Jacopo Poli

Family roots: c. 1410–1818

The family's documented roots extend to the late Middle Ages. Gasparo, regarded as the earliest known ancestor of the line, lived approximately from 1390 to 1460 in Gomarolo, in the hills above Marostica. His grandson Paulus, commonly called Polo and born to Pietro around 1450, became the namesake of the family. The patronymic describing descendants as sons of Paolo gradually developed into the surname Poli: a 1527 land-purchase record still identifies the brothers Gasparo, Menegato, Marco and Antonio through their father Paolo, while a document dated 3 May 1551 records Domenico Poli with the surname in an established form.

The family farmed land and raised sheep and cattle through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Marco Poli later moved to Fontanelle and died there in 1724 at the age of 93. His great-grandson Giovanni, born in 1763, lived successively in Molvena and Laverda before settling in San Luca, where he died in 1823.

San Luca: 1818–1885

In 1818, GioBatta Poli married Giovanna Baron and moved into her house in Via Costadema, San Luca, near the meeting point of four streams forming the Valderio torrent. GioBatta was widowed after 14 years and remained with the household of his son Giovanni, who lived from 1822 to 1892. Giovanni married Angela Lunardon before turning 23; they had nine children, four of whom died before adulthood.

During the mid-nineteenth century, GioBatta, Bortolo and Giovanni Poli established a tavern and horse-changing stop. The younger GioBatta, Bortolo and Giovanni subsequently traded wine, fruit, straw hats and other goods from the San Luca house. Their premises became a commercial and refreshment point for residents and travellers heading toward the Asiago plateau. Giovanni's will of 1 April 1889 credited his three sons' savings, diligence, hard work and trade with preserving the family's property.

Establishment in Schiavon: 1885–1898

On 15 January 1885, Maria Moresco, wife of GioBatta Poli, acquired a house and land covering seven cadastral map numbers in northern Schiavon. GioBatta later added adjoining properties. Schiavon's position on the busy Marosticana road, close to Marostica and the planned Bassano–Vicenza–Montagnana steam-tram route, made it suitable for commerce and industry. The family's San Luca business was transferred there, and a tavern was operating by 1892.

Continuous dealings with wine producers gave GioBatta ready access to grape pomace. In 1898, after 12 years in the wine trade, he began distilling that material into Grappa in Schiavon. The first apparatus was a mobile still with three boilers, loaded manually with wicker baskets. GioBatta also served the locality as a councillor and as an alderman from 1899 to 1902.

The second generation and the plural Distillerie: 1910–1936

In 1910, the Poli brothers added contract threshing with a portable steam engine to distillation and the wholesale and retail liquor trade. GioBatta died in Schiavon on 10 July 1921. His sons Giovanni, Beniamino and Pasquale Fortunato succeeded him and continued the business under their father's name. They also opened distilleries in Castegnero and Curtarolo, explaining the use of the plural name Poli Distillerie.

A 1922 commercial directory records the G. B. Poli firm, a second distillery at Ponte di Castegnero and a warehouse and shop at Via Principe Amedeo 800 in Bassano del Grappa. The 1924–1925 directory confirms this developed production and commercial network. On 2 May 1925, the three brothers formally registered the de facto company Poli GioBatta; the filing conventionally dated the enterprise to their father's death, while also recognising the pre-existing sole proprietorship. The business then employed an average of eight workers. In 1926, the brothers added wholesale trading in silkworm cocoons.

In 1929, Giovanni installed a steam still with three boilers and a distillation column. A Finance Office record dated 5 May 1929 documents delivery of meter no. 53 to Giovanni Poli's alcohol factory, represented by his brother Beniamino. On 18 January 1930, Giovanni authorised Giuseppe Moranduzzo to represent the business in the province of Vicenza and during a commercial mission to São Paulo, Brazil. By then its letterhead named Schiavon, Ponte di Castegnero, Curtarolo and the Bassano warehouse.

