History on the bottle label: That’s the slogan of wine merchant Alessandro Lunardelli from the northern Italian province of Udine, who immortalized murderous dictators like Hitler, Mussolini or Stalin on wine bottle labels. For almost 30 years, the winemaker from the hilly town of Pasian di Prato has been creating a stir with his creations in Italy and abroad. But now he wants to end his controversial imprints.
Wines like Cabernet Blanc, Merlot, Tocai and Gewürztraminer are accompanied by images of historical figures that some customers loathe. The collection started with a red called “Mussolini”, which became a hit at the bar in Italy.
Hitler, Mussolini & Co. also ended up in supermarkets
The print with the image of the “Duce” not only made headlines, but also took Lunardelli and his son Andrea, who is responsible for the “historical collections”. Lunardelli, however, was not intimidated and shortly afterwards released a “Hitler” on the market. Bottles bearing the motto “One People, One Reich, One Leader” and photos of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Hermann Göring also made their way into supermarkets and wine shops across Italy.
Production will be discontinued from 2023
However, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the situation has become precarious for Lunardelli. “We have received death threats from Russia. After a documentary was broadcast there about neo-Nazi movements in Italy, we were accused of glorifying Nazism. We have filed a lawsuit and the investigation is still ongoing,” 57-year-old Andrea Lunardelli told Italian media. He will stop producing the historic labels from next year.
Winemaker: “We reject symbols like a swastika”
“We were never pro-Nazi or pro-fascist; we reject all political propaganda, we reject symbols such as swastikas and we abhor racism. But we’re giving up: from next year, our line of wines with historic labels will no longer be produced,” said Lunardelli. He rejects any accusation of nostalgia and trivialization of fascism and National Socialism.
“Completely impartial” he also offers left-wing customers bottles with the labels Marx, Stalin, Lenin or Che Guevara. Churchill, Napoleon, Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Sisi are also discussed.
Big demand also from Austria
The now 50 different labels have become a – doubtful – cult object for some collectors. Demand is high, also in Austria, Lunardelli reports. Carinthian cosmetic surgeon Dagmar Millesi recently caused a stir with an outraged social media post about Hitler’s wines. She said she was shocked by Hitler-labelled wines she saw in a shop in the Italian seaside town of Jesolo. “In this case too, the international echo was great,” sighs Lunardelli.
From now on, he wants people to stop talking about his controversial labels and talk about the quality of the wine. “Our priority in the future will be the quality of our wine,” says Lunardelli. However, he does not want to finish without Mussolini nostalgia. “We will continue to make a ‘Bitter Liqueur of the Duce’. We produce it together with another company and sell it on our own website,” explains the winemaker.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
