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From June 16 to July 3, 2025, Annette and I spent time in wine country Italy, by car.
For an overview of the whole trip, go here: Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025
Fifth Stop: Trentino-Alto Adige
The last stop of our Italy wine tour 2025 was the Trentino-Alto Adige region. We stayed 3 nights in Lana at Hotel Tiefenbrunn and 3 nights in Bolzano at Hotel Laurien.
We visited 10 wineries, most of them during the second half of the stop when we were based in Bolzano.
While in Lana, we had a light dinner at Hotel Im Tiefenbrunn in Lana and went out for dinner to Sissi (1 Star Michelin) in Merano and to Gasthaus Appollonia (Bib Gourmand Michelin), up in the mountains, above Nalles.
While in Bolzano, we had dinner at Toma by Lisa (wine bar), Loewengrube in Bolzano (Michelin listed) and Voegele (Bib Gourmand Michelin) in Bolzano.
ForadoriForadori (wine searcher)
Foradori is a wine estate in the Dolomites region of northern Italy, particularly known for its red wines from the Teroldego variety. The estate dates back to 1901, and has been owned by the Foradori family since 1939. Elisabetta Foradori has made the wine since 1984, and currently oversees the estate although children Theo, Myrtha and Emilio Zierock are progressively taking a more active role in the family business.
The overall estate covers 24 hectares (59 acres) of owned and eight hectares (20 acres) of leased vineyards in multiple small plots around the Campo Rotaliano plain in the dramatic Trento-Alto Adige region, roughly 100km (60 miles) north of Verona.
Roughly three-quarters of the Foradori vineyards are planted with the red Teroldego. The rest are planted to Manzoni Bianco, with small amounts of Nosiola and Pinot Grigio.
Foridori's vineyards have been farmed biodynamically since 2002 and were certified biodynamic by Demeter in 2009.
All of Foridori's wines are released as IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti. The range is led by two Teroldego cuvées: Foridori and Granato.
Foradori is sourced from around ten hectares (25 acres) of vineyards on sandier soils, and is aged in oak and cement tanks for 12 months. Granato, which means pomegranate, comes from four hectares (10 acres) of old pergola vineyards on more stony soils, and is aged in wood for 15 months.
The estate also makes four other Teroldego wines which are aged on their skins in amphorae, and varietal wines from Manzoni Bianco, Nosiola and Pinot Grigio.
Foradori's winemaking follows a philosophy of minimal intervention, which includes the use of indigenous yeasts, no temperature control and bottling without filtration. Production reaches around 160,000 bottles per year, over half of which is the Foradori cuvee.
Since 2014, the wines have been made by Foradori's son Emilio Zierock.
Myrtha Foradori Zierock
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Azienda Agricola Foradori
Vineyard
Tanks, Barrels and Amphoras
Restaurant schauMahl in Offenbach, in the greater Frankfurt am Main
area, is arguably one of the best restaurants in the region. Chef Björn
Andreas is leading the restaurant to new heights. With a most efficient
and charming service, Pit Punda and his Deputy Esra Egner make sure that
you feel good.
Restaurant schauMahl runs an interesting series of winemaker dinners. If
I am in town (Frankfurt) I always book immediately, because these
dinners sell out very fast.
This time, it was Azienda Agricola Foradori from Trentino. The amazing
wines of Elisabetta Foradori were presented by her daughter Myrtha
Zierock Foradori, who recently joined the winery after finishing her
studies in Freiburg, Germany.
Elisabetta Foradori, the owner of Azienda Agricola Foradori in Trentino,
Northern Italy, is a distinguished innovator and trendsetter in the
world of wine. Importantly, she was instrumental in raising the local
grape Teroldego from an everyday, inexpensive wine to one that is found
now on some of the best wine lists in the world.
Elisabetta Foradori is one of most influential winemakers of Italy. She
has become one of the leading green/ natural/ biodynamic wine makers in
Italy. Italy’s most influential wine guide, Gambero Rosso’s Italian
Wines, has consistently given her flagship Teroldego wine – Granato –
is highest rating of Tre Bicchieri, of three glasses.
