WineTales

An Alto Adige Fairy Tale Goes around the World

The pandemic, the far-reaching crisis that resulted from it, and a testimonial with a worldwide reputation: those were the building blocks from which “WineTales” came into existence, one of the most noteworthy campaigns ever for Alto Adige wine. Its main focus was a short film in which the fairy tale of the most extreme vineyards in the world (and the most courageous winegrowers) is told, with no less a figure than mountain climbing legend Reinhold Messner as the surprise guest.

The Idea

With a large-scale awareness campaign, the Consortium Alto Adige Wine wanted to counter the crisis that had been triggered by the pandemic in 2020. For this campaign, it was possible to engage Reinhold Messner as an influential (and honorary!) ambassador. He was the one who would provide visibility to the campaign, a

s well as his authority as the world’s most famous Alto Adige native.

For that reason, the campaign was customized specifically for Messner. Thus the extreme mountain climber who knows no boundaries appeared as a surprise guest in a short film in which a fairy tale is told: that of the most extreme vineyards in the world.

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The Core

Like every fairy tale, this one also has a core of truth. Thus it tells of a face of nature that demands everything from the winemakers, of soils that have come into existence over the course of millennia and are now longing for the grapevines. And it tells of those special characters who bring to the table all of their know-how, all of their experience, all of their prudence and their passion – both in the vine

yard and in the winery– in order to create special wines.

“Only the most courageous winegrowers manage to grow grapes in Alto Adige,” the film tells us. And this quote already lets us know that the film exaggerates and shows the everyday life in Alto Adige winegrowing with humor, the wink of an eye, and a great deal of self-irony.

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The Realization

The responsibility for the “Wine Tales” short film was entrusted to two Alto Adige natives: producer Mirko Bocek and director Lorenz Klapfer. Having filmed for over fifty-six hours in vineyards and wineries, with winegrowers serving as extras, the material was produced shortly before the second covid lockdown and was ultimately edited into the short film.

A comprehensive campaign was developed around the video with

the focus on the primary markets of Italy, Germany, Switzerland and USA. Shortly before the start of the campaign, the ad was announced on the social media channels of Alto Adige Wine and of around a hundred wine producers, and it was also published immediately thereafter. The launch of the film was accompanied by communications by relevant influencers, by media work, and by an online advertising campaign.

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The Results

The results of the “WineTales“ can easily be seen. The online presence of the video and the accompanying campaign were hugely successful, with 14 million views and 90,000 interactions. In addition to that, social media users could also become a part of the Alto Adige wine fairy tale themselves as they posted their own “WineTales”.

And in the end, the short film also provided quite the sensation internationally with juries of experts. It managed to haul in some nine awards at film festivals in South Africa, Latvia, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Austria and Germany. And in 2021, “Wine Tales” was named by the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) as the second best tourism film in the world in the category of tourism products.

The specific awards are:

Second prize for best tourism film in the world in the category of tourism products, CIFFT Tourism Film Festival
Gold Award in Tourism Products - Gastronomy & Wine Tourism, International Tourism Film Festival Africa - ITFFA in South Africa
Gold Award in Tourism Products, International Tourism Film Festival, Cappadocia in Turkey
Best Wine & Gastronomic Film, Zagreb TourFilm Festival in Croatia
Blue Danube for Tourism Product 2nd Place, Silafest in Serbia
2nd Prize in Tourism Products, Tourfilm Riga in Latvia
Best Promotional Video, ART&TUR - International Tourism Film Festival in Portugal
2nd Tourism Products - Gastronomy, Amorgos Tourism Film Festival in Greece
Silver Victoria, International Business Film Festival in Austria
First prize for My Hotel Chef International, Golden City Gate in Germany

Social Wall #winetales2021

What is life like among with the most extreme vineyards in the world? How are they tended? And how are the best wines obtained from them? “Wine Tales 2021” with Reinhold Messner as special guest tells the story surrounding the winegrowing region of Alto Adige, a story that is like a fairy tale.

And you? What experiences connect you with Alto Adige wine? Show us, post it here and become a part of the Alto Adige wine fairy tale!