ELISABETTA FORADORI

Elisabetta was thrust into the wine-making scene at a very early age after the death of her father. It was 1985 and she had just graduated from high school. She had always been in touch with nature and when she took over the vineyards she began to replant her vineyards using massale selection – not because of any overriding grand plan- but because it felt right. It is largely thanks to these efforts by Elisabetta and a few other dedicated growers in the Mezzolombardo area of Trentino that the Teroldego grape has survived.

In 2000, Elisabetta also embraced bio-dynamics. She saw the effects that conventional farming was having on her vineyards and she decided to start healing the land by enriching the soil and bringing the plants back into equilibrium.

She told us that it was tough the first few years – but now that the vineyards have been natural for 12-13 years – they are healthy and strong and it has made her wine-making easier – because all she has to do is bring in great fruit and let the grapes make the wine on their own.

To meet Elisabetta Foradori is to be mesmerized by her beauty and elegance, her wit and charm, and her intensity and dedication. Her wines match her personality. These are strong yet elegant. Fun yet serious. Drinkable yet profound.

We think Elisabetta Foradori makes the best Teroldego wines in the world. Her Foradori is a good introduction to Teroldego for people who have not had it before – the elegance of this wine – matches the elegance of its maker. Her two single-vineyard anfora aged Teroldegos (Sgarzon and Morei) are some of the most special wines in the world (unfortunately, they are made in minute quantities), and her Granato is arguably the top Teroldego wine in the world – it is a deep, dark, concentrated wine made only from her best grapes.