This fall, as rain clouds roll over the Italian Alps in Piedmont, truffle hunters are heading into the woods. While rain might mean bad news—and bad hair days—for the fashionistas in nearby Milan, it’s causing a more positive stir in the truffle hunting community.
The balmy weather accompanying the rain, and the thunderstorms that these conditions produce, are the perfect combination for a tasty truffle crop. The favorable weather is producing both a larger and more flavorful harvest, keeping hunters and hounds—especially the designated truffle hunting dog, the lagotto romagnolo (Romagna water retriever)—foraging through the forest.
After a string of disappointing truffle crops in past years, hunters and aficionados are gearing up for next weekend’s annual Alba White Truffle Fair, when prices will be given to this year’s prized white truffles. For more on truffle hunting, check out Dream of Italy’s On the White Truffle Trail, On the Trail of Truffles in Alba, and our Special Report on Turin/Piedmont. — Shauna Maher