Or David vs. Goliath, as Mattia Muggittu, owner and winemaker of Muggittu di Mamoiada, sees it.
Credit: Image Mattia Mugutti
The major Austrian energy drink producer Red Bull, accuses the small Sardinian winery of copying its logo. Mattia only produced his first bottles of wine in 2022 and placed two traditional Sardinian oxen on his label. Which, according to Red Bull, appear to be very similar to the two bulls displayed on their cans of energy drink. After receiving a legal notice from Red Bull, Mattia told The Guardian: “It’s a heavy blow. I’m only 22 and needed positive things to happen, so this was very demoralizing".
Sardinian tradition
Mattia took over his grandfather's winery in the village of Mamoiada last year. Mattia decided to name his first wine, made of Cannonau (Or Grenache), Boeli, after a large sacred stone, dating back to the Neolithic era, which was discovered in Mamoiada in the 1990’s. The two oxen represent the oxen still used to plough old vineyards on the island of Sardinia. “I wanted to reflect a tradition of Sardinia, and especially Mamoiada, where for centuries oxen have been used to plough vineyards – these animals are a symbol of agriculture here,” he told The Guardian. “Red Bull never even occurred to me.”
Credit: Image Mattia Mugutti
David vs. Goliath
In 2022 Mattia produced 2.000 bottles of Boeli, which are only sold in Sardinia, while Red Bull sold a staggering 11.5 billion cans of energy drink. Muggittu di Mamoiada now has two months to reach an understanding with the Austrian company, “If that fails then I would go to trial against Red Bull,” he told The Guardian. “It feels like David and Goliath.”Red Bull said in a statement: “Following our standard company policy, we cannot comment on any pending legal matter.”
