Hunting truffles with a trifolao, following a dog through the woods.

Truffles are not farmed: they are hunted. The trifolao knows his trees and the dog does the rest, sniffing until it digs in exactly the right place. Seeing that work up close explains why Alba's white truffle costs what it costs.

What it is and why do it

The white truffle of Alba, Tuber magnatum, lives underground in symbiosis with certain trees, and what reaches the market comes from the woods. Each piece is found by a trifolao, the truffle hunter, with a dog trained for years. It is a trade that is inherited and kept secret: nobody tells where their good trees are.

This outing is run by Tartuflanghe, a truffle-products company in Piobesi d'Alba, in the Roero, at the gates of Alba. It combines three things: a visit to its workshop, where you see how the truffle is selected and pastas, sauces and chocolates are made; a walk through the woods with the trifolao and their dogs; and a tasting of truffle products with wines from a local winery. It is a way of understanding in one morning why the truffle drives the whole autumn economy of the Langhe and the Roero.

Who it suits

Couples, groups of friends and families with children who can manage two and a half hours. Children love the dogs and the search, and the walk is along paths among vines and hazel trees, without difficulty. The staff speak English, French, German and Spanish, so you will have no language problem.

It is not the experience you want if you are after a real night-time hunt, alone with a trifolao: this is an organised outing, designed for groups of 6 to 50 people. If you are travelling alone or as a couple, ask when booking whether they can add you to a group.

Which version to choose

There are three formats. The workshop visit with tasting, an hour and a half to two hours, indoors and without a hunt. The visit with truffle hunt and tasting, of two and a half hours, which is the one this page describes. And the full experience, of four hours, which adds lunch or dinner at Pico Bistrot. The website does not publish prices: they give them to you when confirming the booking.

Getting there

Tartuflanghe is at Località Catena Rossa 7, in Piobesi d'Alba, very close to Alba. The practical way is to go by car: by public transport the area is poorly connected. If you are sleeping in Alba, a taxi is the other option.

When to go

The experience runs all year, and in the woods different truffles are sought according to the season: summer, autumn and white. If you want it to be the white, come between 1 October and 31 January, when its harvest season is open. October and November are the peak months, when it coincides with the Alba fair.

Book in the morning: the slots are from 9:00 to 12:00, which leaves you the afternoon for Alba or a winery.

If it rains

If the day is very rainy, ask whether they keep the woodland outing; the workshop and tasting version is indoors. Another option in Alba is the MUDET, the truffle museum, open every day except Tuesday from 10:30 to 18:00, for €5.