Sad news has just reached the newsroom: Cesare Pillon, a great journalist and longtime friend, has died.
Cesare Pillon, 94, a Turinese from a family of Venetian descent, has passed away. An educated and curious journalist, Pillon was among the most influential and long-lived signatures in Italian food and wine journalism.
He had started very young, when he was only twenty-one, at IlUnità, and then worked with prestigious newspapers such as Corriere della Sera and Il Mondo. During his long career, he covered crime news, politics, economics, costume and film criticism, as well as publishing several volumes devoted to the history of the labor movement.
Since the late 1970s his interest has turned increasingly toward the world of wine, which he has been able to recount with rigor and sensitivity, combining historical expertise and listening skills. Author of the historical-cultural entries in theEncyclopedia of Wine published by Boroli, Pillon was part of the commission that allowed Christie’s to organize the first auction of Italian wines, thus helping to bring our wine heritage to international attention.
Until his final years he continued to write about wine and lucidly observe market developments in the pages of Milano Finanza, keeping intact the passion and curiosity that have accompanied him throughout his life.
In a recent interview with Giacomo Bersanetti he had said, “When I approach a wine, I look for new emotions and unusual characters that strike me. The world of wine is so rich in extraordinary people, in friendships that are born around a bottle. It is difficult to establish a similarly intense relationship with a teetotaler. o”.
With his sharp pen and humane outlook, Cesare Pillon made a profound contribution to building wine culture in Italy. To him goes the affectionate and grateful memory of all of us who knew and esteemed him.
