Rip - Frank Van der Auwera - the journalist who made Nebbiolo Poesia delle Terra know to the public

Rip - Frank Van der Auwera - the journalist who put Poesia della Terra on the world map

We go back to anno 2013, the moment I decided to settle in Barbaresco, and a whole other world revealed itself.  In Barbaresco itself of course, the other hill just opposite my home but also beyond. Barbaresco was a temporary residence, for three years.

Via via via - the normal way in Piemonte - we came into contact with Sergio Ternavasio, a small wineboer who makes only 1200 bottles per variety, that means 1200 bottles of Arneis, 1200 bottles of Barbera, 1200 Nebbiolo and 1200 Barbaresco and also a few Moscatos. No matter how small and modest Sergio Ternavasio is, in whose eyes there is no such thing as marketing, his wines are a huge hit with the public. Bruno Giacosa used to buy wine from Sergio Ternavasio, we knew this from Angelo Gaja's nephew who acted as a go-between.

The wine label on the bottles proved to be just the thing to convince those who were not tasting onsite in Sergio's cantina.

So we made a label that appealed, at the end of 2016, because Sergio always lets the wine age longer in the cantina than what the law prescribes. That the labels are also subject to a certain fashion & design and therefore there was a need for a "bridging" is clear from the fact that for the first 4 years only the "Poesia della Terra" label sold.  Not the original handwritten label by Sergio Ternavasio, which is attached to the bottle with an adhesive at all. Talk about authenticity!

Now in 2021, 80% of the Nebbiolo of Sergio Ternavasio is sold with its original label. What is in the bottle of the label Poesia della Terra is identical to the handwritten label of Sergio Ternavasio.

We have been working with Sergio for many years, and now we know which label the customer will choose at each tasting. The Poesia della Terra label, which is only available in Belgium, or Sergio's original, which is only available in Italy, or ..... on request also in Belgium.

Today I think of the hours Frank and I spent talking about this Poesia della Terra label, about my "experiences in Piemonte of all kinds" and about how the wine world looks compared to a few years ago.  We think of course of the family that had to say goodbye far too soon to such a wonderful man. 

Label:   Nebbiolo Poesia Della Terra