The producer
The Ferrari and Perini families began making wine together in Piacenza in 1882. In the 1980s, the fourth generation bought 20 hectares in Val Trebbia, a river valley cutting south into the Apennine foothills, and founded Il Poggiarello as a dedicated estate label. The fifth generation now farms 13 planted hectares, certified organic since 2018, with no pesticides, organic fertilizers only, and minimal intervention in the cellar.
Il Poggiarello is the quality flagship of the Cantine 4 Valli group, focused on native Piacenza varieties: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica for whites and the Barbera-Bonarda Gutturnio blend for reds. The still white Mami splits its harvest, with one late-picked portion aged in second and third-use French oak barriques and the remainder in stainless steel, producing a wine with tropical aromatic lift, firm acidity, and a mineral finish that carries the 14 g/l residual sugar without heaviness. The sparkling range, Gli Spaghi, is closed by hand with spago, the traditional Piacenza twine used in the Piacenza tradition, on every bottle.
Known for
Malvasia di Candia Aromatica still whites; hand-corked Piacenza sparkling wines (Gli Spaghi).
Notable facts
- Certified organic since 2018: no pesticides, organic fertilizers only, biodegradable materials throughout the vineyard.
- Sparkling wines in the Gli Spaghi range are sealed by hand with spago, a traditional Piacenza twine closure, on every bottle.
- The Ferrari-Perini family wine partnership dates to 1882; Il Poggiarello as an estate label was founded in the 1980s when the fourth generation bought land in Val Trebbia.
- The fifth generation is now active at the estate, which remains entirely family-run within the Cantine 4 Valli group.
- Mami, the principal still white, is made from Malvasia di Candia Aromatica with a split-harvest method: one late-picked portion in used French oak barriques, the remainder in stainless steel.
From the atlas
Azienda Agricola Il Poggiarello
At A Glance
Location: Val Trebbia, Piacenza hills, Emilia-Romagna, Italy Grapes: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Barbera, Bonarda Style: Organic still whites and hand-corked sparkling wines from native Piacenza varieties Range: Gli Spaghi (sparkling), I Volti, Cecco and Mami, L'Alba e la Pietra
The Producer
The Ferrari and Perini families began making wine together in Piacenza in 1882. They stayed together through five generations, and the shape of their commitment changed shape only once: in the 1980s, the fourth generation bought 20 hectares of land in Val Trebbia, a river valley cutting south into the Apennine foothills, and founded Il Poggiarello as a dedicated estate label. Before that purchase, the partnership made wine. After it, there was a vineyard.
Today Il Poggiarello is the quality flagship of the Cantine 4 Valli group, focused on native Piacenza varieties and organic farming. The fifth generation joined the estate and the work continues: 13 planted hectares, certified organic since 2018, still and sparkling wines made with minimal cellar intervention.
Place
Val Trebbia runs from the Po plain at Piacenza south into the limestone and clay hills of the northern Apennines. The valley's elevation and orientation give cooler nights than the flat agricultural plain, which slows ripening and preserves the aromatic lift that Malvasia di Candia Aromatica depends on. Without that thermal break, the grape's white flowers and tropical stone-fruit character flatten into something blowsy and short.
The wines fall under the Colli Piacentini appellation framework, the Piacenza DOC zone that governs native-variety production in these hills. The label wording matters: Colli Piacentini anchors the wine in the hills rather than the plain, and the appellation requires native varieties, which is why Malvasia di Candia Aromatica and the Gutturnio blend of Barbera and Bonarda appear on every bottle.
Soil And Site
The 13 planted hectares sit in the Apennine foothills on clay and limestone soils typical of the Val Trebbia slopes. The estate works with attention to microclimate and parcel exposure, selecting which blocks face which direction and adjusting organic inputs accordingly. No pesticides have been used since organic certification began in 2018; only organic fertilizers and biodegradable materials go into the vineyard. The minimal-intervention approach in the cellar follows directly from the farming: if the grapes arrive healthy and expressive, fewer cellar corrections are needed.
Story
A century after the Ferrari-Perini partnership began, the fourth generation made the decision that changed the estate's direction. Buying land in Val Trebbia in the 1980s was not only a property purchase; it committed the family to a specific place and a specific argument about Piacenza wine. The native varieties already associated with these hills, Malvasia di Candia Aromatica for whites and the Barbera-Bonarda Gutturnio blend for reds, became the estate's fixed points.
