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xwo uic itigiiiuitural] business for retirees,” said Shumack. “Once the orchard is planted, there’s very little maintenance except for mowing the grass around the trees and occasionally pruning. It’s a wonderful companion business for wineries, too, since truffles are harvested after the grapes.”
Setting up a truffle “orchard” is much like creating a park, they say. “We’re with you every step of the way — from site selection and installation to harvesting. We’ll even buy your crop,” Shumack said. VTG expects to offer truffle distribution and sales for its producers through a related company.
“And we’ll sell every truffle we can lay our hands on,” said Pat Martin who, along with her husband,
retired from corporate life to import and distribute Australian wines. $*>
“We get to talk to a lot of chefs who say they’ll buy all the truffles we can bring them. Imported truffles are so hard to get and when you find them, they're extremely expensive. Locally grown truffles have so much appeal. They’re fresher, probably better and will be competitively priced.”
VTG has everything so well mapped out that you don’t even have to worry about training pigs to sniff out your truffles for harvesting. While pigs are used in France, VTG recommends using dogs to sniff out the underground bounty. “Any [breed ofl dog that shows an interest in hunting truffles can be trained,” Shumack said, “and if your dog has no interest, our related company, Virginia Truffle Sales and Marketing, expects to have trained dogs ready to assist with harvesting.”
Their excitement and commitment to their fledgling enterprise was so infectious that it’s easy to get swept up into their enthusiasm.
Shumack oversees the day-to-day nuts and bolts of the nursery operation. The Martins will handle distribution. Terry, the technical expertise.
When I asked how they got into the truffle fanning business. Shumack went to the freezer and produced a plastic bag containing some of their home grown truffles.
“Smell,” she said, open
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