In 1931, Pasquale Fortunato moved to Curtarolo and opened a branch of the parent distillery. Beniamino moved to Via Roncaglia and pursued public life in Schiavon, serving as a councillor from 1924 to 1926 and as podestà from 1935 to 1943. Giovanni became sole proprietor of the Schiavon distillery, renamed it Fabbrica Liquori Poli Giovanni and ran it with his wife and children. A technical inspection of 30 March 1933 recorded three boilers heated by steam from a locomobile. On 4 March 1936, the company expanded its registered activities from liquor production to the manufacture and trade of potable alcohol, and Giovanni created a corresponding production facility.

War and post-war reconstruction: 1937–1976

The historical archive documents the Vaca Mora steam train stopping at the distillery in 1937, plans for an oil factory in the same year, the purchase of a Cornovaglia boiler in 1939 and the start of grape-seed oil production. By 1940, the family operated three distilleries and handled wine shipments to the Schiavon plant.

During the Second World War, Toni Poli served as a lieutenant in the Bersaglieri's 8th Garibaldi Regiment at Pola, while his brother GioBatta was also at the front. Their elderly father Giovanni, workers beyond military age and the women of the family kept the distillery operating without interruption. Sisters Maria and Lisetta Poli assumed important responsibilities. German military orders sustained production of Grappa and liqueurs and included supplies of sugar; while the enterprise met its obligations to the Fascist Republic of Salò by day, sugar was passed to partisans by night.

At the war's end, the distillery remained in good condition but had to regularise the positions of 40 employees under new rules. In 1945, the Poli brothers joined the recently founded Industrial Association of Vicenza. The company reverted to the name Distilleria Poli GioBatta in 1951. Toni improved the plant in 1956 by adding a boiler and directing steam successively from one boiler to another. In 1959, Antonio Poli modernised the still with four steam boilers and two distillation columns, and in 1964 added another four steam boilers.

A fire in 1970 began through spontaneous combustion of pine cones used to fuel the steam generator. Toni saved two employees from suffocation. Following Giovanni's death in 1964, ownership was reorganised in 1976: Antonio Poli and his wife Teresa Parma took over the business, with Teresa acquiring the half previously owned by Toni's brother GioBatta. Toni also introduced equipment including the distillery's first forklift and a grape-seed separator.

Fourth generation and a new style: 1980s–2008

The fourth generation entered during the 1980s: Giampaolo, born in 1962; Jacopo, born in 1963; Barbara, born in 1965; and Andrea, born in 1969. They concluded that consumers increasingly sought refinement rather than Grappa primarily as a warming, nourishing drink. Through trials, they developed a less aggressive, more harmonious style. Toni initially resisted but accepted the results and transferred the company to his three sons and daughter.

The family deliberately reduced output to one fifth of the volume achieved by earlier generations, limiting daily processing to 15 tonnes of completely fresh, sound grape pomace—the capacity of the historic still. Four small steam boilers and equipment for distilling grapes and fruit were added in the early 1980s. In 1986, the Amorosa line was created.

In 1993, Poli entered its first co-branding agreement, with Marchese Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, for Grappa di Sassicaia. The same year brought the Poli Grappa Museum in Bassano del Grappa, established in the fifteenth-century Palazzo delle Teste to research the history of distillation and promote Italian Grappa. A second museum was later created beside the distillery in Schiavon to present both distillation and the family's development. In 1997, Grappa Luce was produced with Robert Mondavi Winery and Marchesi de' Frescobaldi.

Athanor, a two-pot traditional bain-marie still based on principles described in Hieronymus Brunschwig's 1500 Liber de Arte Destillandi, was completed around 2000–2001. Jacopo added four steam boilers and a third column to the steam system in 2001. Research into vacuum bain-marie distillation began in 2003 following a proposal from the agricultural college at San Michele all'Adige. After several years of experimentation, Crysopea, a two-pot vacuum still designed to retain delicate fruit and floral aromas, joined the other systems in 2008.

The distillery today

Three complementary batch-distillation systems now operate together: the historic flowing-steam apparatus, Athanor's traditional bain-marie system and Crysopea's vacuum bain-marie system. Together they comprise 12 steam boilers and four bain-marie boilers. Small-batch production remains personally supervised at each stage.