Organic certification followed in 2018, formalising farming practices that had been building toward that position for years. The fifth generation joined the parents at the estate, making Il Poggiarello unusual among small Italian wineries: no generation has left to pursue other work. The operation now sits four decades old, the family relationship behind it more than 140 years.
Vineyards And Cellar
The 13 planted hectares are farmed without pesticides, with organic fertilizers applied according to soil and microclimate readings from each parcel. Biodegradable materials are used throughout. The farming is ecological in practice rather than merely certified: exposure and ground conditions influence which blocks receive which treatment.
In the cellar, intervention is kept to a minimum. Cultured yeasts are used, and selected French oak barriques handle the wines that need wood contact. For Mami, the principal still white, harvest is done by hand into crates. One portion of the fruit is left on the vine longer to reach higher sugar and aromatic ripeness; those late-harvested grapes go into second and third-use French oak barriques. The rest of the harvest goes into stainless steel. The two portions are managed separately and joined before bottling.
The sparkling wines in the Gli Spaghi range are closed by hand with spago, the Piacenza twine traditionally used to secure the cork before wire cages became standard. Every bottle in that range is tied by hand before leaving the winery.
Wines
Il Poggiarello's range splits across four lines. Gli Spaghi is the sparkling range, taking its name from the twine used to close each bottle. I Volti and L'Alba e la Pietra are still wines from the estate's broader range of native varieties. Cecco and Mami form the premium still white category.
Mami is the estate's most fully documented wine and its benchmark still white. Made from Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, it finishes at 13.5% alcohol with 14 g/l residual sugar: off-dry rather than sweet, with enough fruit weight to balance the sugar without tipping into heaviness. The late-harvested component adds aromatic density and a small amount of oak-derived texture from the second and third-use barriques, while the stainless steel portion keeps the acid line clean. Mami has pleasant acidity combined with complex minerality and a long finish.
For the reds, Barbera and Bonarda are among the native Piacenza varieties. Detailed tasting notes for Gli Spaghi, I Volti, and L'Alba e la Pietra are not available from verified sources.
In The Glass
Mami opens with white flowers, acacia, and tropical white-flesh fruit: guava and ripe pear rather than citrus. The nose is aromatic and generous, carrying the character of Malvasia di Candia Aromatica at its most expressive. In the mouth, firm acidity arrives early and cuts across the 14 g/l residual sugar, preventing the wine from reading as soft. The mid-palate carries mineral weight, chalky and dry beneath the fruit, and that minerality extends the finish rather than dropping away after the sweetness fades. The oak from the late-harvested portion is not prominent; it adds body and a slight roundness without any vanilla or toast character, because the barriques are used.
A Bottle To Understand It
Mami is the right first bottle. It is made from Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, the white grape that defines the estate's approach, and its production method, split-harvested, part late-picked and barrel-aged, part tank-fresh, shows how Il Poggiarello works with a variety that could easily be made too simple or too heavy. The balance between firm acidity, tropical aromatic lift, and mineral weight on the finish is the point: this is an off-dry white with enough grip to drink at the table rather than before it. Start here to understand what the Val Trebbia terroir produces and what the cellar does with Malvasia di Candia Aromatica when it is taken seriously.
Anecdote
When a buyer picks up a bottle from Il Poggiarello's Gli Spaghi range for the first time, the immediate question is what the string is for. The cork is not secured by a wire cage in the Champagne manner but by a length of twine, spago in Italian, tied by hand around the neck. The knot is tight and deliberate, and it looks nothing like any other sparkling wine closure currently in production. It is, in fact, older than wire cages in the region. The practice is a Piacenza closure tradition that predates industrial sparkling production, kept alive by a handful of local producers and by Il Poggiarello on every bottle in the range. The wine line was named Gli Spaghi after the string itself, so that the name of the product and the method of closing it are the same word.
Final Word
Il Poggiarello is a small organic estate making still and sparkling wines from grapes that most of the wine world has never heard of, in a corner of Emilia-Romagna more associated with prosciutto than with Riesling or Nebbiolo. That is precisely the point. Malvasia di Candia Aromatica in Val Trebbia, hand-tied with twine, is a specific argument about what Italian wine can be when a family decides the local is worth defending across five generations.
Sources
- https://www.ilpoggiarellovini.it/en/company/
- https://www.ilpoggiarellovini.it/en/wines/cecco-mami/mami/
- https://www.ilpoggiarellovini.it/en/company/production/
- https://www.ilpoggiarellovini.it/en/
- https://cantine4valli.it/en/brands-en/