Latest news with #Bin
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Weekend wine guide: Villa Maria's stellar Cellar Selection
The Cellar Selection offers a magnetic combination of quality and value. Photo / Getty Images Michael Cooper has 45 wine books and several literary awards to his credit. In the 2004 New Year Honours, Michael was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. With their familiar gold labels, Villa Maria's widely available, mid-priced Cellar Selection wines have for decades offered a magnetic combination of quality and value. The company's ownership changed nearly four years ago, and 2022 and 2023 were both tricky vintages in Hawke's Bay. Are the wines still delivering great value? Priced above Villa Maria's Private Bin range, which despite the name is made in huge volumes, and below the top-tier Reserve and Single Vineyard wines, the Cellar Selection white wines retail in the $16-$20 range and the reds at slightly more than $20. At those prices, they are well worth buying. Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Gris 2024 ★★★★ Bargain-priced, this vigorous, slightly off-dry wine was grown in the Awatere Valley. Full-bodied, it has generous peach and pear flavours, slightly spicy notes and fresh acidity, with a sliver of sweetness that gives easy-drinking charm. Already drinking well, it should be at its best mid-2026+. (13.5% alc/vol) $16-$20 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2023 ★★★½ From a wet growing season, this full-bodied, smooth wine was fermented and lees-aged in stainless steel tanks and oak barriques. Bright, light lemon/green, with a slightly creamy bouquet, it is dry, with lively, peachy, gently toasty flavours, woven with fresh acidity and considerable complexity. (13.5% alc/vol) $16-$20 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé 2024 ★★★★ This bright, pale pink wine is fresh, light-bodied and very lively, with delicate strawberry and watermelon flavours, crisp and basically dry. Full of youthful drive, it's currently delicious. (12.5% alc/vol) $16-$20 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawke's Bay Syrah 2022 ★★★★ This youthful, graceful red delivers good value. Full-coloured, it is a fragrant medium-to-full-bodied wine with very good depth of vibrant plum and black pepper flavours, a distinct touch of complexity and a smooth, harmonious, lingering finish. (12.5% alc/vol) $20-$22 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir 2023 ★★★½ Priced right, this ruby-hued red was aged in French oak barriques. Mouthfilling and supple, it is still youthful, with fresh, lively cherry, plum and spice flavours, savoury notes adding complexity and very good depth, vigour and harmony. (13.5% alc/vol) $22-$26 Wine of the week: Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 ★★★★ This great-value, strongly varietal wine was fermented and lees-aged in tanks. Bright, light lemon/green, it is highly aromatic, vibrant and tangy. Balancing ripe, passionfruit-like flavours with green capsicum-evoking notes, it shows very good vigour and intensity. (12.5% alc/vol) $16-$20
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
How the papal conclave, for all its sacred mysteries, became a meme
The newfound, secular-leaning interest was fomented by the well-timed, October premiere of 'Conclave,' starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci – a cherry on top of other cinematic portrayals of the papacy that captured audiences in the years of Pope Francis, including television drama 'The Young Pope' starring Jude Law and Diane Keaton, which premiered in 2016, and biographical drama 'The Two Popes,' released in 2019. 'The Young Pope,' in particular, cultivated a fascination with the pope's wardrobe and the material culture of the papacy. When photos of the actual conclave in the Sistine Chapel emerged, they prompted a popular reaction: 'OH MY GOD JUST LIKE IN CONCLAVE (2024)' The account Pope Crave on X – its name a play on the pop culture news account Pop Crave – has been posting nonstop about the conclave since early this year, starting as a fan art and meme page celebrating 'Conclave' the film. It quickly morphed, after the death of Francis in April, into something of a fan page for the actual conclave process and real-life cardinals. The account began posting less about Tucci and more about Zuppi, the real-life archbishop of Bologna, Italy, who was among those seen as a contender for the papacy. By the day of the conclave, the account became something of an actual live news feed about the process to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church. By the conclave's end, the account had nearly 100,000 followers. Susan Bin, a 30-year-old artist in Dallas who is the lead administrator of Pope Crave, is not Catholic but was exposed to the church and its rituals in an academic sense by studying early Christian art and papal sarcophagi. Bin created the account after watching 'Conclave,' to post fan art and discuss the movie. She also started and co-edited a 'Conclave' fan zine for charity, with art inspired by the movie from dozens of artists. The account took on a life of its own. That so many people have a fascination with the conclave makes sense: it's a rare event steeped in ritual, spectacle and secrecy. 