Teroldego is a red grape of Trentino, grown almost only on the Campo Rotaliano, a flat valley floor north of Trento. It makes deep purple reds with black cherry, blueberry, violets and pepper, with fresh acidity and soft tannins, and it is Trentino's signature red.
The grape has been grown in the area since at least the fifteenth century. DNA studies show that it is closely related to other Alpine grapes, including Lagrein and Marzemino, and more distantly to Syrah. Teroldego Rotaliano became a DOC in 1971, one of the first in Trentino. Since the 1980s, Elisabetta Foradori has shown the grape's quality with old-vine selections and, more recently, wines aged in clay amphorae.
Teroldego grows mainly on the Campo Rotaliano, around Mezzolombardo, Mezzocorona and San Michele all'Adige, where the Noce river meets the Adige. The valley floor is made of gravel and sand carried by the rivers, with good drainage, and the high mountains around it protect the vineyards and give warm days and cool nights.
Small plantings also exist elsewhere in Trentino and, rarely, in other regions such as Tuscany.
Young Teroldego is juicy and fruity. Riserva and old-vine wines aged in oak or amphora are more structured and complex and can age for ten years or more.
Start with a Teroldego Rotaliano DOC from a producer such as Endrizzi, De Vescovi Ulzbach, Cantina Rotaliana or De Vigili, then try Foradori's wines, the best-known Teroldegos, including the old-vine Granato and the amphora wines.
Teroldego is related to Lagrein and Marzemino, and shares Trentino with Schiava. Read our best Trentino-Alto Adige wines, or browse the grape varieties index.