Now in its 5th generation of wine production, the winery Pio Cesare has been making high quality wine for more than most of us can remember; historical wine manufacturers such as this one are becoming rarer as time goes, but are an essential part of touristic culture. Current owner Pio Boffa shares his views on how the wine making industry has changed and why we should show wine some well needed tender loving care.
As a person who holds great passion for the wine making industry, I take great joy in watching grapes from the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco growing. I look at how the quality level of the product can improve every time, even if it often means sacrificing the quantity of the crop. It usually results in drastically reducing the yields and increasing the costs, but it is a price I am more than willing to pay if it means achieving an almost perfect quality of wine.
The location of the vineyard makes all the difference; try as they might, not even the greatest of wine makers can create quality wines without good grapes. Our wines are a reflection of our terroirs, the spirit of our soil, of our hills, of our traditions. We are rewarded by satisfied clients; wine lovers who show appreciation towards our product from around the globe through great comments about our wines. It is precisely this feedback that fuels our pursuit of always providing the highest quality of wine possible, no matter the cost.
The down side? Hail storms during the peak of the growing season, a barrel which has turned out to have a lesser quality of wine than expected. Hearing negative comments about the quality of our wines (it happens sometimes), and perhaps most of all, conversing with people who believe themselves to be wine experts only to realise that their criticism is based on a lack of knowledge.
The realisation that not everyone appreciates the time and effort you put in your product can be disappointing at times, but it cannot affect your work.
Luckily for us, the entire world, even that part where wine is not integrated in their culture, is starting to appreciate wine. Lots of new people are approaching a moderate consumption, inevitably noticing the uniqueness of wines that are grown in specific areas. This is a good sign, a step closer towards the mission of many families like ours, who have spent centuries working to elevate the quality of world wines and appreciation towards it.
There are many different types of good wines in the world, ones that are best consumed young and others that really do get better with age. Both are equally great and both are important when it comes to choosing a wine to accompany your meal.
In Italy, but also in France, in Spain, Portugal and Greece, the consumption of wine is associated almost uniquely with food. We cannot bear the thought of eating without a bit of wine.
The protein rich food together with the acid, alcohol and tannins of wine are a heavenly combination; one sip of wine cleans the palate from the proteins and prepares it for the next bite.
The Hospitality trade has played a very important role in the past years when it comes to promoting the correct consumption of wine. In restaurants, people might try and experience different combinations of food and wines; restaurant owners, with their staff of sommeliers, have the unique and most important role of helping their guests make such new experiences with their suggestions. Sometimes, the wine lists are too extensive, more choices might not allow the unknowing guest to make the right selection. It is after having experienced new wines in restaurants that most of these guests start looking out for them in stores, setting fire to the passion of wine and food which so many of us now kindle.
Our Family Winery was established in 1881 by our great grandfather; we are actually the 5th generation running the estate, which has always been within the ownership and the management of our Company. I have been involved from the young age of 18, and in it, I have found a place where I can express my passion, pleasure, and consider it to be great fun. It’s all thanks to the strong influence of my parents and grandfather before me.
They taught me all I know about the secrets of great wine making and provided the building blocks needed for the business to keep on thriving. Ever since I was a kid, I knew that my desire was to be in the “wine world”; quite frankly I have never pictured myself doing anything apart from working at Pio Cesare.
