Foradori Tasting at Ballymaloe. Superb organic wines from native Italian grapes

Foradori Tasting at Ballymaloe

Superb organic wines from native Italian grapes.

Holiday weekend or not, you can always bank on Ballymaloe for an excellent tasting. That is exactly what we experienced in a packed upstairs at the Grainstore when Theo Zierock came to East Cork bearing no less than seven amazing organic Foradori wines from the family’s Trentino-Alto Ridge vineyard.

The magnificent Dolomites look down on their vineyard. “We make wines that speak of the mountains and the valleys. We don’t make wine like they make in Bordeaux.” Not that he was doing down the wines of Bordeaux or indeed those of any other region. He was simply saying that each area, each terroir, has a wine story of its own to tell.

A Royal Red Wine From The Queen of Teroldego

A Royal Red Wine From The Queen of Teroldego

Foradori Teroldego Vigneti Delle Dolomiti (IGT) 2018, 12.5%

€30.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

After an active day in the mountains of Trentino, perhaps trekking in the vast Naturpark Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks Park) or skiing in Cortina d´Ammpezzo, it’s time to replenish your reserves. And here a favourite at the table is a bowl of giant canederli (bread and flour dumplings), which are laden with smoked bacon chunks and served in a warm broth. Local breads and cheeses are also on the table, dispatched before you tackle the filling polenta and sausage based dish known as Smacafam. Apples will feature in the dessert course, perhaps their version of strudel.

And all the while your enjoyable companion is the Foradori Teroldego, a superb wine of the region made by the experienced Elisabetta Foradori. She is indeed regarded by many authorities as the queen of Teroldego.

“It has beautiful colour and rich fruit, but sometimes the tannins can be a little drying. You need to hold on to it for a while or pair it with gamey foods, but the flavour is unique. And you won’t find it anywhere else in the world.” That was young Elisabetta Foradori speaking to Vino Italio back in 2002 who even then considered her as the leading producer of Teroldego.

Regina Elisabetta

In 2016, The Modern History of Italian Wine honoured her as one of the leading producers in the renaissance from the 1960s onwards. She led the local change from pergolas to Guyot (lower yield, more quality), practiced the “diligent use of small oak barrels” (to tackle the international market), and then her embracing of biodynamic cultivation and her adoption of the amphora in “this land where Regina Elisabetta (Queen Elizabeth) reigns” further enhanced her wines.

A handy base in Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks Park) in the Dolomites,
about 3 hours from the Foradori vineyards.

Even the 8th Edition of the World Wine Atlas concurs: “the unrivalled queen of fine fully ripe Teroldego Rotaliano is Elisabetta Foradori. Her improved clones, and experiments with fermenting in amphoras, impresses her clients more than they do the authorities, so she sells them as IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti.” 

This dark ruby aromatic wine is indeed a gem, light in alcohol but full of flavour, a distinguished part of the Trentino gastronomy. About two months back, we got a great idea of how the wine and food go together thanks to a Tasting the Dolomites meal (Take Out of course in the current circumstances) organised by Cork’s leading wine-bar, Latitude 51, as part of their own deliciously defiant response to setbacks over the past two years (including those Covid 19 restrictions). The wine itself is pure, precise and elegant and Very Highly Recommended.

We nibbled on Speck (smoked cured ham) and Taleggio cheese for a start. Then moved on to the hearty Zuppa all’Orzo (pearl barley), eating and drinking in that bowl. I had been a little wary of the dumplings having been very disappointed with a series of Northern European dumplings a few years back. But these, packed with herbs and Speck, were in a different class altogether. Then on to another highlight, the Smacafam, a sausage and polenta pie, a hearty rustic type of pizza, full of flavour and topped with delicious cheese and that meaty sausage was just superb.

Speck (via Pixabay)

Then time for the finalé, after a decent pause! Apples are abundant in Trentino and L’Atitude included their take on an Apple Strudel, a superb take indeed, enhanced with a dab or two of crème fraîche. They even included a digestif, some prunes soaked (deluged!) in Grappa to bring the curtain down on an excellent insight into the area.

Been in that area just once myself, on a day trip from Austria, and remember having the best ever Spaghetti Carbonara in a high altitude restaurant in or near the Naturpark Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks Park) in the Dolomites and then enjoying a stroll around a nearby lake (in pic above) under some awesome peaks.