History
Elisabetta Foradori’s grandfather, a Trentino lawyer, bought the estate
in 1929, little more than a decade after the Italian-speaking Trentino
and German-speaking Alto Adige were annexed by Italy from Austria
following World War I. Her grandfather sold the wine in bulk, but her
father, Roberto, started bottling in the 1960s. When he died of cancer,
Elisabetta, his only child, was 11 years old. Eight years later, after
studying oenology and agriculture, she took over the winery.
Before World War I, the region was part of Austria and most of the wine
produced in the region was sold in Austria’s a capital. Business was
good but that changed after World War II, when the region was annexed by
Italy. When Elisabetta's grandfather bought the estate, it was in a
state of bankruptcy. The estate has been in the hands of the Foradori
family ever since.
Professor Rainer Zierock
Very early on in her career, Elisabetta Foradori met German Professor Rainer Zierock, who had a major impact both on her private and business life. In 1984, when Elisabetta Foradori began her winemaker career, Trentino was dominated by large wine co-operatives planting international varieties such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon was fashionable. Rainer Zierock pushed her not to go the international varieties route, but to keep and to focus on the local varieties, including Teroldego. The professional relationship led to marriage and three children, Emilio, Theo and Myrtha, who was our host, and, sadly, separation only five years later.
Professor Rainer Zierock died in 2009. He taught a various universities and worked as consultant in various countries. Following his relationship with Elisabetta Foradori, he established Weingut Ansitz Dolomytos Sacker in Unterinn am Ritten in the 1990s, together with Margret Hubmann. The small estate (2.7 hectares with 150 different grape varieties) was designed by Rainer Zierock, with a strong influence of Greek mythology.
Granato
Granato is probably Elisabetta Foradori’s best known wine. We had it at the end of the dinner. When Elisabetta Foradori took over, Azienda Agricola Foradori’s vineyards were planted with Teroldego clones that were producing grapes for cheap, bulk wine. Elisabetta Foradori changed this. She decided to focus on quality rather than quantity. She replanted extensively with cuttings she selected from the older vines, changed to high density planting and slashed grape production. Every aspect of the new vineyards was geared to limit quantity and boost quality.
In 1986, she released the first vintage of her signature wine, Granato. Elisabetta Foradori used grapes from only the oldest vineyards and she aged the wine for nearly two years in French oak barrels.
Biodynamics
In 2002, Elisabetta Foradori sprayed her first biodynamic preparations on her vineyards. She stopped fertilizing and tilling her vineyards, and instead started to encourage wild grass and weeds, which are mowed and raked into the soil. Based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, biodynamic agriculture and winemaking aim to strengthen ecosystems methods pegged to the phases of the moon.
Terra Cotta Amphoras
In 2008, Elisabetta Foradori started to ferment wine in terra cotta amphoras (large-scale vessels), a technique that dates to ancient Greek and Roman eras. It is one of the oldest winemaking methods in the world. Basically, you get the breathable qualities of wood without oak flavor. Today Elisabetta Foradori has about 150 upright amphoras in her underground cellar.
Single Vineyard Wines
In her most recent step, Elisabetta Foradori moved to single vineyard wines. She felt that with the biodynamic practice in the vineyard and the amphoras in the wine cellar, she had all the ingredients for making terroir-driven wines. Therefore she decided to make single vineyard wines from the Morei and Sgarzon vineyards – in amphoras. Morei and Sgarzon, both about 2 hectares, are located close to the Azienda Agricola Foradori’s vineyard. On the bottle, the vineyard names are printed in much larger letters than the grape variety Teroldego.
In addition, in 2007 Elisabetta Foradori took on an 8 hectares vineyard in poor condition just above Trento. The Fontanasanta vineyard was born, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc were uprooted and the local grape varieties Nosiola, Manzani Bianco and Teroldego planted.
In total, Elisabetta Foradori currently makes 4 single-vineyard wines in amphoras: A Manzoni Bianco und Nosiola from the Fontanasanta vineyard and 2 Teroldego wines from the Morei vineyard and the Sgarzon vineyard.
Myrtha Zierock Foradori and her Sibblings
Myrtha just finished her studies in Freiburg and joined Azienda Agricola Foradori on a full time basis.
