Fall Weather: Good Truffle Season?

[dfunghi]

As Fall approaches I was wondering if the outlook for this years truffle season was better than last years. My friend in Torino says they have been getting rain lately so maybe it bodes well?

Swiss Chef what are you hearing?

TIA

[mdbasile]

Thinking the same thing!! Going back this november in hopes of a bumper crop . They had some good May/June rains also..... fingers crossed.

[fortedei]

As Fall approaches I was wondering if the outlook for this years truffle season was better than last years. My friend in Torino says they have been getting rain lately so maybe it bodes well?

Swiss Chef what are you hearing?

TIA

←

Just nonsense. Very little rain in general in Piemonte for the last month.. Then you have to ask yourself, when it rains, where is the rain in the plain. In Torino, fine, but no truffles in Torino. North of Asti, fine. Piemonte is a micro-climate. It's like saying the east coast north of New York is rainy. Really? The sun might be shining in Boston. As Tip O'Neill said... all truffles are local.

[dfunghi]

I guess you are saying it is another great year for wine and bad for truffles so far? Or what is it you are saying? Are you in the area and do you know what the rainfall in critical areas has been and what the forecast is? I was hoping to find someone with "on the ground" updates. Can you add something to the conversation that will help enlighten us or address the question?

BTW truffles need rain all year to develop a good crop, they need late, cold rains to ripen.

The following (excerpted) article was written by Zelda Carter and Kelly Collins from

a presentation by Charlie LeFevre

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

"In the Spring there is vegetative growth of the mycelium, this

requires mild and moist weather. In the Summer, the primordia form when

it is warm and dry. This is a risky time of year because, if it gets too

warm and dry the primordia will not develop further. In the Autumn, the

truffle enlarges. During the Winter, the truffle matures."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

So May rains are as important as July rains as important as November rains. They all play a part. Without one the others are less likely to be a success. No Spring rain and no mycelium, no sumer rain and no formation of fruit, no fall / winter rains no growth and ripening.

However your point of the rain falling in the correct place is accurate. That is why the thread was started to find out if the rain has been falling in the right areas.

[fortedei]

I guess you are saying it is another great year  for wine and bad for truffles so far? Or what is it you are saying? Are you in the area and do you know what the rainfall in critical areas has been and what the forecast is? I was hoping to find someone with "on the ground" updates. Can you add something to the conversation that will help enlighten us or address the question?

BTW truffles need rain all year to develop a good crop, they need late, cold rains to ripen.

The following (excerpted) article was written by Zelda Carter and Kelly Collins from

a presentation by Charlie LeFevre

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

"In the Spring there is vegetative growth of the mycelium, this

requires mild and moist weather. In the Summer, the primordia form when

it is warm and dry. This is a risky time of year because, if it gets too

warm and dry the primordia will not develop further. In the Autumn, the

truffle enlarges. During the Winter, the truffle matures."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

So May rains are as important as July rains as important as November rains. They all play a part. Without one the others are less likely to be a success. No Spring rain and no mycelium, no sumer rain and no formation of fruit, no fall / winter rains no growth and ripening.

However your point of the rain falling in the correct place is accurate. That is why the thread was started to find out if the rain has been falling in the right areas.

←

I have been on the ground. A number of times.

Not good for wine or truffles this year, though the hype and hypocrisy will tell the world that everything is great. Huge rains in The Spring, really hurting the grapes.

Very dry summer.

However, the spin is starting. Ventiquattro Ore today assured everyone that Barolo and Barbaresco are okay. What does that mean?

Wine, and to a certain extent truffles, are subject to marketing ploys used to take money from the unwary.

I'll be up in Piemonte again at the beginning of next month and will have a better idea of what the situation is with both. There are always some great truffles from Piemonte, no matter what the year has been (think in terms of outliers) the only question is their cost. On the other hand, beware of "Alba" truffles from Croatia, which will be in abundance particularly with Slow Food on this year.

[hathor]

Not that we are in the same league as Piemonte, but here in humble Umbria....no rain to speak of, it's still SUMMMER. HOT, HOT. There's a wisp of change in the air, but too soon to tell. Could be a decent year as we certainly had the spring rains and a dry, hot summer. Keeping our fingers crossed.

The grapes are hanging heavy however, and look pretty good.

[dfunghi]

I spoke (via Email) with a long time friend and wine maker in Nieve and she says that the grapes are a bit stressed from heat but that is a better situation than watered down by too much rain. She contends that if the weather stays as is then it could be a fine year for her (Barbersco and Dolcetto d'Alba) but not so good for truffles. As to the croat truffles I have had wonderful truffles from Croatia, particularly the 2005 - 2006 crops. They have a an almost identical DNA to Tartuffe d'Alba and can easily pass. However when Croatia truffles were first gaining wide appeal as Croatia came out of the war the truffles were half the cost (in NYC) as its Italian cousin. Now sadly the Croats want to ask the same for theirs as they do in the market in Alba (easily the most expensive and dubious place to buy truffles in Italy IMHO) Tartuffe d'Alba is more of a brand name at this point anyway. As many will attest, the Monferrato has equally excellent truffles.

Last year early Oct rains and cold brought on a nice early crop which went weak fast. The week I was there in early mid November we saw 3000 Euro a K for mediocre truffles in town and paid 2200 for small truffles from a local we know. They had a good smell but a mild flavor. Even the chef at Antine when we had dinner there said he was not at all pleased with the truffles but had to do a truffle menu because people came there expecting it. Same at Tournevento. The best we had were the little known, yet quite wonderful whites of Tuscany that come from S.G. d'Asso and are referred to as Crete Senesi truffles .

So we wait to see how October rolls in. I for one have had my fill of mediocre and expensive truffles and would just as soon pass on one more weak harvest. I keep my fingers crossed for wet weather following the grape harvest at the end of the month.

[hathor]

So we wait to see how October rolls in. I for one have had my fill of mediocre and expensive truffles and would just as soon pass on one more weak harvest. I keep my fingers crossed for wet weather following the grape harvest at the end of the month.

←

I totally agree. What has passed for summer truffles around here has been ridiculous and last year was a total bust. Lord knows where those truffles in the market came from.

[Sampaguita]

Its the begiining of October and the early pundits are wrong. This year looks like not so good for grapes, too much precipitation in late spring and early summer, lots of fughal diseases in the vines, although the Nebbiolo's are better then most and this year due to a cool September with some rain here and there, will be picked later then usual in mid-October, which is traditionally when they were harvested in the good old days before Parker and Wine Spectator dictated the market.

However it is shaping up to be a very good year for truffles, the coolness and the moist conditions are already producing good white truffes and prices are down. As the season progresses and the autumn rains start it should get better, I can't wait for November! But funny enough not good for funghi, such as Porcini, the big market in Giaveno has none, apparently they had lots of hail which devastated the tubers.