Giovanni Manetti confirmed as head of Chianti Classico wine consortium

No two without three: Giovanni Manetti, of the Fontodi winery, confirmed as head of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium.

In the centennial year of Italy’s oldest wine consortium, Manetti is acclaimed president for the third time.
Also in the sign of continuity is the choice of vice-presidents: re-elected Francesco Colpizzi and Sergio Zingarelli.

On September 9, 2021, Giovanni Manetti, class of ’63, a Chianti DOC, had been confirmed as President of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium for a second (three-year) term.
On the same day in 2024 Manetti was again acclaimed for another three-year term at the helm of the Consortium, for the third time, in a very special year for the entity, that of its Centennial.

The appointment was made by the newly elected Board of Directors who unanimously decided.
They once again entrusted the owner of the well-known Chianti winery in Panzano with the delicate task of leading the Consortium.
And thus give continuity to a strategic vision, which, in recent years, has led the Chianti Classico appellation to grow in notoriety, prestige and value.

Who is Giovanni Manetti

Lhe passion for the world of wine of Giovanni Manetti, who still likes to call himself a winemaker-craftsman, a Cavaliere del Lavoro since 2021, has led him to live multiple aspects of it, as a technician, as an entrepreneur and as an active participant in the life of the denomination, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium since 1992, as Vice President since 2012 and finally as President since 2018.

This varied and mature experience has received the full consensus of the different categories, represented in the Consortium’s Board of Directors (vintners, winemakers, bottlers). These reaffirmed their confidence in the strategic approach promoted by Manetti, based on the further enhancement of the Black Rooster denomination. A continuous search for product quality, made of authenticity and territoriality, improving its positioning and image on national and international markets.

Achievements

The Manetti Presidency has achieved important milestones for the enhancement of the denomination. For example, the recent introduction of UGAs (Additional Geographical Units) in the production regulations and the increase in the minimum share of Sangiovese grapes for the Gran Selezione type (from 80 to 90 percent), with a ban on the use of international grape varieties for this wine. Other projects are underway and/or in the making, from the path toward UNESCO recognition, to work on a sustainability protocol for the future of the appellation. Projects that are the result of the foresight that has always characterized the spirit of those who have administered the Consortium, starting back in 1924, when the 33 founding fathers had the brilliant idea of associating a visual symbol with the product they wanted to protect and promote, choosing the Black Rooster as the emblem of Chianti Classico wine.

The word from Giovanni Manetti

“I have been asked to renew my availability to lead this prestigious Consortium, and I am very pleased with the trust that the entire membership once again places in me.” – commented Giovanni Manetti – “I therefore gladly accept this commitment.
With renewed enthusiasm, I hope to lead the Consortium and our member companies for another three-year term.
Many are the challenges that await us in the coming years, so I hope to be able to continue successfully along the path we have taken.
Contributing to the consolidation and further enhancement of one of the excellences of the Italian and international wine world.
Finally, I would like to thank the board members who have supported me to date, those who have been reconfirmed but also those newly elected who will certainly bring new life and new ideas to our Board.
My special thanks then go to all the Chianti viticulturists.
It is thanks to them, in fact, that our denomination continues to assert itself and grow worldwide.
I thank everyone, finally, for continuing to believe in the “common house,” which is our Consortium.
Indeed, cohesion is, as I have repeatedly stressed, one of the strengths of our denomination: united we win. “

The Consortium

The Consortium in recent years has become increasingly aware of the unbreakable link that exists between a product of excellence.
Its territory of production.
In fact, the advancement of the process for the Unesco candidacy of Chianti Classico as a cultural landscape will play a priority role in the program for the next three years.
The continuation of the activities of the Distretto Rurale del Chianti, in agreement with the municipalities of the area; agronomic research in the area, also in order to better cope, over time, with climate change.
The promotion of the Additional Geographic Units project, as a tool to amplify the wine-territory binomial; and finally, the study and development of a sustainability protocol that can help preserve our heritage – Chianti Classico wine and its production territory – for future generations.

Along with Giovanni Manetti at the head of the consortium, Francesco Colpizzi and Sergio Zingarelli are confirmed as vice presidents.