Pio Cesare
Gavi 2022
Our cellars
Our cellars are some of the few still operating that are located in the historical center of the town of Alba in Italy’s Piedmont region. Built at the end of the 1700s, the ancient cellars are delimited and surrounded by the ancient Pompeii Roman walls, which date back to 50 B.C. and are its main foundations, seen in every corner of the cellar. The cellars are situated on four different ground levels, one of which is even lower than the Tanaro River. The naturally constant temperatures and appropriate humidity of our cellars have been crucial for the style and quality of our wines over the years. Here, we receive the grapes from our different vineyards, and we ferment and age our wines in oak casks, barrels and in bottles for specific periods of time, depending on each type of wine and our Family style.
Vineyards
Our Family owns about 70 hectares (173 acres) of vineyards with great exposures in the most highly rated regions of Piemonte. The location of our vineyards in a variety of areas was not chosen randomly, but was determined by our strong belief in blending the different characteristics of each vineyard and region in order to produce wines that represent the styles of each appellation terroir as a whole, instead of individual sites. This was the classic method of producing Barolo, Barbaresco and the other classic wines at the end of the 19th century and it still remains our Family’s philosophy, today and in the future.
Since 1881, five generations of our Family have followed one another in guaranteeing and protecting continuity in the quality and style of Pio Cesare’s wines.
Wine of the Week
Pio Cesare
Gavi 2022
Grape Variety
Cortese 100%
Vineyard
Sourced exclusively from hillside vineyards exposures, in a few selected locations of the Gavi area, from Families who have been producing grapes under the strict control of the Pio Cesare Family for generations.
Notes
Fresh, clean and spicy aromas. Salty, with ripe fruit and rich, complex flavor. Great ageing potential.
About the House
Pio Cesare
Our cellars are located in the historical center of Alba, built on the 2,000-year-old city’s ancient Roman walls.
History
Family
History
Pio Cesare has been producing wines for 135 years and through five generations in its ancient cellars in the center of the town of Alba.
The Pio Cesare winery was founded in 1881, by Cesare Pio. He was a very successful entrepreneur and was inspired to produce a small and select quantity of wines from the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco for himself, his family, friends, and customers. Cesare Pio was dedicated to the terroir of the Piedmont region and to producing wines of the highest quality.
Over the years, Cesare Pio built a thriving business.
His entrepreneurial spirit encouraged him to travel throughout Europe in the early 20th century to publicize and promote Pio Cesare’s wines. His passport, which is proudly displayed at the winery in Alba, bears the number 55.
His son, Giuseppe Pio, the second generation, found himself with a thriving winery at the turn of the century. He carried on his father’s passion and invested in expansion of the cellars and the trade, making Pio Cesare a benchmark brand for the wines of the region.
In 1940, Giuseppe Pio’s only child, Rosy, married Giuseppe Boffa, a young and well-known engineer from Alba, who managed a large company in Milan at the time.
Then Italy began to struggle during the Second World War,Giuseppe Boffa decided to leave his job in Milan to dedicate himself to the Pio Cesare winery.
Thanks to his efforts, the Pio Cesare brand gained fame and prominence both domestically and internationally, becoming one of the most respected names among Italian wine producers, with a special focus on its renowned Barolo.
Rosy and Giuseppe Boffa named their youngest son Pio, in honor of his great-grandfather’s surname. Pio Boffa, the fourth generation, leads and directs the company today.In the early 1990’s Pio Boffa asked his cousin Augusto to join him in the company.
His sister’s son, Cesare Benvenuto, has been active since 2000 as the fifth generation and recently Pio Boffa’s daughter, Federica Rosy, joined Pio Cesare, representing the future of the Family.
Today, the family members travel extensively to more than 50 countries around the world, echoing what Cesare Pio himself did at the beginning of our history—promoting the name and reputation of the Pio Cesare winery to restaurants, hotels, wine shops and wine lovers worldwide.
Family
Our Family has always guaranteed, as it does today, the continuity of style and quality in Pio Cesare wines.
Although our Family is personally and directly involved in each step of the production process and in the distribution of our wines, we depend on the esteemed professionalism of our staff:
