Hiltrud Reiter receives credit for her exceptional commitment to wine tourism

State minister Joachim Herrmann, chairman of the Tourism Association Franconia and the President of the Franconian Viticulture's Association Artur Steinmann handed over the bronze-sculpture by the renowned sculptor Luise Kött-Gärtner.

“The extraordinary thing about Hiltrud Reiter's shows is that they do not fit into the usual cliché of so-called wine shows. They are different. The viewers are presented with a close, almost personal conversation about the vintagers, the country and its wines”, says Viticulture President Artur Steinmann in his eulogy. According to the President, Hiltrud Reiter really managed “to translate the new picture of Franconian wine very carefully, with a lot of empathy but also through the clarity of her voice in a very authentic way into the German living rooms”.

“The center of my movies is always the person” is the motto of Hiltrud Reiter. In her very well-known Bavarian tv show “Unter unserem Himmel” (Among our heaven) of the channel Bayerisches Fernsehen (BR), Hiltrud Reiter produced a very successful series about Franconia an its vintagers as the responsible author and director with her own movie team. Some very famous examples are the episodes “Weil der Wein eine Seele hat” (“Because wine has a soul”), “Das Würzburger Juliusspital”(The Würzburg Juliusspital”), “Der Rotweinfürst” (“The Redwine Count”), “Horst Sauer und sein Escherndorfer Lump”(“Horst Sauer and his Escherndorf Lump”) and “350 Jahre Silvaner in Franken”(“350 years Silvaner in Franconia”).

Besides her show on the BR, Hiltrud Reiter also works together with her sister-in-law on the “Weinblatt”restaurant in Sommerach, which has emerged from a round of discussions. In 2005, a restaurant from her home town joined in.

The Franconian Wine Tourism Prize “Franken-Wein-Schöner.Land!” is the only one of its kind in Germany right now. With this prize, Franconia is one step ahead in the competition and awards personalities that have committed in a special way to the German wine tourism. The prize was first awarded last year. It was awarded to the first mayor of the city of Iphofen, Josef Mend.(aw.yoopress)