'It's the profane and the sacred; it's political but it's spiritual. It in itself is a spectacle,' Bin said. It's also totally closed-off, so quite literally, 'the only way we can participate is by memeing,' she said. 'The juxtaposition is extreme,' Bin said of the memeification of such a solemn, religious institution. But in terms of aesthetics and iconography, intrigue around the Catholic church is not so far-fetched, she said. 'Didn't Catholicism invent photo cards? Isn't Catholicism itself such an interesting nontraditional depiction of masculinity – a display of pageantry.' Footage of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, another social media favourite, and fellow Filipino cardinals walking down a cobblestone path, was set to the background music of Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise': 'As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …' Another video shared on X superimposes lyrics to Charli XCX's 'Brat' lead single over clips of Zuppi. Making and circulating memes about this odd process allows young people to 'connect with something esoteric and arcane in a way that feels safe, funny and creative,' said Michael Budde, a professor of Catholic studies and political science at DePaul University. Budde has noticed that very few of the memes are anti-Catholic or anti-religious, which he suspects is due 'to the love and respect Pope Francis engendered during his time as pope,' he said. 'Many young people found his humility, his humour, and his deep love of the poor and vulnerable at odds with stereotypes of Catholic clergy.' For all the silliness of the memes, Pope Crave was coming from a place of sincerity and community, and wanting to bring levity and lightness, Bin said. 'Pope Francis was a huge believer that an institution that's as heavy and dogmatic as the church needed lightness,' she said.
Express Tribune
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Pope Crave: Meme account inspired by ‘Conclave' goes viral during real papal election
As the world awaited the announcement of the new pope, one unlikely source delivered the news ahead of the Vatican's official channels—a meme account dedicated to the 2024 film Conclave. Created by Dallas-based artist Susan Bin, the account @ClubConcrave has become a viral hub for memes and live updates from Vatican City. Launched in 2024 following Bin's fascination with the film adaptation of Robert Harris's novel, the account built a niche community through humorous content and fan art. The platform, also known as Pope Crave, parodied pop culture news pages while focusing on all things papal. During the real 2025 conclave, it surged in popularity after sharing a meme-filled post about the white smoke moments before the Vatican made its official announcement. Speaking to New York Times Bin said, 'I am currently physically not in the Vatican, but metaphysically I am always in the Vatican and in their walls.' The account's popularity grew organically from fan interest, particularly after the film gained traction in Asian markets post-Oscars. A Discord server and a charity zine followed, establishing a global network of contributors, some of whom Bin claims are stationed within Vatican City. The account, which blends sincere curiosity with satire, has received little negative feedback. Bin added, 'It comes from a place of sincerity and humor… I think Pope Francis would enjoy these memes.'
Evening Standard
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Conclave updates on TikTok? How Gen Z went wild for the papal conclave
The popularity of Conclave, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won the BAFTA for Best Film, has given many people a more informed view of the conclave process. On top of this, Bin and Caballero believe Gen Z's love of the papacy selection process is due to the current state of internet culture. 'Naturally, people are fascinated with the process,' Bin says. 'What's different now is the meme-ing of it. The last time we saw a conclave, we didn't have same kind of internet space.'
