Region: Trentino, Italy
Grapes: Teroldego

Biodynamic conversion started in 2002 and Demeter certification in 2007. The winery focuses on the traditional Trentino varieties of Teroldego, Nosiola & Manzoni with the former making up the majority of the winery’s production. The grapes come from two distinct areas within Trentino, firstly, the Campo Rotaliano, a flood plain formed by the confluence of the Noce River into the Adige River surrounded by massive cliffs. The flooding has deposited huge quantities of limestone, granite, porphyry and fine sand, perfect for growing Teroldego. The second area is the hills east of the town of Trento, located 25 kms south of Mezzolombardo. Here the elevated Fontanasanta (holy water) estate is planted to Nosiola and Incrocio Manzoni on the rich red clay and white limestone soils.

Elisabetta Foradori is largely responsible for resurrecting Trentino’s much forgotten Teroldego grape from the brink of extinction, and producing some of Italy’s finest, most age-worthy wines. The Foradori Granato is consistently recognised as the international benchmark for Teroldego, and Elisabetta’s commitment to creating terroir-driven wines has made her a leading figure in biodynamics and Italy’s natural wine movement.

From her first vintage as a 20 year-old graduate in 1984, Elisabetta has sought to improve the quality and depth of the family estate’s wines. From careful massale selection of the estate’s Teroldego vines in 1985 in order to cultivate 15 clones in diverse microclimates, to the early adoption of amphora as a way to enable extended skin contact, to early conversion to biodynamics in 2002, Elisabetta has constantly pushed boundaries. All wines are wild fermented with indigenous yeast and Demeter certified.