Alba and the white truffle

Damp woodland on the breeze at first light, oak leaves snapping underfoot: autumn in the Langhe sets Nebbiolo slopes ablaze around Alba. From October to December, the Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (weekends, Piazza Risorgimento) draws trifulau, chefs, and brokers. You’ll learn how to assess Tuber magnatum Pico, buy it by the gram, and keep it briefly in rice—no more than two days. Sixty kilometers from Turin, the road via Cherasco and La Morra drops toward the oak and poplar stands of Castagnito and Roddi, whose chalky soils favor the prized whites.

Pick-up at your Turin hotel, Mercedes at your disposal for the day: while you taste and tour, he drives, waits, adapts. Your private driver in Turin knows the closest parking to the Mercato del Tartufo (Via Einaudi), secures a guided hunt with a trifulau and Lagotto Romagnolo near Montà (about 45 minutes), and slots in a truffle-focused lunch at Guido Ristorante – Relais San Maurizio in Santo Stefano Belbo, 28 km from Alba. The return is flexible, with a possible Barolo cellar halt if traffic remains light on the SR10.