and Burgundy. 

So think Chateau Margaux, or maybe Bonneau Du Martray.

The range also includes box ends from leading wineries in Italy and Spain and prices start from $30.  

 

Meyer describes the wine box ends from around the world as "a little semi-retirement project".

Wine box ends are the original wine panels from wine crates made by high-end vineyards. They are also known as wine crate sides or wine face plates.

The ends are engraved with the winery’s logo and/or artwork and sometimes include the vintage year of the wine they housed.

Meyer says they are "perfect gifts for wine lovers, as art work, drawer fronts, a table top or wall hangings". 

Perfect, too, for anyone opening a wine bar. 

See www.boardo.com.au

One hundred wines that most of us have no chance of drinking

Here's one for wine lovers with wild ambitions and/or bulging wallets. 

The World's Leading Wine Legends, produced in association with Decanter magazine, take an in-depth look at 100 of the world's iconic bottles of wine. 

But not just the wines - the very best vintages of those wines; which range from Bordeaux to Burgundy, Madeira to South Africa. 

It is a compilation of Decanter's Wine Legends columns that ran from 2013 for almost a decade - focusing on both quality and notoriety. 

French classics are joined by wines from Tuscany and the Maipo Valley, Mendoza to the Hunter. Most were selected by then Decanter editor Amy Wislocki and written by leading wine journalist Stephen Brook. 

Strangely, of the nine Australian wines selected there is no Penfolds Grange, or Henschke Hill of Grace, unarguably our two highest-profile wines. 

Among those that make the grade: Cape Mentelle, Tyrrell's, Clonakilla and Moss Wood - so plenty of basis for debate in the contents. 

Each entry contains a full description of the selected vintage, the winemaker and the winemaking process, with tasting notes from leading experts.

So from a rare 1990 Wendouree Shiraz to an 1862 Borges Terrantez Madeira. prepare to enjoy, vicariously some wines that most of us can never hope to taste, let alone drink. 

The World's Wine Legends in association with Decanter.  Hardie Grant Books. RRP $60. Now published.