Her oldest brother, Emilio, who has a university degree in philosophy also studied winemaking, is also back at the estate. He takes the lead the cellar.
Theo studied photojournalism and returns every year to help out at harvest time.
Myrtha’s youngest (half) brother (his father is Elisabetta Foradori long-time current partner, a Bolzano lawyer) is still in school.
schauMahl
Situated in a renovated Art Nouveau building, the interior of the restaurant schauMahl combines a cozy living room atmosphere with the world of One Thousand and One Nights, coupled with modern illumination. Intensive red light is coming out of a white corner. There are brick walls and furniture in a colonial style. In the window niche is a Buddha.
Host Pit Punda is well known in the Frankfurt gastro scene from his days at Emma Metzler, Cyrano and Zarges. I glanced at the wine list: About 100 bottles, mainly German and Spanish wines.
Chef Björn Andreas is at the helm of the team in kitchen. He was promoted from Souschef to Chef about a year ago when former Chef Christoph Kubenz left. Chef Björn Andreas has worked for top chefs, including Alfred Friedrich.
Gault and Millau: Es mag sich auf den ersten Bissen nicht viel verändert haben, und doch gibt es deutliche Unterschiede in der gesamten Stilistik. Kubenz war sensibel und leise, Andreas ist forsch, seine Gerichte sind muskulös. 15 Gault Millau points.
Open Table: Eher steigen die Offenbacher Kickers in die erste Liga auf, als dass es in der Stadt ein gutes Lokal gibt. Dieser Spruch gilt nicht mehr, das Schaumahl lässt staunen: Küche, Keller, Service und Atmosphäre – hier stimmt alles. Das etwas windschiefe Jugendstilbau aus dem 18. Jahrhundert wurde nicht schick geschminkt, sondern behielt seinen Charakter und strahlt Landhauscharme aus. Dazu passt die natürliche und lebensfrohe Art von Gastgeber Pit Punda und seiner Vize Esra Egner.
Winemaker Dinner
Aperitif: Casa Coste Piane Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Greetings from Chef Andreas
2014 Foradori Fontanansanta Manzoni Bianco
Mais, Chorizo Lauch Ziegenkäse, Focaccia
2013 Foradori Morei Teroldego
2010 Foradori Sgarzon Teroldego Magnum
Kalbsfilet, Miso Zucchini Estragon
2013 Foradori Fontanasanta Noisola
Zander, Gurke Dill, Speck, Kartoffel
2011 Foradori Teroldego
2007 Foradori Granato
Kalbsbäckchen, Spinat Rosinen Kapern
2011 Preciso Lambrusco Vigneti delle Dolomiti
Vacherin, Blini Apfel Kaviat
2008 Vigna del Volta Malvasia Passito
Ananas, Kokosnuss Bowne Walnuss
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Wine Country Italy - Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige - in the Summer of 2025
Lake Como
At Villa Almana in Cernobbio at Lake Como - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Bolgheri
Dinner at La Tana del Pirata in Marina di Castagneto Carducci, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Winery Tour and Tasting at Tenuta Argentiera, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Florentine Steak - Dario Cecchini Selection - for Lunch at Osteria Magona in Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Running into Marco Balsimelli, Production Director, Ornellaia and Masseto, at Osteria Magona, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at La Macchiole, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Visiting Vigna Lodovico and Tasting Lodovico Antinori's Cult Wines Lodovico and Il Nicchio with his Assistant at Locanda dell' Aioncino - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Dinner at Locanda dell' Aioncino, Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Tasting the Wines of Tenuta di Biserno and Staying at Relais di Biserno, Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia): Barrel Cellar Tour and Tasting - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Bistecca alla Fiorentina for Lunch at Osteria Enoteca San Guido (Sassicaia), Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Ornellaia, Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Dinner at La Pineta, with Chef/ Co-owner Daniele Zazzeri, a Michelin Starred Seafood Restaurant, at Marina die Bibbona, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Grattamacco, a Benchmark Producer in Bolgheri, Tuscany - Wine Country Italy (Lake Como, Tuscany, Alto Adige) in 2025
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