Grinzane Cavour Events

The world white truffle auction

This is what Grinzane Cavour is known for in the autumn. The castle hosts the Asta Mondiale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba — the world white truffle auction — at which the finest specimens of the season are auctioned internationally, with the proceeds going to charity.

It has run since 1999, falls in early November, and reached its XXVII edition. It is conducted on live links to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vienna and Seoul, with bidders joining from around the world, and the castle is explicit that it is not for profit: the proceeds from the best specimens of Alba white truffle go entirely to charitable bodies in Italy and worldwide.

The figures are the point. More than €6 million has been raised across all editions — €502,000 in 2025, €395,500 in 2024, €480,000 in 2023 — and a single closing lot once went to Hong Kong for €130,000.

It falls within the broader truffle season set by Alba, whose International White Truffle Fair runs 10 October to 6 December in 2026, in its 96th edition. The auction is not a retail event — it is a sale at the very top of the market — but it is the reason a village of 1,987 people appears in the international press once a year.

The castle, year-round

Published hours 10:00 to 18:00. Inside, the Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour, operating there since 1967, holds wines, spirits and food from across the territory, together with the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba's selection of awarded wineries and prize-winning wines. Entry is 8 € full, with reductions to 3 € for children, and the castle is closed on Tuesdays.

The vineyard year

Winter — pruning. Cellars by appointment; the village very quiet.
Spring — bud-break, and the season when a tasting becomes a conversation.
September — the vendemmia on the slopes around the castle. The most interesting time to look at a UNESCO vineyard landscape, and the hardest time to get a cellar appointment.
Late autumn — the new vintage into barrel.

Nearby, and part of the same calendar

Alba, a few minutes away, for the truffle fair and the market.
Barolo, fifteen minutes, for the castle and the WiMu wine museum at €9.
Bra, half an hour, for Cheese — Slow Food's biennial cheese festival.

Planning

Outside the truffle season, none needed beyond checking the castle is open. During it, book meals anywhere in these hills well ahead.

Verified against Castello di Grinzane Cavour, October 2026.

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Sources & verification Covers the sourced claims on this page.

Checked against Castello di Grinzane Cavour — The castle has hosted the Asta Mondiale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba every early November since 1999, most recently in its XXVII edition, conducted on live links to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vienna and Seoul., The auction is not for profit: the proceeds from the best specimens of Alba white truffle go entirely to charitable bodies in Italy and worldwide, with over EUR 6 million raised across all editions including EUR 502,000 in 2025, EUR 395,500 in 2024 and EUR 480,000 in 2023, and a closing lot once going to Hong Kong for EUR 130,000., The castle opens Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:00, extending to 19:00 with last entry at 18:00 from 1 April to 31 October, and is closed every Tuesday., Castle entry is EUR 8 full, EUR 6 reduced for groups over 25, seniors and students, EUR 4 for schools and EUR 3 for children aged 6 to 14, with an audio guide EUR 3 more and free entry for under-6s, disabled visitors with companions and museum-pass or Torino+Piemonte Card holders., The Enoteca Regionale Piemontese Cavour has operated in the castle since 1967 and describes itself as the first in Piedmont and the second in Italy, selling Piedmontese wines and grappe alongside the food of the territory, open 10:00 to 18:00., Since 1975 the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba has selected some of the best lots of Piedmontese wine each year; from 2015 only wineries affiliated to the Enoteca are eligible, and only bottles scoring at least 90 out of 100 carry its label, purchasable exclusively at the Enoteca. (October 2026).
Checked against Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba — The Alba International White Truffle Fair runs 10 October to 6 December 2026 in its 96th edition, organised from Piazza Medford 3 in Alba. (October 2026).