In Dogliani, Mattarella remembers Luigi Einaudi, the winemaker President and pro-Europeanist

“Always trying to find loyal harmony with the government and Parliament, Luigi Einaudi made full use of the prerogatives attributed to his office whenever he deemed it necessary”. These are the words of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, remembering the figure of the first Head of the State of Italy, elected by Parliament in 1948 and who stayed in office until 1955. The 70th anniversary of his inauguration was celebrated in Dogliani, where Einaudi is buried, during a commemorative ceremony in the vineyards where his beloved Poderi Luigi Einaudi produces Barolo, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo. He bought the Poderi when he was a very young man, and today it is one of the most prestigious Italian wineries, led by his grandson, Matteo Sardagna Einaudi.
He was a true native of Piedmont, tall and straight and a strong personality, born in Carrù (Cuneo), he then moved to Dogliani, which for him was not just “a great place” for summer holidays. He proceeded to buy a vineyard that over time became an important winery bearing his name, and today its 60 hectares boast a varied range of wines, as it continues to expand through new investments. In December 2017, the company bought 1.5 hectares in Verduno, Monvigliero, an acquisition that is an important part of the Poderi Luigi Einaudi project dedicated to Barolo, a path to choose the best Cru and the goal of bringing excellence to the market.
He is a historical figure but modern as well, as his political weight is even more important than that of winemaker (for instance, by using rootstock grafted to American vines to stop phylloxera, he actually brought modern viticulture to the Langhe), because as President Mattarella has said, Einaudi was a “Europeanist and federalist, he strongly felt the sense of Europe's autonomy in relation to the conflict that opposed the two superpowers at the time. He did not believe in the idea that the protection of the United States of America would be enough to guarantee what, in his opinion, the nation states were no longer able to assure their citizens: security, freedom and well-being. European civilization could save itself from self-destruction only by placing itself in the perspective of integration and pursuing the path of the United States of Europe”.