Italian Hitler Wine Offends, Official Inquiry Launched

Grid View

Apparently in Italy, you can get wine with Hitler (and a smattering of other Nazis) on the label. Coming from winemaker Vini Lunardelli in Udine, Italy, the labels are part of a line of wines that "remind us of the lives of celebrated personages of Italian and world political history such as Che Guevara, Churcill, Francesco Giuseppe, Gramsci, Hitler, Marx, Mussolini, Napoleon and Sissi." So, you know, Hitler's not alone. Still: yow.

The wines started getting media attention when American attorney Matthew Hirsch was astonished to find the bottles in a wine shop while on vacation in Italy. (To give proper credit, Weekly World News reported Hitler Wine back in February, but, you know, they also report on merfolk. So, apologies to WWN for not believing in them.) According to a local Italian paper, when Hirsch asked the shop owner about the wine, he was told "the bottles were part of history, 'like Che Guevara.'" That is certainly one way of looking at it.

And here's another: Italian integration minister Andrea Riccardi told press "This offends the memory of millions of people and risks compromising the image of Italy abroad." Local prosecutors are currently investigating the wine, and it has been pulled from the store where Hirsch originally saw it. Glad that's settled. Now, where's that bottle of Mussolini Pinot Grigio?

· Vini Lunardelli [Official Site]
· Hitler Wine Probe Launched in Italy [The Drinks Business]
· All Wine Coverage on Eater [-E-]