A Right Royal Bottle of Teroldego. Tasting the Dolomites with L’Atitude 51

A Right Royal Bottle of Teroldego. 

Tasting the Dolomites with L’Atitude 51.

“It has beautiful colour and rich fruit, but sometimes the tannins can be a little drying. You need to hold on to it for a while or pair it with gamey foods, but the flavour is unique. And you won’t find it anywhere else in the world.” That was Elisabetta Foradori speaking to Vino Italio back in 2002 when she was already  “considered as the leading producer of Teroldego”.

And it was Foradori’s Teroldego that was the centrepiece of last weekend’s Latitude Click & Collect offering. Latitude owner Beverley expands:  “As L’Atitude is all about exploring wine and trying something new, our take-out boxes have wine at its centre, designed to bring you on a journey and discover something different. And we match tastes to the wine based on our travels and experience of food and wine pairing.” 

Monte Cristallo in the Dolomites, about 3 hours from Foradori.
 Wouldn't mind repeating that 2004 trip!

“This week we take you to Trentino/Alto Adige in the Dolomites to sample Foradori Teroldego a delicious red wine made from a local grape variety by the "Queen of Teroldego’, biodynamic winemaker Elisabetta Foradori. Based at altitude in Mezzolombardo in the shadow of the towering Dolomite mountains, Elisabetta has been leading the way in biodynamic winemaking in Trentino for years with her visionary approach, making wines that are respectful of the soil and the local grapes she wants to honour, and using the techniques that are less invasive, and more holistic. We love everything about her wines and this Teroldego is the winery’s flagship wine. It’s fresh and pure with vivid raspberry and cherry and a supple, fresh crunchiness on the finish. Delicious! “ And so it was. 

Quite a bit has changed since 2002. Foradori has embraced Guyot instead of pergolas, her "diligent use” of small oak barrels (according to the History of Modern Italian Wine), her adoption of amphoras and her embracing of biodynamic cultivation have all improved her wines. The tannins in her Teroldego are not so drying now and the finish is longer than way back then. 

A superb wine choice by L’Attitude. And the food wasn’t bad either! Beverley: “As usual we pair tastes from the region that will bring out the flavours in the wine. So this week’s tastes will take a little of the best that Trentino and South Tyrol has to offer and will include a polenta and sausage based dish known as Smacafam, Canederli (a type of dumpling), local breads, cheese and charcuterie, as well as something sweet. The tastes are designed as an aperitif or sharing platter for people to experience different flavours with each sip of wine. There will be an element of finishing at home, to make the experience more enjoyable and bring your kitchen alive with the smells of the mountains.”

     

This dark ruby aromatic wine is indeed a gem, light in alcohol but full of flavour, a distinguished part of the Trentino gastronomy, as so well illustrated by the Latitude 51 kitchen, the current Takeout series a part of their defiant response to setbacks over the past two years (including Covid 19 restrictions). The wine itself is pure, precise and elegant and the weekly experience is Very Highly Recommended.

 

While the wine is the star, the food element is also top notch and you won’t go hungry! We nibbled on Speck (smoked cured ham) and Taleggio cheese for a start. Then moved on to the hearty Zuppa all’Orzo (pearl barley soup), eating and drinking in that bowl. I had been a little wary of the dumplings having been very disappointed with a series of Northern European dumplings a few years back. But these, packed with herbs and Speck, were in a different class altogether. Then on to another highlight, the Smacafam, a sausage and polenta pie, a hearty rustic type of pizza, full of flavour and topped with delicious cheese and that meaty sausage was just superb.

Smacafam - a deliciously filling part of the meal

Then time for the finalé, after a decent pause! Apples are abundant in Trentino and L’Atitude included their take on an Apple Strudel, a superb take indeed, enhanced with a dab or two of crème fraîche. They even included a digestif, some prunes soaked (deluged!) in Grappa to bring the curtain down on an excellent insight into the area.

Been up there once myself, on a day trip from Austria, and remember having the best ever Spaghetti Carbonara in a high altitude restaurant in or near the vast Naturpark Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks Park) in the Dolomites and then enjoying a stroll around a nearby lake under some awesome peaks.

This is the poster for L'Atitude's offer for the coming weekend, another very tempting one!