Foradori Teroldego 2024

The Land

Teroldego reaches its purest form on a flat valley floor, not a hillside. Campo Rotaliano is a small alluvial plain wedged into the Adige Valley between the Trentino mountains, built up over centuries by limestone, granite, and porphyry debris carried down by the Noce River. Foradori's entry Teroldego draws from nine hectares of pergola- and guyot-trained vines across various plots in Mezzolombardo, in the heart of the plain, chosen for their predominantly sandy soils. Rocky mountain walls ring the plain, blocking cold northern winds and radiating stored heat back into the vines, an unusual microclimate for a grape that thrives almost nowhere else.

The Wine

100% Teroldego, fermented in cement tanks and aged 12 months in a combination of cement and large neutral casks, so there's no overt oak character, just structure and freshness. This is the wine that introduced a generation of drinkers to what Teroldego can be. 2024 was a difficult growing season across Trentino: a mild winter gave way to a wet, cool spring that brought heavy mildew pressure and cut yields well below normal, with a cool September adding scattered rain that forced careful selection at harvest. Teroldego handled the vintage better than most varieties in the region. Expect a deep ruby color with violet tints, dark forest fruit of blackberry and black cherry with a floral edge, and a juicy, structured palate with vibrant acidity and fine tannin.

The People

Elisabetta Foradori took over her father's estate in Campo Rotaliano in 1984 at 19, inheriting a grape that growers were selling in bulk to co-ops or ripping out for Pinot Grigio and Merlot. She rebuilt Teroldego's reputation through massal selection, reduced yields, and single-vineyard bottling, and this entry wine is the base of that pyramid, the widest expression of the estate's work at 50,000 bottles a year. The estate's 28 hectares have been certified biodynamic since 2002. Where the single-vineyard Morei and Sgarzon go to amphora, this bottling stays in cement and neutral wood, built as the clearest, most direct statement of what Foradori Teroldego tastes like.

Food Pairing

This is a weeknight red with real character. Try it with a sausage and pepper skillet, mushroom and thyme pizza, braised chicken thighs with tomato, or a plate of speck and aged cheese. Its juicy fruit and fine tannin handle everything from grilled meats to hearty pasta without demanding a special occasion. Serve it with a slight chill in warm weather; it holds up either way.