Terradeiforti is a small D.O.C. area that lies between the Veneto and Trentino regions, in a valley shaped by glaciers during the quaternary era, crossed by the Adige River. The Terradeiforti-Valdadige denomination protects and promotes the autochthonous Enantio and Casetta red wines, together with Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. The origin of the name is linked to this area. The autochthonous indented leaf vine, Enantio, now protected by the “Terradeiforti-Adige” D.O.C., yields a red fruit grape cultivated until a few years ago merely to improve daily wines with its fullness of colour and body consistence, that is today offered in purity, its wild nature well expressed by the bottles that have made consumers curious and has started to gain numerous recognitions even by the most expert palates. Many strains of Enantio, some centuries old, have survived even the phylloxera that between the 19th and 20th centuries, eliminated in a few years, almost all the European vineyards. Viticulture recovered by grafting onto American stems (phylloxera only attacks European vines). Enantio, however, that grows in the sandy soils of the valley, was not affected because the sharp flakes of silica component defends it from the parasite. So today you can enjoy a 100% European wine with a taste that has disappeared everywhere else. The autochthonous Terradeiforti variety now D.O.C. is the Casetta. It was recovered under the popular name “Foja tonda” due to the intelligent and loving care of Albino Armani who spared it from being abandoned in favour of more profitable international types. It is a niche production grape that gives a wine of great affinity with the just as rustic and wild territory of origin. Its careful cultivation in the vineyard is followed by refinement in the cellar with appropriate aging in oak barrels to bring out its character before, just like every other “noble” variety, it faces the judgement of the expert.
