Why it matters
The producer
Elisabetta Foradori took over the family estate in Mezzocorona in 1984, at nineteen, after her father died. What she inherited was a 29-hectare property on the Campo Rotaliano plain in Trentino, northern Italy, centred on Teroldego, a thick-skinned red grape that most growers at the time sold as bulk wine without a producer name.
She chose a different direction. Over the following decades she converted the estate to biodynamic farming, mapped 15 distinct biotypes of Teroldego through massal selection, moved the cellar away from new oak toward neutral barrels and amphorae, and built a range that made Teroldego an internationally recognised grape. Her three children now work alongside her: Emilio manages wine production, Theo oversees business and commerce, Myrtha handles farming.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Campo Rotaliano is a flat plain at the confluence of the Noce and Adige rivers in Trentino, the northernmost wine region in mainland Italy. It is the one place in Italy where Teroldego is recognised as an appellation grape, labelled Teroldego Rotaliano DOC.
The plain sits between mountains, and the temperature swings sharply between day and night through the growing season. That diurnal range slows the ripening of the thick-skinned Teroldego grape and keeps the aromatics intact: the violet and herb character that marks the variety comes partly from the slow, cool nights rather than from the soil alone. The plain is also the reason the wine is labelled the way it is: Teroldego without the Campo Rotaliano address is a different grape in a different context.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The 29-hectare estate is farmed biodynamically. Vine training is a mix of pergola and guyot, depending on the parcel and vine age. No synthetic inputs. The massal selections from Elisabetta's biotype mapping are propagated within the estate rather than sourced from commercial nurseries, which keeps the planting material tied to the original Campo Rotaliano population.
The entry Foradori Teroldego is fermented in cement tanks and aged 12 months in a combination of barrel and cement. Granato is fermented with native yeast only and aged approximately 15 months in neutral oak. No new oak appears in any wine in the current range.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Teroldego range moves through four expressions from everyday to old-vine flagship.
Foradori Teroldego is the entry point: 100% Teroldego from younger pergola and guyot vines on the alluvial gravel and sand of Campo Rotaliano. Fermented in cement, aged 12 months in barrel and cement. Dark fruit, violet, and herb character with the saline mineral finish the plain's soils produce. 50,000 bottles annually.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Granato. It is sourced from the three oldest parcels on the estate, pergola-trained vines that average 70 years, their roots deep in the gravel and sand of Campo Rotaliano. The wine is fermented with native yeast and aged 15 months in neutral oak, which adds depth and frame without adding any flavour of its own.