When thinking of luxury, and the creation of luxurious items on a global scale, most peoples’ minds wouldn’t immediately wander to the nations of Hungary or Australia. People would tend to think of Monaco, New York City, Dubai, and even London, but Hungary and Australia are most certainly offering up their own slice of luxury, surprisingly in very similar ways.
There are two ways to look at opulent offerings: one being as a passage into luxury, and the other being products created and sold to those living the desired life, already fully immersed in the lifestyle.
As it turns out, Hungary and Australia are becoming renowned for their abilities to provide affluent products in their own way, to those of us who may not have access to ‘traditional’ material prosperity.
The gateway into luxury
People all over the world in every single country aspire to achieve a life of luxury in one way or another, which is why businesses and national institutions offer ways in which we can achieve such a feat. In Hungary, the big slugger is, of course, Ötöslottó. The massive national lottery is a renowned millionaire-maker, recently exceeding a jackpot of HUF3.6 billion (€11.4 million). Ötöslottó’s own record stands at a whopping HUF5.2 billion (€16.5 million), set in 2003.
In Australia, the method is rather similar, but the activity is very different from selecting the right combination of five balls from 90. In Australia, it’s all about big pokie wins. In 2013, a mobile player won HUF193.8 million (AU$943,971) and, on a progressive pokie, another Aussie won HUF71.9 million (AU$350,000).
Both countries have their own way of doing it, but Hungary and Australia both offer ways for people to get lucky and slide into a life of luxury – if they happen to play the right games at the right times. With more natives moving into the luxurious bracket, there are more potential customers for the finer products available in the country.
Competing as top luxury winemakers
Fine wine has long been considered atop the shopping list for those living in luxury.
Many think of French, Italian, or even Argentinean wines when considering a fine wine to pick-up, but Hungary and Australia are right at the top of luxury winemaking right now.
Here in Hungary, winemakers, Royal Tokaji, created the exquisite, limited edition Essencia 2008 decanter, which just so happens to sell for HUF12 million (US$40,000). As you would assume, the makers say that their fine wine, which comes in a superb twisted glass bottle, is worth every last Forint.
In 2018, Australian winemakers Penfolds Grange managed to ship a bottle of their 1951 fine wine for a cool HUF12.3 million (AU$60,000 ).
While the Aussie win sold for more than the Hungarian wine by a few hundred thousand Forint, it was deliberately sold at auction for a first and only bid of $60,000 to break the 2017 Aussie wine sale record by HUF2.7 million ($8,999), which was also set by Penfolds Grange.
Both Hungary and Australia are evidently successfully breaking into the global luxury markets, both within the borders for their residents as well as in the fine wine market.
