Italian government launches probe over controversial wine bottles

This blog has reported on the conflicts seen in some states between a products’ custom labels and what the local government allows to be sold in stores. But, this hasn’t hit the international level until recently when a vacationing American couple became offended by the images on a set of wine bottles.

When traveling through northern Italy, Philadelphia-based lawyer Michael Hirsch and his wife Cindy were offended when they found multiple wine bottles in a supermarket in the small town of Garda featuring the image of Adolf Hitler on its custom wine labels.

The couple brought the bottles to a store clerk and complained, only to be told that it’s just history, “like Che Guevara,” said Hirsch to the Italian media.

Cindy Hirsch’s father is an Auschwitz survivor. The family’s complaints have led the Italian government to launch a probe investigating the label, reports The Drinks Business.

“I want to reassure our American friends who visit our country that our Constitution and our culture rejects racism, anti-semitism and Nazi fascism,” said Andrea Riccardi, the Italian integration minister to the Telegraph. “This offends the memory of millions of people and risks compromising the image of Italy abroad.”

According to the Huffington Post, the wine is produced by Lunardelli winery and is part of its “HIstorical Line” wine labels. This set of vintages has apparently been around since the 1990s and the Hitler isn’t the only infamous figure gracing the cover of the bottles. Others include, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin and even Winston Churchill.

It’s clear that the way a company portrays itself is critical to its acceptance from consumers and, subsequently, its success. In order for businesses to brand themselves in a light that is easy on the eyes but also gains the attention of its model customers, they may want to invest in a Primera LX400 color label printer.