Commercial truffle grower expanding in Napa Valley via deal with winery

NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

A company growing truffles has announced expansion into a Napa Valley vineyard in partnership with the Boisset Collection, a wine company based there.

American Truffle Company plans to cultivate Périgord black truffles at Boisset’s Raymond Vineyards in St. Helena, the companies announced Wednesday. Boisset will prepare the soil at Raymond this spring for truffle cultivation, and planting is set to follow later in the year. Other terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Founded by Robert Chang and Paul Thomas in 2007, American Truffle said it has succeeded in growing the truffles in Wine Country and elsewhere using the research by Thomas through with its client-partner growers.

It reported in December 2020 that Burgundy black truffles had been successfully harvested from a Sonoma County orchard. That variety of the fungus delicacy can fetch $300 to $500 a pound.

Périgord black truffles like these two can fetch over $1,000 a pound. American Truffle Company on April 20, 2022, announced a deal with Boisset Collection to grow them at Raymond Vineyard in Napa Valley, starting in late 2022. (courtesy of American Truffle Company)
Périgord black truffles like these two can fetch over $1,000 a pound. (courtesy of American Truffle Company)

Périgord black truffles are among the most expensive foods in the world, “with soaring demand continuing to far exceed declining supply,” according to the announcement from both companies. Selling for over $1,000 per pound, that variety has been a key goal for American Truffle, as the fungus is largely cultivated in Europe.

The company, which lists among its credits the start of the Napa Truffle Festival, said it has truffle orchards in 25 countries on four continents.

"We are ecstatic to partner with American Truffle Company and fortunate to be an early pioneer for growing Périgord black truffles in the Napa Valley," stated Jean-Charles Boisset, proprietor of Boisset Collection.

Boisset’s assets in California include DeLoach Vineyards, Raymond Vineyards, Buena Vista Winery, JCB by Jean-Charles Boisset, Elizabeth Spencer Winery, the Oakville Grocery, and the Calistoga Depot. Among its French properties are Domaine de la Vougeraie, Jean-Claude Boisset, Bouchard Aîné et Fils, J. Moreau et Fils, Louis Bouillot, Domaine Maire, Fortant, and Bonpas.

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