White truffle hunting autumn tours in Italy

29-Sep-08

Luxury travel company Grand Tourist has launched a range of autumn travel experiences, which include white truffle hunting and vinotherapy.

A seasonal speciality, white truffle hunting in Italy - near to Alba, which hosts a weekly truffle auction throughout October and November - allows clients to stay in a luxurious converted monastery while foraging for truffles. The hotel also has a vinotherapy spa (the only one in Italy), where the seeds, skins and oils of the grapes and vines are used in a series of unique and invigorating beauty treatments.

For real foodies, Relais San Maurizio organises early morning truffle hunts. Guests can unearth the truffles and then have their precious finds prepared to their own tastes in the hotel's restaurant.

Although black truffles are relatively common, there are still only two places where the white variety is found: Istria in Croatia, and Piedmont in Italy - in particular, the part of Piedmont known as Le Langhe, south of Alba. There is a lot of lore associated with gathering the 'white diamonds', as the truffles are known locally.

The 78th National White Truffle Fair of Alba starts on the first weekend of October 2008 and last year a 1.59kg truffle sold for £84,618 - that is £53,218 a kilo, four times the average price for gold.
www.grand-tourist.com