Pio Cesare is a wine producer in Piedmont, Italy, particularly known for its elegant Barolo and Barbaresco wines. The estate was founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio, and is one of the oldest in the region and one of the first to export. It is still owned and run by his descendants. From Robert Parker's Wine Buying Guide: "One of the oldest firms in Piedmont (founded in 1881) and one of the few to operate out of the village of Alba, Pio Cesare is the most recent in an unending string of traditional Piedmontese winemakers. The house is going through a transitional stage, trying to fashion a middle ground between the traditionally styled wines of the past and the new-wave modernists. It continues to make subtle winemaking refinements that enhance the wines' fruit character without compromising their full-bodied, ageworthy style. I still have bottles of 1969 and 1970 Pio Cesare Barolos that are drinking beautifully at nearly 20 years of age." (2002) Wine Spectator's vintage guide ranks 1974 Piedmont among "notable older vintages."