Giovanni Ponchia

Born in Cittadella, a small city next to Padova in June 1977, Giovanni went on to live and study in a tiny village near Venice until 2001. Although he grew up in the Veneto region, traditionally known for wine production, his passion for wine began in 1998 during his military service in Friuli. From then on, he attended the Università di Enologia di Conegliano where he completed his degree in 2001.

Upon graduation Giovanni began working for San Filippo Fanti di Montalcino where he managed the wine cellar. Subsequently he decided to go back to work in the Veneto for the following wineries: Castello di Roncade, Giol and Ornella Molon. Afterwards Giovanni returned to Friuli to work for a winery in the Colli Orientali.

Since 2005 Giovanni has been operating as technician at the Soave Consortium, focusing mainly on the project of designating the cru zones of Soave as well as organizing Soave tastings for the most important magazines that cover wine. Giovanni partakes in numerous activities that make him a very important personality in Soave. He organizes educational tours for journalists and foreign buyers, performs research projects on Soave, specifically on the Garganega grape and how it affects the production of the local wine. These research activities are supported by the Universities of Padova, Conegliano, Verona, Asti and Napoli. Furthermore Giovanni organizes the logistic side of international wine events such as Tutti i colori del bianco, Vulcania, BCM and others.

Since 2006 Giovanni has been a member of the tasting commission of the Soave Consortium.
Despite his great passion for wine, Giovanni is also interested in cinema, hard rock, punk blues and 80s music. In fact he has played the electric bass since he was 16 and has produced a music album (2006) distributed in Italy.