From little girl aged four years tot 50+ - From evening school Italian tot my own wine label Poesia della Terra
Posted on: 02-12-2018 om 08:21:10
| Karina Imschoot
From little girl to tram 50 with "Italy" almost continuously present and own wine label Poesia della Terra
In my office is the picture of that little girl, me as a four-year-old just in front of me. Not on the desk, but the locker in front of it together with my Bialetti espresso machine and the diplomas in wine education I have acquired over the past six years in Piedmont. That bright red Bialetti is my best buddy but doesn't directly reflect my story in the time span between 2012 and 2018. Those diplomas do, and so does the pin, and also my attributes from my AIS training there.
Let's go back to the very beginning:
Was one or both of my parents of Italian origin? No!
Did father or mother have a pronounced preference for Italy? Far from it!
Did I have an Italian sweetheart? No way!
And yet there was this permanent Italian connection. Then where did it come from? The Pope. He was a frequent visitor with us, on television, admittedly.
The evening Italian lessons in Vilvoorde, Ghent, Puurs: from starter to the highest level. A course not to be missed. But above all it was L "Eredità - the programme on Rai 1 - that I was looking forward to. It brought me some Italian culture, the pronunciation and especially everything was written out. I think I recorded the broadcasts for 3 years to watch in the weekend. So much for how it all started.
The trips to Italy: they weren't that meaningful until 2006. Just a few days in Langhe, on that terrace in Neive, then it was all clear. In 2012 I finally moved to Piedmont part-time and 2013 fulltime.
Anyone who has known me for a while knows that tourism was my "core business" at first. I was the interpreter at the service of those small wine domains that didn't yet have the knowledge of English or didn't feel at ease in the English language. I also organised the wine tours for wine lovers who wanted to travel a route that was diverse compared to the standard traveller. So you can safely say that I visited the wineries, small but fine, very frequently and became friends with the Piedmontese families of winegrowers. Actually, the AIS training - i.e. the educational in a classroom - only came after years of practice.
But 2013 became the most important turning point in Barbaresco. I lived there completely surrounded by vineyards, I also wanted my own place in the vineyard. A long way was travelled but a.o. our bestseller for Belgium, Poesia della Terra, Nebbiolo 2013 then (now we are at 2015) is the result. Monday comes our new load of my own wine: always a blissful moment. By the way, with my label Poesia della Terra I got a lot of press attention in Belgium and a super nice score.
The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated with a website - e-shop with just the focus on the small, honest and quality wines from Piedmont - and we are ready for the new year with a brand new project that brings everyone interested in high quality wines like Barolo, Barbaresco and Nebbiolo one step closer to their favorite wines. I can't say much about it yet... I especially want to show it to you! And I do that especially in our tasting room at Lede, Reymeerstraat 47.
Would you like to come and taste? Take a look at our agenda of tastings.
2019 will be a brilliant year
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