Chiara Boschis

In 1980, after the death of Luigi Pira—the last in line of a historic local winemaking family—a young, radical Chiara Boschis convinced her parents to take out a mortgage and purchase the E. Pira cantina and vineyards, which she subsequently managed. At the same time, a nascent revolution was budding in Barolo. The Barolo Boys, led principally by Elio Altare, were revolutionising the way Barolo was made, marketed and sold. Despite being the only female member, Chiara became its most celebrated protagonist amongst a new wave of nebbiolo junkies. Whilst she adopted ‘modernist’ winemaking practices, Boschis also strongly advocated for organic viticulture, campaigning fervently to convert every grower in Cannubi to more considerate practices. In 2010, Chiara’s brother Giorgio and his wife and children joined Chiara at E. Pira. In 2013, they expanded, adding Mosconi to the single-vineyard wines Cannubi and Via Nuova, which now includes fruit from parcels in Liste, Ravera, and Gabutti. Today, barriques are only a third new, a third one-year old, and a third more than one year old. Chiara also purchased some 2000-litre botte, which the single-vineyard Barolo are partly aged in. Vinifcation is subtly different, too, still in roto-fermentors but undergoing a cooler, longer maceration. The resulting wines are all the better for it—Chiara’s recent releases are rich, textural and expansive.