11 October 2025
Autumn in Piedmont moves to a different rhythm: the air grows denser, the light softens, and the harvested vineyard gives way to the forest. This is truffle season – the moment when the land reveals its most secret, noble self. Among the roots of poplars, hazelnut trees, and oaks grow the two stars of the season: the white truffle of Alba (Tuber magnatum Pico) and the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum). Distinct in habitat and harvest period, they both thrive in the same subterranean geography – one of humidity, shadow, and limestone.
By nature, the truffle is a paradox: hidden yet central, fleeting yet capable of defining the identity of an entire region. Its presence turns the Piedmontese autumn into a season of its own. Alba is its symbolic capital, but the truffle’s ecosystem stretches far beyond – into the woods of Monferrato, the valleys of the Tanaro River, and the folds of the Langhe and Roero hills.
Here, the culture of the truffle reflects a particular way of reading the landscape. Natural truffle grounds are ecological sanctuaries – microcosms protected with the same care one would reserve for a vineyard. And just like wine, truffle quality depends on terroir: calcareous soils, consistent humidity, and slow-dropping nighttime temperatures.
Giving voice to this underground world are the trifolai – truffle hunters – heirs to a tradition that dates back at least to the 18th century, when the first documented hunts took place in the hills surrounding Alba. Their expertise is rooted more in experience than in science: they know the woods as intimately as a vintner knows their vines.
Training the dogs, observing symbiotic plants, reading the ground and the weather – all of this is part of a knowledge passed down orally, often within the same family.
The hunt takes place at dawn or by night, from September to January for white truffles, and December to March for black. The trifolao follows the dog, reading its movements. When the animal stops, the hunter digs carefully with a small tool – the vanghetto – freeing the truffle from the earth.
In the Langhe and Monferrato, The Grand Wine Tour invites guests to experience this season through curated activities that combine truffle hunting with the tasting of great crus. Two signature itineraries – the White Truffle Barolo Tour and the Black Truffle Barolo Tour – lead visitors through Nebbiolo landscapes in search of the aromatic correspondences between truffle and wine.
In the hands of The Grand Wine Tour’s Piedmontese wineries, this becomes a way to live autumn at its most authentic – where the hidden richness of the forest meets the refined elegance of the vineyard.
