A pleasant stroll through the woods is the best. Taking a dog that can detect Oregon truffles for a hike through those forests. Jordan and Erin Nuccio, the owners of Evesham Wood winery, take that idea to heart by providing their visitors with a truffle experience that is unmatched in all of Oregon.
Black or white Oregon truffles are gems that range in size from pebble to golf balls and combine well with a wide range of foods. The winter white truffle, Tuber oregonense, is my personal favorite. I enjoy slicing it up to add to scrambled eggs.
I don’t get to eat those truffle-enhanced scrambled eggs very often because Oregon’s winter white truffles fetch hundreds of dollars per pound. When I saw that Evesham Wood was accepting reservations for truffle hunts in the woods next to their Le Puits Sec estate wine, my truffle alarm went off.
But there was a catch. In order to find truffles, the Nuccios forbid anyone from tearing up their land with rakes. You must bring your own four-legged truffle detector, such as a trained dog or pig, to preserve the integrity of the forest floor in Evesham Wood.
Only mature truffles will be detected by a well-trained dog, who will softly paw or sniff to indicate where they are. The truffle can then be dug up by humans using a tiny shovel or knife. Compared to careless raking, this method is more effective and causes less harm.
I thought I was out of luck because I didn’t have a four-legged truffle detector.
Then I recalled a truffle search I had participated in ten years prior, which was facilitated by Black Tie Toursin Newberg owner Stefan Czarnecki. Truffle hunting runs in Stefan’s family; he is the son of Jack Czarnecki of Joel Palmer House renown. According to Czarnecki, I went on my first mushroom search while I was most likely still in the womb.
I had the good fortune to learn that Czarnecki is now teaching August, also known as Auggie, a 2-year-old Goldendoodle. On a snowy day, I went to Evesham Wood to see Czarnecki and check what Auggie might detect.
When Auggie noticed Czarnecki putting on a truffle hunting equipment belt and hiding some Auggie goodies, he was prepared to act. Auggie appeared anxious to earn those gifts, and the spotless Douglas fir forest floor awaited him.
This wooded area was a fantastic place to search for Oregon truffles in early February. The winter white truffle season runs from October to early April, but February and March are the finest months to hunt, according to Czarnecki.
Like a child on the loose in a candy store, Auggie was everywhere. Czarnecki utilized a game called Guess Which Hand Holds the Truffle to get his trainee’s attention. Auggie got his first hit shortly after.
Unfortunately, we saw Czarnecki dig a hole that had once contained a ripe truffle. As Czarnecki stated that a little creature, perhaps a squirrel, had beaten us to the punch, a cloud of truffle particles flew into the air.
As we started to think negatively about squirrels, these near-misses occurred a couple more times. When Auggie eventually found a tiny piece of ripe truffle, there was a cheer. The little piece of truffle was returned to the ground because it couldn’t cover a scrambled hummingbird’s egg.
Even though our snowy morning had cleared up and the sun was shining, Czarnecki believed that Auggie’s hunting would be hindered by the strong winds. That maybe there were a lot of unripe truffles in the woods that day. As we ended the hunt for the day, Czarnecki remarked, “But they’re here.”
I wanted to attempt it again after getting so close to finding truffles. Particularly when Czarnecki brought a dish of Oregon truffles for show and tell, and we retired to Evesham Wood’s tasting room to sample wines while gawking jealously. A pleasant consolation reward were the fine wines.
Visit Evesham Wood’s website to book one of the several one-hour times available Wednesday through Sunday if you want to compete against the squirrels in a truffle search. Free of charge, the truffle experience requires a wine tasting, wine club membership, or wine purchase at the tasting room prior to hunting.
Ask the winery about renting a truffle hound if you don’t already have one. Or explore online for businesses based in the Pacific Northwest, such Truffle Dog Co. or Black Tie Tours.
3795 Wallace Road N.W., Salem, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Wednesday–Sunday; eveshamwood.com or [email protected].
— Michael Alberty is a wine writer for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and The Oregonian/OregonLive. His email address is [email protected]. Visit tooregonlive.com/wine to read more of his coverage.
