A STORY BY
RAFFAELLA AND GIUSEPPE BOLOGNA
We did it
We did it
The moment you hit the target, when your dream came true.
“We did it!”, that’s what the Piedmontese dialectal term Ai Suma means.
“Ai Suma!” is what Giacomo Bologna used to say to everyone when he realised that one of his wines had reached perfect maturity.
The joy, satisfaction and enthusiasm, the whole life of a wine family.
In autumn 1989, the promise of a great harvest filled the air in Rocchetta Tanaro.
Ignoring every else’s opinion, including that of his oenologist, who feared that the resulting wine would be too alcoholic, Giacomo waited until the grapes were overripe.
The finest bunches in one of Braida’s vineyards were left on the vines until the middle of October.
Thin, deep purple skins: Giacomo said that if the market didn’t understand this wine, then he’d drink it all himself.
A delegation of Georgians was expected in Rocchetta Tanaro: Tiberi Dvalishvili, Simon Makaroblinshvili, Cucuri Coroglishvili, Givi Gvarashvili and George Zicitishvili. Months earlier, they had welcomed Giacomo during his journey to their homeland, the cradle of winegrowing.
On the 16th of October 1989, halfway through the morning, the late harvest went ahead.
That same evening, Giacomo Bologna crushed the grapes with his Soviet friends.
“Kaumar gioss”: the toasts raised that evening in Rocchetta Tanaro were in Georgian, the language spoken in the cradle of wine.
“Ai Suma!” exclaimed Giacomo Bologna when he tasted the wine, after it had spent six months in French oak casks.
A new Braida Barbera was born.
The moment you hit the target, when your dream came true.
“We did it!”, that’s what the Piedmontese dialectal term Ai Suma means.
“Ai Suma!” is what Giacomo Bologna used to say to everyone when he realised that one of his wines had reached perfect maturity.
The joy, satisfaction and enthusiasm, the whole life of a wine family.
In autumn 1989, the promise of a great harvest filled the air in Rocchetta Tanaro.
Ignoring every else’s opinion, including that of his oenologist, who feared that the resulting wine would be too alcoholic, Giacomo waited until the grapes were overripe.
The finest bunches in one of Braida’s vineyards were left on the vines until the middle of October.
Thin, deep purple skins: Giacomo said that if the market didn’t understand this wine, then he’d drink it all himself.
A delegation of Georgians was expected in Rocchetta Tanaro: Tiberi Dvalishvili, Simon Makaroblinshvili, Cucuri Coroglishvili, Givi Gvarashvili and George Zicitishvili. Months earlier, they had welcomed Giacomo during his journey to their homeland, the cradle of winegrowing.
On the 16th of October 1989, halfway through the morning, the late harvest went ahead.
That same evening, Giacomo Bologna crushed the grapes with his Soviet friends.
“Kaumar gioss”: the toasts raised that evening in Rocchetta Tanaro were in Georgian, the language spoken in the cradle of wine.
“Ai Suma!” exclaimed Giacomo Bologna when he tasted the wine, after it had spent six months in French oak casks.
A new Braida Barbera was born.
A new Barbera
A new Barbera
It was Braida’s first Barbera d’Asti doc.
The label that has always graced Ai Suma is inspired by a family photo, a snapshot in which Giacomo Bologna is smiling at his wife Anna Martinengo.
The smile was chosen for Ai Suma.
Duplicated and arranged to form a butterfly, that smile goes beyond the local dialect, beyond language, to convey the real meaning of the expression “Ai Suma”.
Almost a seal, a red wax imprint: the smile on the label represents the seal of the winegrower that accompanies his wine.
It was Braida’s first Barbera d’Asti doc.
The label that has always graced Ai Suma is inspired by a family photo, a snapshot in which Giacomo Bologna is smiling at his wife Anna Martinengo.
The smile was chosen for Ai Suma.
Duplicated and arranged to form a butterfly, that smile goes beyond the local dialect, beyond language, to convey the real meaning of the expression “Ai Suma”.
Almost a seal, a red wax imprint: the smile on the label represents the seal of the winegrower that accompanies his wine.
Ai Suma!
Ai Suma!
Ai Suma has only been produced in 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 harvests.
Exceptional years: dry, with perfect temperatures.
In the years in between, we decided not to make Ai Suma.
Some decisions bring the just rewards.
Ai Suma has only been produced in 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 harvests.
Exceptional years: dry, with perfect temperatures.
In the years in between, we decided not to make Ai Suma.
Some decisions bring the just rewards.
