Episode 183: Elisabetta Foradori

In the Drink

This week on In the Drink, host Joe Campanale is joined by Elisabetta Foradori, the top producer of Teroldego, an ancient, native grape variety that is related to Syrah and Pinot Noir. In 1985, at the age of 19, Elisabetta took over her father’s estate in the Campo Rotaliano zone of Trentino in the foothills of the Dolomites. By 1999, she was being referred to as the “undisputed top producer of Teroldego, and had received numerous accolades, especially for her Granato, the most bold and concentrated of her Teroldego bottlings.

Elisabetta began experimenting with biodynamics in the 2000s as a means to introduce more energy and dimension to her wines. As her work in the vineyards evolved, the wines too began to change, from big and concentrated to a more textured and elegant style. In 2009, after having tasted the amphora aged wines of COS, she began experimenting with terra cotta tinajas made to order in southern Spain. Today, she ferments and ages her Teroldego Sgarzon, Teroldego Morei , and the white Nosiola Fontanasanta in these large (420-480 liter) amphorae.