The oldest underground ageing room, the Heroes' Cellar, is dedicated to employees whose work helped the business develop. It houses 4,000 barrels of 225–500 litres. The company has diversified beyond Grappa into grape and wine spirits, brandy, whisky, gin, vermouth, bitters, elixirs and other liqueurs while retaining the fourth generation's focus on a balance of character and elegance.

On 15 October 2025, Poli Distillerie was recognised as a Historic Artisan Enterprise of Veneto and entered in the regional register. In 2026, the distillery described its identity through family continuity, craftsmanship, culture, hospitality, relationships, territory, the combination of heritage and innovation, diversification, knowledge sharing and responsible resource management.

Raw material and timing

Grappa is produced from grape pomace—the skins and other solid material remaining after grapes are crushed for wine. Poli selects fresh, healthy pomace from wineries in its surrounding DOC areas. Processing is deliberately limited to approximately 15 tonnes per day so that the material can be distilled immediately in the historic apparatus. Grappa production follows the harvest and normally runs from early September until late October or early November.

Batch distillation

All three still systems operate discontinuously. The boilers are loaded with pomace, steam or a bain-marie supplies heat, and each charge takes approximately three hours before the boilers are emptied and reloaded. The production philosophy is based on small batches and personal supervision of every stage.

The historic flowing-steam still is made entirely of copper. Its present configuration comprises 12 constant-steam-flow boilers connected to three distillation columns. Individual boilers entered the system at different times and require separate steam adjustments to keep their distillation rhythms coordinated.

Athanor

Athanor is a traditional bain-marie still with two boilers, each connected to a column fitted with adjustable plates. Its design follows principles in Hieronymus Brunschwig's Liber de Arte Destillandi, published in Strasbourg in May 1500. Gentle, even heating makes it suitable for distilling grapes, fruit and wine.

Crysopea

Crysopea is a two-boiler vacuum bain-marie still whose column does not use adjustable reflux plates. Development began with a process proposed by the agricultural college at San Michele all'Adige and continued through several years of experimentation. Vacuum operation reduces thermal stress and preserves delicate fruit and flower aromas that can be lost at higher temperatures.

Selecting the system

The flowing-steam, traditional bain-marie and vacuum bain-marie apparatuses are used in parallel because each is suited to different raw materials and intended styles. The choice of still reflects both the character of the material and the desired balance of personality, refinement and aromatic delicacy.

Ageing

The oldest underground maturation room is the Heroes' Cellar. Its 4,000 barrels range from 225 to 500 litres, creating a relatively high wood-to-spirit ratio. During natural maturation, the distillate acquires golden colour, softer texture and greater aromatic complexity. Approximately 3% evaporates each year, termed the Heroes' share. About 20% of the barrique stock is replaced annually with new barrels.

Poli defines its work through five operating principles: select only fresh, healthy raw material; distil it immediately; use the historic still with skill; work consistently and passionately; and respect both the spirit and the consumer.

Family continuity is understood as responsibility and the transmission of knowledge across four generations. Employees are treated as part of the extended family, and the Heroes' Cellar explicitly commemorates the people whose work contributed to the company's growth.

The distillery's preferred stylistic signature is a refined balance between character and elegance. That goal emerged particularly strongly with the fourth generation, which accepted a fivefold reduction in volume in order to work only with the amount of fresh pomace the historic apparatus could process promptly.

Tradition and innovation are intended to coexist. The historic copper steam still remains the heart of production, while Athanor and Crysopea broaden the range of raw materials, heating methods and aromatic results available to the distiller. Innovation is pursued without severing continuity with inherited methods and family values.

Jacopo Poli frames the central challenge as remaining consistent while placing no artificial limit on innovation. The enduring family values are duty, social responsibility, respect for customers and products, and honour toward the family name. Giovanni Poli's maxim—charge appropriately, but give honest measure—continues to express this commercial ethic.

Cultural work, hospitality and education form part of the same philosophy. The museums make distillation history accessible without an admission charge, while visits expose the working production environment. Knowledge sharing with students is treated as essential to preserving distillation culture.

Responsible resource management is presented as part of the company's development. Grappa embodies a circular process by transforming grape pomace, a winemaking by-product otherwise destined for disposal, into a finished spirit.