The Secret to Buying Real White Truffles from Alba

"Location, location, location" 

That's no potato, folks, that's over $1000 worth of genuine white truffle from Alba

White truffles are just coming into Alba stores this week. It has been a hot, dry year, and so the crop is slow to show up. Word has it that many folks are offering white truffles that have been shuttled in under the cover of night, from Croatia. My friend Luca Currado of Vietti, who manages to share a truffle dog with a friend of his, says he hasn’t had time to search for them this year because he is too busy with the wine harvest. “Who has time to wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning to go out hunting for truffles when you get to bed finally at 1AM?”

2011 Grignolino preceded by 2011 Gavi from Pio Cesare

The colleague I am traveling with however wanted to take some white truffles with us to another friend in Tuscany. So I got on the phone with Pio Boffa at Pio Cesare winery to see if he had any leads.

“Be here at 5:30 and my nephew Cesare will take you to a tartufaio friend of ours. We will get you situated with the real white truffles from Alba.Then you will come to my house for dinner with fresh white truffles from our farm.”

Thousands of dollars worth of "entry level" truffles

Cesare, sure enough, led us through the streets of Alba to a storefront off the Piazza Duomo. We entered the store, announced we had an appointment with “the master” and were led down a small staircase, which was lightly fortified with security cameras and an unarmed guard. After we perused the truffle museum, we were led into a room within a room, where the fresh truffles were stored in dark and cool conditions.

Over $300 worth on the scale

“€5,500 euros per kilo,” was the answer when we asked the price. That’s over $200 an ounce. My colleague found a nice one weighing in at just under an ounce and cash was exchanged for the precious object.

Fresh white truffle shaved over a farm egg cooked in the  bottom of the Bagna Cauda pot leavings

After buying a few packages of dried porcini, special Italian artisanal chocolate and a few samples of the locally produced gianduja, we headed back for a dinner with Cesare’s uncle Pio at the Pio Cesare winery. Pio’s wife Nicoletta offered up an excellent home cooked meal with truffles and a vertical of Barolo going back some years. The fresh egg cooked in the warm pot, which previously had cooked the bagna cauda sauce, was simply amazing.It is a classic peasant dish, from the days when truffles were plentiful and not worth as much as they are today.

The Alba truffle market in 1938 (photo from the Tartufi Morra Museum)

With four intense days in Piedmont under our belt, we’ll be heading to the Maremma tomorrow, truffles and wine in the trunk and off on another assignment on the wine ( and olive) trail in Italy..

Fresh ravioli from Bra with more white truffles

I’m exhausted, we saw a lot of folks and I will report on the harvest and all other the little secrets everyone told me in the Langa and Monferrato, when we get situated. Now I must get some rest.

Cesare (R) and the truffle master (L) in traditional truffle embrace

Yes, I’m all truffled out, but in a good way.


written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy

 

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