Why it matters
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 and vineyards
Where the wines begin
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.
In the cellar
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.
Wines to know
The range in view
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.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
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.