Struggling vintners turning to truffles
Premium prices for fungus inspire explorations into nascent industry
Monterey County wine grower Michael Michaud has struggled for decades to make it big in the wine business. Now 71 and nearing the end of his career, he’s turning to a more lucrative cash crop: black truffles.
The state’s black truffle industry is in a nascent, experimental stage. But if Michaud successfully cultivates these prized delicacies — which can easily fetch upward of $500 a pound and sometimes more than $1,000 — he believes he could crack open a black gold rush in California.
“I’m hoping the truffles will make it a little easier to keep the vineyard going,” Michaud said. “I don’t have any need for a mass fortune. I just want to be happy and not have to run on the treadmill.”
A key part of Michaud’s struggle in the wine business is the location of his Soledad vineyard — in the remote Chalone wine region. With Pinnacles National Park as its backdrop, this mountainous wine region in Monterey County has just one claim to fame: Chalone Vineyard, its only winery.
Founded in the 1960s, Chalone Vineyard rose to a cultlike status and was the first U.S. wine company to go public. But the winery changed hands twice in the past 20 years, selling to large corporations, and Chalone Vineyard wines have since faded out of fashion. For most modern-day wine consumers, the Chalone wine region is largely forgotten.
Michaud spent 18 years as a winemaker at Chalone Vineyard before leaving in 1997 to start Michaud Vineyard and his eponymous wine brand. He said he’s tried everything to build a profitable wine business in Chalone. But while a Napa winegrower can easily collect $10,000 per ton for Cabernet Sauvignon, the majority of grapes from California’s less distinguished regions sell for a fraction of that.
In Michaud’s case, his grapes sell for roughly $3,500 to $4,000 per ton. Last year, it
“I’m hoping the truffles will make it a little easier to keep the vineyard going.” Michael Michaud, Monterey County vintner
cost $3,300 per ton to farm them. The state’s grape market has been prolific in recent years, keeping prices low. “It’s not much of a margin,” he said.
Wine sales have been difficult as well. He tried a tasting room but saw only a few guests each weekend. When the pandemic hit, his placements in restaurants suffered and haven’t recovered. “It has not been financially successful,” Michaud said. “I chose to grow in an obscure location, which no one wants to visit anymore.”
Michaud has long searched for an alternative crop that could help subsidize his wine. He considered saffron and cannabis, but the idea of cultivating Périgord black truffles, known scientifically as Tuber melanosporum Vittad, came to him through a purveyor called Truffle Whisperer.
The company, started by 22-year-old Mia Isamit last year, produces inoculated truffle trees, sells them and consults with truffle farmers. Isamit grew up on a truffière ,or truffle plantation, in Chile, where her father, Marcelo Donoso, helped pioneer the country’s thriving industry. Chile is the second-largest black truffle growing region in the Southern Hemisphere after Australia.
Isamit is confident that California can grow grand cru truffles, just like Europe, and believes there is limitless potential for a truffle industry in the state. Truffles would probably be in high demand by California chefs. Whether shaved over pasta or infused in oil, restaurants prize truffles for their ability to add a decadent combination of earthy, nutty and sweet flavors to dishes. But they are best consumed fresh before they lose their distinct aromas, which makes importing truffles from Europe difficult. The chance to source fresh truffles locally could be a game-changer.
Truffle Whisperer identified Michaud’s vineyard site as ideal for black truffle cultivation because of its calcareous soils, full of decomposed limestone and granite, as well as its Mediterranean climate. Most of the growers the company is targeting for partnerships are along California’s central coast, where it typically doesn’t get too hot.
Michaud already had the perfect spot to plant the truffle-inoculated shrubs. Years ago, he developed more of his property for future grapevines, but his sales never reached a level of demand that justified more planting. Many truffle orchards use large oaks, but Isamit selected drought- and disease-resistant shrubs specifically for Michaud’s site. In October, they will plant 2 acres and farm them using Isamit’s cultivation technique, which utilizes heavy pruning and has the potential to produce 600 grams — less than 1½ pounds — of truffle per shrub.
Other California vintners have explored truffle cultivation. In 2017, Jackson Family Wines, which owns wine brands Kendall-Jackson, La Crema and Freemark Abbey, uncovered its first black truffles from a 10-acre Sonoma County orchard planted in 2011. In 2019, Jackson Family harvested 30 pounds, which were enjoyed at Bay Area fine dining restaurants like Saison and Che Fico. But the past couple of years have been less fruitful due to poor weather conditions, said Marlow Bruce of Jackson Family Wines.
In April, the Boisset Collection announced a partnership with the American Truffle Co. to cultivate black truffles at Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley. Robert Chang, managing director of American Truffle Co., said the farming costs for truffles are low, especially compared with grapes. “Wineries already have the land, they already have the crew and the equipment, so it’s fairly straightforward to diversify into growing truffles,” he said.
Caelesta, a winery in Paso Robles (San Luis Obispo County), had its first successful truffle harvest last year, harvesting 4 pounds from 10 acres planted in 2015. Winemaker Brian Farrell Jr. said he expects 2022 to produce upward of 20 pounds. Like Michaud, he believes truffles can help raise the winery’s profile.
“I see truffles as a means of differentiation,” said Farrell, who plans to incorporate truffles into winery experiences. “We aim to compete based on wine quality alone, but having a delicacy like black truffles to pique people’s interest and get their foot in the door helps.”
Yet Caelesta and Jackson Family are anomalies. Thus far, California truffle cultivation has not been consistent or successful, especially on a commercial scale. Most truffle cultivators fail; Chang said this is because the science behind commercial truffle farming isn’t publicly available. Instead, information is “often based on myths and even misinformation,” he said.
There’s also a widespread perception that it takes at least five to eight years after planting before trees start producing truffles. Isamit said that’s not true. She expects Michaud’s 2-acre site to start producing in the third year, specifically after 39 months, and estimates a harvest of roughly 500 pounds of truffles worth more than $200,000. Production should increase each year.
“I know that sounds very difficult to believe,” Donoso said. “Amateur truffle production is pervasive in this country, so people think it takes a long time, but it doesn’t.”