Pio Cesare was established in 1881 by the founder, Cesare by name and Pio by surname, in Alba, the capital of Langhe, and nowadays it is the only winery still operating in the historical center of the city and the only one which can be labelled with the coat of arms of the city of Alba, the iconic red cross, which frames the four letters of the name.
The property is located within the historic center, bordered by the Ancient Roman Walls of the city of Alba Pompeia, which are the foundations and are still visible in some places of the impressive cellars, built on 4 levels, one of which is even below the water table of the Tanaro river.
Like other high quality wineries born in this period, Pio Cesare represents one of the historical bulwarks of the Langhe and of the region in the world: the different generations that followed one another at the helm of the winery have been committed to bottle and label their wines, a practice initially not common in the area, and then to bring in the world their production and the name of Barolo. For these reasons, today the label of these wines, besides being a guarantee, is also an important historical memory.
After almost 140 years, the winery is still strictly family owned. The fourth generation, with Pio Boffa, has in fact led and directed the winery, combining tradition with innovation in the cellar. His daughter Federica Rosy and grandson Cesare worked side by side with him, representing the Fifth Generation and guaranteeing the continuity of the style of Pio Cesare wines in the future.
In the spring of 2021, Pio Boffa passed away. Federica Rosy and Cesare take up his legacy and carry on the centenarian history of the winery.
The year 2021 is also the 140th anniversary of Pio Cesare, commemorated with a special label and a limited edition series.
Pio Cesare owns more than 75 hectares of vineyards, located in particularly suited positions, intentionally located in many communes of the Barolo and Barbaresco area.
The choice of having the vineyards located in different areas is not casual, it is actually another important sign of the long history and importance of this winery. Traditionally, in fact, producers who had the ambition of cultivating their vineyards directly and of buying land, tried to diversify the properties, with the goal, on one hand, to find the best exposition and different characteristics of soils, on the other hand, to balance, within the wines, the different characteristics in order to create, every year, balanced and characteristic wines of the appellation.
This was the classic way of making Barolo, Barbaresco and other Albese wines at the end of the 1800’s and it remains the philosophy of the Pio Cesare family, today and for the future: the will of blending and amalgamating the different characteristics of each vineyard and of each area in order to produce wines which are representative of the style of the totality of the terroirs of each appellation instead of just that of each of them.
Pio Cesare was one of the great pioneers of Barolo and Barbaresco, in Italy and in the world, and today he continues his tradition by producing wines which faithfully represent the different terroirs of the area, remaining faithful to the Family’s style, year after year, vintage after vintage.
