Azienda Agricola Foradori
Category: Food & Wine
Location: Dolomites, Italy
The Zierock family has owned the Azienda Agricola Foradori (founded in 1901) since 1939, or for four generations. Through the years, they have learned to not impose their own ideas or desires on the soil or the vines, but instead to listen and follow the natural order and flow of things.
The vineyard’s 28 hectares are located on the southern slopes of the Dolomites, but divided in two: one part, with alluvial soils, for the production of red grapes, the other, on the clayey limestone hills, dedicated to white grapes.
The family has been producing wine in a biodynamic way since 2002 and seven years later, they received the Demeter certification, ensuring that their production is up to biodynamic standards.
The family simply states that, “our ultimate goal is to create harmony between man and nature.”
When making wine in accordance with a biodynamic mindset, the farming is centred around the movements of the sun, following how the sun affects the growing vines and the climate in general. This has consequences not only för the product but also för the people farming the land.
In the vineyard, nothing unnecessary is added, instead the wine is allowed to express itself, engage in dialogue with the acacia and oak wood of the casks.
The microorganisms in the soil are allowed to flourish and to create a healthy environment for the plants.
The branches of the vines are not pruned anymore, and neither are the leaves near the grape bunch cut. Wild grasses and flowers grow freely between the rows.
One of their most popular wines is Lezèr, which in the local dialect indicates “lightness”.
Produced since 2017, it was originally developed to save a large quantity of grapes that had been hit by a strong hailstorm, but today, the wine has become synonymous with the vineyard and their way of respecting nature and the grapes.
Lezèr: With a subtle taste of cherry, this is a light and fresh interpretation of the historic blend Teroldego (which constitute 68 percent of the wine, with 32 percent being other red grape varieties).
Every year, they experiment, tweak and explore the production of this wine, in particular regarding the short time allowed for maceration.
Granato: A rich, red wine, the name is derived from the union of grapes and pomegranate, which both have common origins and are often found growing together.
Nosiola: The only white grape variety that is native to Trentino. Once, it was widespread throughout the region.
It is made from a variety of white grapes, produced after about eight months of contact with the skins, in Spanish terracotta amphora called "tinajas".
Mezzolombardo, Italy