The “cavage”… you know? No, no, it has nothing to do with our wine and spirits reserves… It is in fact the art of harvesting truffles! We followed Marie on her farm to tell you about this atypical harvest.
It is not far from Surgères that Marie exploits her almost 300 truffle trees. She took over the family truffle farm a little over a year ago; beautiful organic black truffles, called "from Périgord", which grow at the end of the rootlets of mycorrhizal trees. If the truffle is born in the spring, the harvest is done in very specific months in winter, from the end of November to around February. Today, it is the dog Polka, a lagotto romagnolo, who tracks the truffle. Harvesting is not done in a linear fashion, from one row of trees to another; it is Polka who leads the dance, and whom we will follow according to his instinct. As soon as she smells the truffle, Polka begins to scratch the ground. The “cavator” (or the “caveuse” in our case), then takes over to search for the coveted mushroom. Marie smells the earth: when a truffle is ripe, it gives the earth a characteristic odor that puts the winemaker on the right track. It is not easy to find, visually closer to a simple pebble or a clod of earth. But our caveuse recognizes its roughness among a thousand, and delicately extracts the truffle from the ground. It is indeed necessary to succeed in digging without damaging the fungus or the rootlets of the tree to allow the growth of other truffles. These are rarely more than ten centimeters deep, which makes harvesting them easier.
The truffle gives the earth that particular smell that lets us know if we are on the right track!”
As soon as the presence of a truffle is confirmed, Polka receives his reward, and goes in search of the next truffle! A meticulous harvest by hand (and by nose!), which is spread over several weeks to delight our taste buds...
“It is a quality organic product that we harvest at home, in Aunis Marais Poitevin!” Marie also makes truffle butter, which she offers for sale: a very local recipe, made with organic butter, black truffles but also a hint of Cognac for a little personal touch. A true delight !
You can find its truffle butter in the farm shops in Surgères as well as Ferrieres, and its truffles in Ferrières. A must for the holidays... Local, good, organic... just a stone's throw from your home! So, when is your tasting? ????
