Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/992999
58 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2018 tion: Federica Rosy Boffa Pio, his only daughter, and Cesare Benvenuto Pio, his sister's son. Coincidentally, Boffa Pio's path parallels her father's in many ways. Pio was 43 when his daughter was born, the same difference in age as he and his father. Although he had always hoped she would join him in leading the company, he never pressured her to do so and wasn't sure of her intentions. "A few weeks after she gradu - ated high school, she came by my office to say hi," Pio recalls. The winery was expected at an event in the Arena di Verona and Boffa Pio had overheard her father say that no one was available to represent them. "Can I go?" she asked. "My pen literally dropped . . . It's easy to say that was the best day of my life," Pio says proudly. Although Boffa Pio admits to being rather shy, her discern - ing wit and thoughtfulness is immediately apparent upon meeting her. She seems to have inherited another trait directly from her father and grandfather : "I never just do something I'm told to do. I always do what I want, otherwise, I won't do it," she explains. At the moment, her involve - ment in Pio Cesare is limited by her demanding schedule at the University of Turin, where she's earning her degree in business administration. Like her father, Boffa Pio believed { cover story } "This has always been in my DNA. I just had to spend some time digging inside myself to find that this was my path," Federica Rosy Boffa Pio says of her decision to lead the future of Pio Cesare. Located in Serralunga d'Alba in the Barolo DOCG, the 16-acre Ornato Vineyard is often referred to as "the amphitheater" due to its steep, 40-degree south- facing slopes that sit at an elevation of 380 meters above sea level.