Time Magazine
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
How Pope Crave Got From
What started as a bit has turned into something altogether holy. In December 2024, artist Susan Bin co-founded Pope Crave, an X fan account dedicated to Conclave, the 2024 film starring Ralph Fiennes, and its lovingly memed awards-season run. Parodying celebrity news accounts like Pop Crave or Pop Base, Pope Crave focuses exclusively on Conclave updates, including must-see memes. Or at least it did. Now the account—which has more than 60,000 followers—is posting actual updates on the papal vacancy, and even is working with ad hoc correspondents on the ground in Rome. Adrianna McCain just happened to be in Rome with her family the day before the conclave commenced on May 7, and 'jumped at the opportunity' to help out one of her favorite accounts. She wrote to the account, offering up her services to perform a special report 'vibe check' on the ground. McCain, who was raised Catholic but no longer practices, took photos outside of Saint Peter's Basilica and asked a few locals about how busy the city would get. McCain is not a journalist, just a 'very online stand-up comedian' and fan of Pope Crave. Still, she managed to do some light reporting from Vatican City. 'I also took note of how many 'real' journalists were present. Answer: Tons,' she tells TIME via X direct message. McCain considers Conclave to be one of her top three films of last year and calls the tense thriller 'hopeful.' She says she argued with friends over whether the ending was too much of a fantasy, asking: 'Why can't we have an institution that practices what it preaches and leads with love and acceptance?' It's this very message that first mobilized Bin to launch the account and also publish a Conclave zine, which Bin says was a 'snapshot of the fandom' from November. The account has surged by tens of thousands of followers since. 'We are a worldwide force, a global force,' says Bin. 'There's obviously a whole group of people who love Conclave and memes and who are of varying religious backgrounds—from practicing Catholics, to people who are relapsed and maybe engaging with the faith again because of the film, or people like me, who are Buddhists, and not even Catholic at all,' Bin tells TIME in a recent interview over Zoom. The account and the community that has cropped up around it—including a Discord server—speak to that 'international, diverse group.' McCain calls the account a 'no brainer' to follow. Plus, it's fun. The memes hit. A conclave is already theatrical, from the ornate garb to the secrets and seclusion; Pope Crave simply matches that energy. TIME: Who is behind the Pope Crave account? How many admins? How many correspondents? Susan Bin: I'm the lead admin behind Pope Crave. I'm the one with the password. There's another admin who helped co-edit the zine that we worked on. She works in queer ministry. She also is an international human rights attorney, so that's why she doesn't want to be publicly associated with cardinal memes. But she's the person who actually knows cardinals at the conclave. I'm an artist. I work in film and TV. I have a background in Catholicism. I'm not Catholic. My background is more from an art historian and archeological perspective. When I was in college, I studied Greek Myths on Roman Sarcophagi (with Professor Ruth Bielfeldt), and followed that trajectory to visual iconography of these narratives on Early Christian sarcophagi with a focus on Papal Sarcophagi (repurposing Greek Myths as Christian myths). Under Professor Christine Smith, I looked into the recordkeeping of the original placements of the Papal tombs from Old St. Peters to New St. Peters. So who is in Rome? How quickly did all of this come together? This account existed pre-Oscars. December, I think, is when we made the account. And we've been kind of memeing along during the For Your Consideration campaign for the film. But there was a very serious conversation between me and the co-admin about Pope Francis' health, and the possibility of a real conclave happening. And so we asked, 'Hey, if the conclave happens, are we going to go to Rome? Are we going to fly to Rome?' We were going to pull the trigger if it happened during award season, but it happened during Easter Monday, at a time when both me and her are extremely employed. So we couldn't physically go. But there are two very enthusiastic members of our little Pope Crave Discord who were in Italy, but they're not based in Rome. Other members of Conclave Hive reached out and were like, 'Hey, I'm going to be in the Vatican. Do you want me to be the local correspondent?' And I was like, 'Gates wide open, come on in.' We don't have official press credentials, but we are very determined people. That's incredible. So who's in this Discord? Tell me about the Discord. The discord is probably around 200 members. We started it around