Snuffle & Truffle: Truffles, Olive Oil & Chianti Wine Tour

• Learn about this fascinating precious gourmet product
• Hunt truffles with real truffle-hunting dogs
• Walk in the beautiful Tuscan landscape
• Learn why truffles are such a sough-after gourmet treat!

10.00 am Departure from Florence.
10.45 am Arrival at San Miniato (The Truffle Tuscany Town). Truffle hunting tour with dog through woods.
12:00 am Light lunch with truffle based appetizer.
2:00 pm Departure to Chianti region for wine tasting and olive oil tasting at organic farm included wine tour
3:30 pm Departure to Florence
4:00 pm Return to Florence

While Tuscany is often associated with exceptional wines, it is especially renowned for its truffles. It may come as a surprise to some that San Miniato, a small town in Tuscany, supplies nearly 80% of the world’s precious white truffles.

You will take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience and search for truffles with a truffle-hunting dog through the woods of Tuscany. Follow the dog hurriedly through the forest as he sniffs about and experience the surge of excitement as he starts digging for this edible treasure (white truffles go for nearly $15,000 per kg).

Truffle tour we made it in San Miniato, a small town approx. 30 minutes west of Florence. Truffle(s) found during the hunt belong to the truffle hunter and may be purchased from him according to the day’s bid price on the local market. Truffle analysis does not include tasting of the product.

Have you ever imagined going on a walk in the Tuscan woods with a dog and truffle expert to hunt for truffles? The white truffle, the most precious, aromatic and expensive variety, grows only in Italy from October to December. Its aromas vanish very quickly, within a few days. Therefore the only way to taste high quality truffle is to find it and eat it within a day or two.

The truffle hunt is an exciting and memorable experience, a sacred yet secret ritual rarely witnessed by outsiders and a special way to see Tuscany from a different prospective. Your truffle hunting day will start early in the morning, in the Tuscan Crete Senesi, among Italy’s most important truffle areas. Your local professional truffle hunter (and of course his dog!) will meet you at nine o’clock and accompany you on silent paths through the crisp, misty morning air of the Crete. You will look, listen, and learn and in the end you will almost certainly find the precious tuberous, a moment of great excitement.

The truffle hunt lasts about an hour and a half. Then it’s time to move to the farm and wine cellar for a tasting of local products and a guided sensorial analysis of truffle. Lunch at the farm is available on request at an extra charge of 30 euros per person. After lunch, make your way through the scenic Tuscan landscape into the region of Chianti. Here you will have the opportunity to experience what is arguably Italy’s most renowned wine, Chianti. Your guide will teach you everything you need to know about the process of winemaking and the techniques involved in attaining a better appreciation of the wine through the tasting.

In Tuscany throughout the year we can taste different types of truffle. This is thanks to the climate and terrain which typify the area. The truffle, which has been recognised since Ancient Greek and Roman times, is one of the best products the earth can give us.

Tuber Magnatum Pico
It is the most famous and most expensive truffle on the market. It is almost round and regular in shape with cavities and protruberances. The external part is almost smooth, and whitish yellow in colour. The internal colour varies depending on the degree of maturation reached and the tree with which it has lived symbiotically, and the colour can vary from white, brown to rose-coloured. It has a strong aromatic scent, is extremely easy to digest and is usually eaten raw, as it tends to be cut into thin slices and put directly onto different foods. Its conservation span is short and indeed the period between maturation and decay is very brief.

Tuber Borchii Vitt o Tuber Albidum Pico
Tuber Borchii vitt or Tuber albidum pico, also known as “Marzuolo“(March mushroom). Generally it is round and regular in shape and never reaches large dimensions. The peel is light in colour and smooth, the flesh is a light colour when the truffle is unripe and then reddish brown when it reaches maturity. It gives off a less marked scent than the Fine White Truffle and it is often found wherever the White Truffle is growing. It is harvested between February and March but it is not unusual to find it in April and even in the autumn. It is edible but not of great value and not easy to digest. When it has been cooked it loses its scent and flavour and becomes spongy.

Tuber Aestivum Vitt
Tuber aestivum vitt. Its size ranges from 3-4 centimetres to 10 centimetres. It has a blackish skin forming pyramidal warts and because of its aspect it has been nicknamed Scorzone (similar to rough bark). The flesh is hazel colour which darkens with maturation, and has numerous whitish coloured veins. It gives off a vague mushroom-like aroma, and whilst being edible it has a lower value than the Fine Black Truffle. It ripens between May and the autumn season.

• Comfortable walking shoes recommended