Foradori keeps generational, regional ties strong

“I’ve never seen such skies here in winter, but the sky was so blue.”

In mid-March, the crispness of the air held the last breaths of winter on an otherwise sunny, crystal–blue day as Maria led our tour of Foradori. The night before had sprinkled fresh snow on the mountaintop that serves as backdrop and bellwether to these vineyards in Mezzolombardo of the Campo Rotaliano.

The mountains belong to the Dolomites, Italy’s portion of the Alps in its Trentino provinces. Serving as a shield to northerly chill, the mountains help protect the vineyards of Mezzolombardo and its sister hamlet of Mezzocorona. The two cities face each other across the River Noce, which flows tranquilly enough between the towns but sports whitewater rafting as it bends through the Val di Sole to the east.

Flooding of the river over the surrounding plains was a regular occurrence until engineering in the nineteenth century helped tame the rising riverbeds. The rich deposits of sandy lime soils and gravelly stones left behind from those overflows remain the gift to the region’s vineyards.

“Normally we say we have pieces of the Dolomites underneath,” said Maria.

The pebbly undersoil is a key element of drainage to the flat vineyards of Campo Rotaliano, where the specialty varietal is teroldego (tehr-AWL-deh-go). Teroldego Rotaliano is the official designation for wines made 100 percent from teroldego grapes grown within Campo Rotaliano.

Foradori currently owns 16 hectares in Mezzolombardo and 80 percent of its production is teroldego. Its vineyards have been biodynamic since 2003.

“You notice the difference instantly,” said Maria. “There were flowers and insects instantly.”

As if to underscore the point, butterflies fluttered above the lush garden beds by the entrance. Such welcome intruders are often taken as a sign of the natural health of the soil.

Biodynamic agriculture, including viticulture, is a concept born in Austria in the 1920s by philosopher Rudolph Steiner. The practice of biodynamics predates organic farming by approximately 20 years as the oldest anti-chemical agricultural movement.

In addition to eschewing synthetic chemicals, as with organic farming, biodynamic viticulture treats the vineyard as its own ecosystem. Foradori plants cereals and beans for soil restoration, for instance. Biodynamic practice also takes into account astrological influences and vineyard tasks are regulated by the lunar calendar.

To be a biodynamic wine, the same philosophy has to extend from the vineyard and be carried into the cellar. It is possible, then, to have a wine made from biodynamic grapes that is not biodynamic itself if the winemaking process does not follow the same biodynamic principles.

Elisabetta Foradori, who led the conversion of the family vineyard and cellar to biodynamics, has been a vanguard in the region since undertaking her first vintage in 1984. At the time, she was freshly graduated from the nearby S. Michele all’Adige wine school.

Under Elisabetta’s leadership, Foradori became part of a small local movement to cut back yields and restore clones that would reintroduce diversity and complexity to the region’s hallmark teroldego. Further experimentation and preservation of the historic varietal is taking place at neighbor Barone de Cles.

After World War II, many of the area’s vines were replanted with clones that offered plump harvests. Scale was gained, supporting a shift from small family consumption to a more industrialized wine business, but variety and quality waned. By the 1980s, the region was due for a rejuvenation.

In 1985, selection at Foradori led to the registration of 15 different teroldego clones. Elisabetta took the helm during this pivotal period following her mother, Gabriella Casna Foradori, as the head of the winery. Gabriella managed operations for eight years, beginning in 1976, after the death of her husband. The winery was established in 1901 and purchased by the Foradori family in 1939. Relatives at J. Hofstätter in nearby Tramin are leading similar innovations.

Elisabetta’s commitment to the region, keeping it on the forefront by advocating for its originality and diversity, remains strong. In 2010, she became one of ten founding members for i Dolomitici, an organization of winemakers dedicated to promoting the value and status of Trentino’s native varietals.

Her son Emilio has stepped in as the next generation, producing his first vintage in 2012.

Portraits of the Foradoris line the staircase down to the cellar. With the past to help overlook and guide the present, there is the sense that Foradori will be in good hands for years to come.