Leading the way for Teroldego in the Trentino with Elisabetta Foradori

For a long time now I’ve heard about the wines of Elisabetta Foradori, but had yet to try them.  I attended a tasting and tried a couple of the teroldego wines that she produces.  Until I did my research into the Foradori winery as well as studing for my Italian Wine Scholar certification I didn’t realize that impact she has made on the wine industry in the Trentino wine region, especially with the teroldego grape. 

The Winery 

The Foradori winery was started back in 1939 by Vittorio Foradori.  Due to the passing of Vittorio, his daughter Elisabetta Foradori took over upon her graduation in enology from the Istituto di San michele all’Adige.  

Elisabetta Foradori

Elisabetta has made many changes including becoming biodynamic in 2002 with a later Demeter certification in 2009.  In 2010 Elisabetta and 10 other producers established the I Dolomitici consortium in Trentino.  Their site provides an in depth look into the close care and attention that she takes in producing wines biodynamically.  It’s all about a relationship with nature, the vines and the land with the least amount of manipulation to allow the grapes to show their true selves in the glass. 

The Grape ~ Teroldego 

Teroldego is a grape native to Trentino and grows particularly well in the area of the Campo Rotaliano.  This plateau of flat land surrounded by the mountains in northern Trentino is made of stony alluvial soils, limestone and gravel.   

Teroldego wines are dark and deep in color, full-bodied, rather fruity with ripe berries, smooth tannins and a little spice.  Aged wines developer further dense, complex characteristics.   

The Wine 

The 2015 Foradori Granato Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT is made of 100% teroldego.  It is sourced from 3 vineyards of theirs in the Campo Rotaliano.  The wine is fermented in large open oak casks and spends 15 months in old oak botti up to 22 hectolitres.   It is unfiltered with an additional year of age in the bottle.  A beautifully dense and concentrated wine rich in blueberries and blackberries.  Full-bodied, but nice elegance with a lasting finish.  SRP $53 

The Granato is the longest aged wine they have.  The first vintage of Granato was produced back in 1986.  This wine brought international attention and recognition to what Elisabetta was and is achieving at the winery.  

On their 70 acres of land, 75% of it is dedicated to teroldego with the rest including manzoni bianco, nosiola and pinot grigio.  The winery originally used new French barriques with some of their wines, but hasn’t used any new or used barriques since 2008.  Elisabetta felt it was better to shift to a “gentle and traditional, true terroir focus”.  Winemaking choices like this, plus being organic, biodynamic, hand-harvesting grapes, spontaneous fermentation and other methods are what make her wines special.   

Today Elisabetta is joined in the winery by her two sons and I look forward to hopefully trying some of the other wines that she produces and learning more about her mark in the wine industry in Trentino.  

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*Pictures copyright of Elisabetta Foradori and photographer Andrea Scaramuzza.