I still don’t know exactly how it happened, but there was nothing left except the empty bottle. Two foodie friends came for dinner, and we were going to take photos of the food, the wine and the table…but it didn’t happen. The wine was too good. The food and the sunset took a back seat. This was one of these rare moments where you open a bottle, and it simply sings a siren song of deliciousness that you can’t resist.
Elisabetta Foradori almost singlehandedly changed Teroldego, a Trentino native variety, from a grape for local co-op wine to one of elegance and international renown. Her biodynamic vineyards are in the Campo Rotiliano, the floodplain of what was once the Noce River, are tucked in between immense walls of rock that create a unique microclimate. Granato is her top tier wine made 100% with Teroldego. The name derives from melograno, the Italian word for pomegranate.
When I went to visit the vineyard in 2010, I bought one of the last cases of Granato 2004, reputed to be the best vintage up until then. Now, after ten years in the cellar, the wine was perfectly balanced, a vino di meditazione that could be savored slowly even without food. It was a dark, vibrant ruby red with mysterious layers of complexity and fullness. I’m lucky to have more bottles in my cellar.
Foradori Granato sells for $50-70 a bottle.
www.wine-searcher.com
www.foradori.com
