Welcome To Truffle Invest
Invest in Truffle Cultivation in Spain
Many parts of Spain are perfect for cultivating truffles. The world demand is high and rising and Spain has always provided 35% + to the global market. Climatic changes and dramatic habitat destruction means that production in France has dropped over the last 100 years from 1000 tons per year to just 50 tons a year – hence the high demand and massive gap in the marketplace.
Trade in the Black Summer truffle (Tuber aestivum ) or Burgundy truffle (Tuber uncinatum ) begins in early May in some of the most, rugged but stunningly beautiful parts of rural Spain and usually lasts until late August (hence the name Summer truffle) and it is a highly lucrative business.
The Black Winter or Perigord truffle (Tuber melansporum ) are cultivated in Northern Spain, normally harvested between November and March and are more expensive than the Black Summer truffle.
Even now during the truffle season, the towns nearby to areas where commercial truffle farms are located are packed with truffle hunters, the rest ‘courtiers’ or truffle buyers, who sell on to the buyers or brokers of truffles who travel hundreds if not thousands of miles in search of the highly prized truffle.
The reasons for the frenzied activity which greets the onset of every truffle season are varied. Firstly, they are hugely profitable and secondly, one of the most romantic and charismatic foods in the world.
The Bianchetto truffle (Tuber borchii Vittadini ) or Borchii truffle or Whitish truffle (Bianchetto is Italian for “whitish”) is one of the most famous wild truffles and is found abundantly in the Tuscany, Piedmont and Marche regions of Italy.
Also known as Blanquette, Marzuolo (“March” in Italian) or Spring Truffle. Bianchetto truffles are less expensive than the White truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico ) found in the same region but carry a healthy premium over both the Black Summer truffle and Black Winter truffle. The season for Bianchetto Truffles typically runs from early January through to April.
Commercial farming of the Bianchetto truffle is now taking off in other parts of the world with plantations in Australia, New Zealand and the United States and now Spain producing yields of between 50kg to 240kg per hectare.
Truffle Origins
There is something about the nature of truffles that have captivated people for over a thousand years. Perhaps it is the dazzling, irresistible aroma that continues to draw generation after generation to this delicacy. The history of these black, grey or white pearls of the Earth is often filled with mystery, superstition and, at one time damnation...
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Cultivation Today
Truffles are among the world’s pre-eminent culinary delicacies. Revered for millennia only their price has kept pace with their fame. Retail prices in the U.S. for Tuber melanosporum, the French black truffle or Perigord truffle, and Tuber magnatum, the Italian white truffle, have reached between $1000 and $3000 per pound...
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Plot 1 - Jalon
The first plot of 10,400m2 in the Jalon Valley was cleared of grape vines and trees in October 2015 and is ready to be deep spiked to a depth of one metre. This is one of the most important steps in preparing the ground before planting the Black Burgundy or Summer truffle. The land is spiked in two directions, First one way and then crosswise...
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Plot 2 - Jalon
We have just tested the soil pH, first using a simple method of mixing the soil with vinegar (If the mixture bubbles it shows that the soil is alkaline) then using an electronic pH meter and the tests have come back showing the soil to have a value of between 7.8pH and 8.2pH (the electronic pH meter can be up to 5% out) so the soil has been packaged and has been posted to the UK to enable us to get the exact pH reading and a soil analysis.
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