White truffles fetch millions

MARZIA DE GIULI

THIS year, its 16th edition, the internationally famous World White Truffle of Alba Auction in Grinzane Cavour, northern Italy, turned out to be a head-to-head contest between Italy and China.

The auction hall was the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, a true historicarchitectural heritage which is part of the Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont Unesco World Heritage Site. It was linked via satellite with Hong Kong, where a local businessman invested the awesome sum of

100 000 (R1.5 million) to acquire the final lot of a truffle weighing a total of 900g.

Meanwhile, in the Grinzane Cavour hall, Dong Zhenxiang, founder and owner of China’s popular Da Dong Roast Duck chain, acquired another precious lot weighing 520g, after a succession of ever-increasing bids.

A total of 11 specimens of white truffle were auctioned for 287 500.

Every year since 1999, a satellite connection has linked some of the world’s most important cities – New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Moscow, Paris and Berlin – to the auction. – Xinhua