Distillery
Poli Distillerie: A Centuries-Old Identity in Ten Key Elements
Poli Distillerie was founded in 1898 in Schiavon, but its roots lie in a centuries-old family history that began in 1410 with farming, evolved into the wine trade, and eventually led to the art of distillation.
This deep connection with its origins, craftsmanship, and the local area is what has shaped and preserved Poli’s identity over time. As Jacopo Poli states, “the challenge has been to remain consistent without placing limits on innovation, building on values that inspire our work every day.”
Here are ten elements that help define the essence of Poli Distillerie in all its facets.
1. Family
Family is at the heart of the distillery’s identity: for four generations it has embodied continuity, responsibility, and the passing down of knowledge. The extended Poli family also includes all the employees who have contributed to the company’s growth by working every day with dedication and passion.
2. Craftsmanship
To this day, production follows a handcrafted philosophy based on small batches and on the personal supervision of every stage of the distillation process.
3. Culture
The Poli Grappa Museum is a cornerstone of the company’s philosophy. A true act of love for Italy’s most authentic spirit, its mission is to make the knowledge and the flavour contained in a single drop of Grappa accessible to everyone, free of charge, transforming the art of distillation into a shared cultural experience.
4. Hospitality
For Poli, hospitality is a true vocation, reflected each year in more than 150,000 visitors from all over the world. The Schiavon and Bassano del Grappa sites are among the most visited corporate museums in Italy. It is no coincidence that Poli is the only Italian distillery selected by the renowned Lonely Planet travel guide as one of the ten craft distilleries in the world worth visiting.
5. Relationships
The history of Poli Distillerie is the result of continuity over time, built on relationships that have been woven across generations: employees, customers, suppliers, and partners with whom the company has developed strong and lasting bonds. As a historic distillery, Poli has made the durability of its relationships one of its defining values.
6. Territory
The Poli family has lived and worked in the Veneto region for more than 600 years, intertwining its activities with the social fabric of the local community. The territory carries the memory of the generations that have passed through it, lived in it, shaped it, and transformed it; it is a unique and irreplaceable heritage of stories, a treasure chest of values, knowledge, and culture. The territory is the people who inhabit it with their customs and traditions, the natural environment that defines it, the history that has shaped it, the resources it possesses, the artistic beauty that enriches it, the economic activities that animate it, the political vision that guides it, and the connections among the people and organisations that are part of it. As a centuries-old company, Poli Distillerie is a vital part of the territory in which it operates. It understands and interprets its genius loci-its distinctive spirit-breathes in its vitality, and shares in its creative atmosphere.
7. Heritage and Innovation
The historic heart of the distillery is the ancient alembic, entirely made of copper, consisting of steam-heated batch boilers, one of the very few that remain in existence and continue to operate today. Alongside it are Crysopea and Athanor, innovative bain-marie and vacuum distillation systems. Traditional methods therefore coexist harmoniously with the most advanced technologies, while always maintaining the handcrafted approach of small-batch production.
8. Diversification
Alongside Grappa, Poli produces other expressions of the art of distillation and liqueur-making: whisky, gin, brandy, vermouth, bitters, and elixirs. These products exist in a continuous dialogue between tradition, research, and experimentation, with the aim of satisfying the tastes and expectations of different audiences. What unites these diverse categories of spirits is the same artisanal care and the careful selection of the finest raw materials, ensuring consistently high quality standards and allowing the distinctive Poli style-a refined balance of character and elegance-to be found in every product.
9. Knowledge
Education, knowledge sharing, and dialogue with younger generations are essential to ensuring the continuity and growth of distillation culture. To this end, Jacopo Poli devotes particular attention to school groups, having personally welcomed more than 4,000 students of all ages and educational levels over the past four years.
10. Sustainability
The responsible management of resources and production processes is an integral part of the company’s evolution. Grappa itself is a perfect example of the circular economy: grape pomace, a by-product of winemaking that was originally destined for disposal, is transformed through the alembic into a spirit of outstanding quality.
These are the ten elements that define the identity of Poli Distillerie: a common thread that, since 1898, has united countless drops of distilled spirit, each of which contains the story of a family and its secret-preserving the past with the same passion with which it envisions the future.