Luca Formentini

The Climb

Cultural administration and agricultural stewardship have run in parallel through Luca Formentini’s work, with each role reinforcing the other. He served as president at Consorzio San Martino della Battaglia (1989–2008), then as president at Consorzio Lugana Doc (2013–2019), and later as Vice President at Consorzio Lugana (2019–2022). The dates mark a steady move through institutions tied to the region’s identity, and they point to a figure shaped by guardianship as much as by administration. His current roles extend that same logic of continuity across vineyard, institution, and classroom. He is compositore musicale of Luca Formentini (since 1982), a title that sits alongside his agrarian work rather than apart from it. He is also proprietario and president and owner of Podere Selva Capuzza (since 1990), where the estate’s language is one of place, patience, and continuity. In addition, he serves as Consigliere di amministrazione of Consorzio di Tutela Lugana DOC (since 2011), and as lecturer in tourism strategy and lecturer in sustainability of Università degli Studi di Brescia (since 2016), bringing a local perspective into teaching.

Today

He continues to lead Podere Selva Capuzza as president and owner, with his thinking still anchored in the landscape around him. "My passion was born from the relationship with the place, with the environment," he has said, a line that fits a practice built on attention to site rather than abstraction. In his framing, wine is not treated as an isolated object but as an expression of a living setting, shaped by soil, climate, and memory. The cellar follows the same restraint. "We produce wines only from native and traditional grapes, so no international varieties." The statement is direct, and its position is clear: the estate is defined by what belongs to the area, not by borrowing from outside it. Podere Selva Capuzza, in that sense, functions as both a family property and a position on regional identity.

Signature

Luca's signature dishes include Lugana Selva 2022. The name itself ties the bottle to the estate and the year, fitting a body of work that stays close to origin and continuity.

In Their Words “It is not possible to talk about wine without talking about territory, which means identity, landscape, culture and its language.” “We produce wines only from native and traditional grapes, so no international varieties.”

Recognition

"It is not possible to talk about wine without talking about territory, which means identity, landscape, culture and its language."