Remembering Pio Boffa

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | APRIL 21, 2021

The news came over the weekend. It was not unexpected, but shocking just the same. Pio Boffa had succumbed to COVID-19 after a two-week battle in the hospital the texts said. And with that, Piedmont had lost another reference point.

Pio Boffa was the fourth generation to run his family’s Pio Cesare winery in Alba. He spearheaded many important initiatives at Pio Cesare, including the acquisition of numerous vineyards and the introduction of single-vineyard Barolos and Barbarescos. Boffa was also a great ambassador. He travelled the world constantly to promote his wines and Piedmont. Boffa’s boyish enthusiasm was infectious. “I just signed a deal to buy a large parcel in Mosconi,” he told me a few years ago, before the announcement was public. “I can’t wait for you to taste these wines,” he added as his voice resonated off the walls of his spacious office.