2019 Foradori "Fontanassanta" Nosiala, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

ABOUT THIS WINE

The 2019 Foradori "Fontanasanta" Nosiola from Trentino-Alto Adige is a striking golden-hued, skin-contact white crafted by biodynamic pioneer Elisabetta Foradori and now helmed alongside her children, Emilio, Theo, and Myrtha. Production is tiny—just 10,000 bottles—from a 3-hectare hillside vineyard of calcareous clay near Trento, using ancient indigenous Nosiola grapes. Grapes are spontaneously fermented by wild yeasts in Spanish tinaja amphorae in extended contact with skins for eight months, then aged further in acacia and oak to preserve purity.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Elisabetta Foradori’s Azienda Agricola Foradori, nestled in the Campo Rotaliano near Mezzolombardo under the Dolomites, is a beacon of biodynamic and indigenous Italian wine—stemming from a family estate founded in 1901 and owned by the Foradoris since 1939. When her father passed in 1976, Elisabetta assumed leadership at just nineteen, introducing massal selection of ancient Teroldego vines, planting fifteen unique clones, and embracing organic farming to revive terroir identity. In 2002 she transitioned fully to biodynamic practices and earned Demeter certification by 2009, with her approach grounded in ecological synchrony—growing cereals, legumes, caring for livestock, and following lunar cycles.

The estate spans about 28 ha—75 % Teroldego, along with Manzoni Bianco, Nosiola, and Pinot Grigio—and produces roughly 150–180 000 bottles annually. Her cellar reflects this philosophy: spontaneous ferments, minimal sulfur, no fining, aging in oak, cement, steel, and long-aging amphorae introduced in 2008 from Spanish potter Juan Padilla—today numbering over 200 tinajas.