"If I had a Name like Rosie Fernandez" Poem & Wine
CBC Radio | Posted: March 1, 2016 9:04 PM | Last Updated: July 11, 2016
You might know Rosie Fernandez as a superstar radio producer for the CBC, but did you know that her name is well-known to poetry lovers and wine drinkers around the country?
It all started when Rosie called up poet Wendy Morton at her home on Vancouver Island to interview her. Wendy heard Rosie say her name over the phone and immediately said, "I think your name is a poem."
A few days later she had composed this:
If I Had A Name Like Rosie Fernandez
I would wear gardenias and orchids
in my hair.
I would buy some hot sauce
called "Jump up and kiss me."
I would offer it to strangers.
If I had a name like Rosie Fernandez
I would know how to tango,
I would sing anywhere,
I would tap dance on sidewalks.
I would fall in love insistently,
spend hours in cafes
with a broken heart
and good coffee.
Oh, if I had a name like Rosie Fernandez,
I would know it.
Wendy published the poem in her next collection of poetry titled "Gumshoe" by Black Moss Press. It quickly became one of her favourite poems to perform at readings and she posted it as an example of her work on her official website.
It was on this website that designer Laura Willis found it.
Laura was commissioned with finding Canadian poetry that could be used for a new series of wine called Poetica. She brought the poem to Bill and Marilyn Redelmeier, owners of Niagara Region's organic Southbrook Vineyards and it was unanimously agreed.
The poem would adorn one of the bottles for their Poetica Series of wines.
Hear the inspiring story on how the Rosie Fernandez name found a life of its own.