Il Poggio is a winery born from Andrea Cervini's love for the first hill in the sun above Piacenza. Andrea came into the world in the winter of 1967, the son of Aldo — a tireless man from the Ligurian Apennines — and Gina, who was born at the nearby Poggio di Sotto. Before he was even a teenager he was already out in the vineyards and fields, helping the branch of the family that had stayed close to the land. He learned early what grapes were, and soon after, what wine was.
He fell in love with cellars, with the smell of curing meats, and with everything that life on the hillside means. As he grew older he took on various jobs, helping his father in the family transport business before giving his heart and his hands to the countryside each summer. He loved it, and recognised himself in it. Among the many experiences of those years, one encounter above all shaped the course of his life: that with Giulio Armani, a young winemaker at the historic estate La Stoppa. A relationship began that quickly became a friendship, one that nurtured Andrea's dream of one day uniting the scattered parcels of the family property under a single name. In 2000, through determination, hard work and the support of his family, he began to piece the farmstead back together and fill it with life.
In 2006 he planted four hectares of vines on the land surrounding Il Poggio: barbera, croatina and malvasia di Candia aromatica — the history of Piacenza in grape form. In 2009 came the first official vintage of Navel, the classic blend of barbera and croatina. The commitment and the cellar grew, production increased. The name of Il Poggio and its wines began to travel the world, and the world began to look with greater interest at that first hill in the sun.
Meanwhile, Andrea's daughters Carolina and Elisa became increasingly involved, following his work ever more closely. Carolina, the younger of the two, took an important step in 2018 — she joined the company and began studying the vineyard and the cellar before taking charge of the agriturismo's development. Elisa, who also moves between vines and cellar, looks after the estate's administration, its relationships with clients, and the broader work of communicating and telling the story of Il Poggio. Andrea's ideas and his dream continue to ripen in the sun.
