Farewell to Pio Boffa, one of the greatest Italian wine producers

He was a pioneer. He was passionate and precise in his work, aware and content to write an important piece of history about the Langhe. He was one of the first to give a concrete meaning to and understand the value of investing in the territory, and for the territory. And he achieved this by making his own brand a point of reference for Piedmont wines, opening the path to many international markets that he personally supervised, with his Barolos and Barbarescos, and traveling tirelessly from one side to the other of the world with his wines. He followed the tradition of the family winery that Pio Cesare founded in the late nineteenth century to produce wines for himself and friends, which soon became well known in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, thanks also to the travels of his enterprising founder with passport number 55, one of the first to be released in Italy. Pio Boffa, historic wine producer at the helm of Pio Cesare, who has died prematurely at the age of 66, was “a great entrepreneur, one of the most important figures in the Italian wine world as well as Barolo and Barbaresco”, WineNews director Alessandro Regoli remembered. He has passed away in “a year that was very challenging for many”, hoping for “restarting and vaccines” and finding comfort in the vineyards and in the winery, because at least “nature has been kind, bringing a perfect combination of quality and quantity”, while “economic uncertainty and market crises reign outside”, he said in one of the last interviews with WineNews in March, cautioning “to be vigilant and realistic, and also communicate this suffering to the consumer”.
“I have lost a very good friend”, added Regoli, “a respectable person who, more than any other in the Langa, traveled the world for 30 years to build demand on the markets for his wines, as well as all the wines in his territory and Piedmont wines in general. He was a true point of reference for our analyses and our comments, one of the entrepreneurs we listened to with attention and admiration for his reliable, important, quality and first-hand information on international trends”.
The spirit has continued over five generations that have successfully produced great wines in the family winery, focusing always on the highest quality. Pio Boffa had succeeded his great-grandfather (and he took his surname as a name), continuing a 140-year-long history, with his wife Nicoletta, his cousin Augusto, his nephew Cesare, son of his sister Federica, and his daughter Federica Rosy beside him. And now, they will carry the company forward, on the 70 hectares of vineyards in the most prestigious areas of Barolo and Barbaresco and their crus, “proudly included in the list of Additional Geographical Mentions”. The historic winery is built on ancient Roman walls in the heart of Alba (and in the Istituto del Vino di Qualità Italiana Grande Marchi), and whose wines, from the “Classic” Nebbioli to the “Single-Vineyard” (Barolo Ornato and Mosconi, and Barbaresco Il Bricco, alongside Fides Barbera d'Alba Superiore “Vigna Mosconi” and Chardonnay Piodilei), but not only, today are exported to over 50 countries around the world. “Good-bye Pio, my friend, rest in peace on your last journey”.