Thanksgiving, when Conclave had its wider release beyond the U.S. And so originally this Twitter account, which I know is like sh-tposts and memes for Conclave, started to promote this charity zine project we did, which is fan-organized essays, writings, art, fan art, by over 50 contributors. And it's all over the world. We have Indonesians, Filipinos, obviously Americans. But that's why we have Italians in there. We have everyone who found their way into Conclave and was abnormal about it in some way. That's kind of the nexus of the Discord. We sh-tpost, we post our insider info there, we pull memes from the Discord—I call it a meme incubator. We'll do watch parties. When Pope Francis died, there was a huge resurgence on the Discord. People checked in, they were like, 'This is the first thing that I checked.' So it's just our little community, a little bubble. The pivot to me was natural. When we started with the whole Oscar thing and with Conclave, people still wanted to learn about conclave and its actual practice. I had that more academic background in it. And then obviously as part of the Discord zine, there are people who are practicing Catholics, so everyone kind of contributed to this discourse. We were in it from the jump. We're in it for the long game, I guess. Has Focus Features, which distributed the film, been in touch with you? I like to think of Focus as our friends. I don't know how they feel about us, or if they think we're annoying, but we had some fun DMs during the Oscar season. I was waitlisted for an event for Conclave and they actually got me in and it was very sweet of them. I don't want to be annoying. They have obviously not contacted us since the actual conclave. To be in a Focus group chat right now with the actual conclave happening… Focus, please contact me. Give me conclave wine. How do you feel about Pop Base or Pop Crave providing papal updates? Well, stay out of my territory. That's how I feel about that. Stay out of my territory. That's it. That's my statement. What distinguishes you from stan accounts like a Club Chalamet or Diana Agron updates? I'm not going to say those accounts aren't sincere. But the reason I made this account was to create this charity zine and, if things bode well, we'll have raised close to $75,000 for charities that are in theme with the film. So the Human Rights Intersex Fund, the Freedom Fund, and Scholars and Archivists for Palestine. The account makes memes and we're fun, but behind it, there's a lot of sincerity. There's a message in the film and we're trying to do something about that. We're not just stans of the Catholic Church. We can be very critical of the Catholic Church. We've watched a bunch of very critical documentaries of the Catholic Church during Discord watch parties. Stanning means you are like, 'Get behind me, uncritically.' And we're pretty critical. I think people see something in the film that has made invisible populations feel visible and that's why people have a lot of fun out of this really rich text. Could you tell me a little bit more about the zine? I'm so proud of it. My literal blood, sweat, and tears. I burned skin off by putting wax on the packaging. It's 100-plus pages. We feature all different types of creators. Everyone involved except for one person is queer. And it was really important to me that we had intersex creators in there as well. We started it in November back when the film first came out. It was a snapshot of the fandom at the time and it was so small. There were maybe 30 of us in the Discord group. Now there's over 200 and I kind of put a cap on letting people in. We did a pre-order period during Oscar season. Film Twitter rallied around us. People at Focus knew about it and so we got word from them that they really liked the project. The first run, we had over $50,000 in sales, and all net profits are going to the organizations. And that was just during the Oscar run. They came in last week. Me and some friends got together, we played Conclave in the back in multiple languages, drank Italian wine and were just packaging machines. There's a second wave of interest and I was like, 'OK, we'll do a second print run,' and the amount of responses we got from that is crazy. It outstrips the original pre-order we had. I think we could make $75,000 in total sales and then all the net profits would go to these organizations. By the time there's a new Pope, we better raise $100,000 for charity. One of my goals is for the new Pope to get a zine. I want the Holy See to hire us so we can make official Vatican memes. I think they should then pre-order the zine. And also I want to ask them about their favorite fan fictions on AO3. The Pope Crave Twitter account endorsed Pope Tagle. I did it for the bit. I would personally like Zuppi, but he's not going to get it. So in my totally, non-excommunicable offenses, I bet the house on Parolin. So that's my papal spread.
