Friday, July 7th

We drove to Podere il Casale for a truffle hunt and lunch!  We met Paolo, the truffle hunter, Andrea, his interpreter, and truffle hunter dogs, Lilly (age 9), Spunya (age 9), Puppy (age 1)!  After an introductory presentation, we drove separate cars to a nearby reserve where Paolo has been hunting for years…he started hunting with his mentor when he was a small boy!  To be a successful truffle hunter, one must have passion for the outdoors in all kinds of weather, be able to train the dogs to hunt & have a lot of luck!  Paolo starts his training of the dogs as pups with truffle scent on the mom’s nipple, feeding the pups eggs with truffles and taking them on hunts with more experienced dogs!  The terrain reminded me of the oak-lined trails of the foothills in Grass Valley!  Truffles are normally found near the base of oak, poplar and hazelnut trees, attached to the roots of the tree where they have a symbiotic relationship.  Lilly found the first truffle, digging furiously to uncover it and tearing at the roots until Paolo used his tool to free it from the soil…she snarled and snapped at him when he wouldn’t let her eat it!  Apparently, she’s quite a fan!  Spunya found the most truffles during our hunt and gently dropped the freed truffle into Paolo’s hand when prompted!  Our hunt produced about a dozen black truffles…they said maybe a kilo, which would sell for about 400 Euros!  They sell exclusively to local ristorantes!  For lunch, we had truffles on everything…cheese, pasta, pork escalope and cannoli!  Delish!!  That afternoon, we drove to Cantine Dei to tour their cellar and taste their Nobile wines!  The Dei family made their fortune selling marble tiles!  We ate dinner at a ristorante around the corner on Piazza Francesco with a magnificent view of the countryside from Verduta Panoramica!