NEW WINERY OPENING ON BELL SPRINGS ROAD + A TRUFFLE REDUX
Looks like a new winery is opening on Bell Springs Road here in Dripping. Conveniently named Bell Springs Winery, it looks like the tasting room will open on July 24. More on their website here .
Thank you to Adam for this Drip Tip!
As a Bell Springs Road aside, we have quite a few more readers than we did in 2008 when we posted about the truffle legacy of Bell Springs Road. For those who don't know the legend of Francois Picart and his grand truffle experiment in Dripping Springs, below is a summary of our original story which led to a report by the wonderful Jim Swift on KXAN.
DRIPPING TRUFFLES
In the early 1980s a Frenchman by the name of Francois Picart moved to Dripping Springs with a plan to cultivate the elusive and tres expensive truffle (the aromatic fungus revered by chefs and foodies around the world). Truffles apparently love to grow in limestone, which we've certainly not shortage of, and after a French testing laboratory deemed the Hill Country soil a superb habitat for growing truffles, Picart planted truffle-inoculated oak seedlings around Dripping Springs. For reasons known only to nature, truffles grow around the roots of oak and hazelnut trees. Picart dreamed of making Dripping Springs the truffle capital of the world. Some of the inoculated oaks were planted off of Prochnow and some on Bell Springs Road.The fencing Picart put up around the trees on Prochnow still stands, but none of the trees survived. On Bell Springs, however, some of the trees still stand. Picart's "Agri-Truffle Inc", theAmerican affiliate of the still-existing French concern "Agri-Truffe",eventually dissolved, but evidence of his grand experiment remains.On Bell Springs Road,just barely visible behind a tree, is a sign identifying "Texas FirstTruffle Orchard" and past that, now a bit unruly and overgrown, sits asmall orchard of those trees.
To read Jim Swift's report on the Francois and his truffles, click here.
In 1984, the New York Times wrote about Picart and his truffle quest. You can read the article here.
Thank you to Adam for this Drip Tip!
As a Bell Springs Road aside, we have quite a few more readers than we did in 2008 when we posted about the truffle legacy of Bell Springs Road. For those who don't know the legend of Francois Picart and his grand truffle experiment in Dripping Springs, below is a summary of our original story which led to a report by the wonderful Jim Swift on KXAN.
DRIPPING TRUFFLES
In the early 1980s a Frenchman by the name of Francois Picart moved to Dripping Springs with a plan to cultivate the elusive and tres expensive truffle (the aromatic fungus revered by chefs and foodies around the world). Truffles apparently love to grow in limestone, which we've certainly not shortage of, and after a French testing laboratory deemed the Hill Country soil a superb habitat for growing truffles, Picart planted truffle-inoculated oak seedlings around Dripping Springs. For reasons known only to nature, truffles grow around the roots of oak and hazelnut trees. Picart dreamed of making Dripping Springs the truffle capital of the world. Some of the inoculated oaks were planted off of Prochnow and some on Bell Springs Road.The fencing Picart put up around the trees on Prochnow still stands, but none of the trees survived. On Bell Springs, however, some of the trees still stand. Picart's "Agri-Truffle Inc", theAmerican affiliate of the still-existing French concern "Agri-Truffe",eventually dissolved, but evidence of his grand experiment remains.On Bell Springs Road,just barely visible behind a tree, is a sign identifying "Texas FirstTruffle Orchard" and past that, now a bit unruly and overgrown, sits asmall orchard of those trees.
To read Jim Swift's report on the Francois and his truffles, click here.
In 1984, the New York Times wrote about Picart and his truffle quest. You can read the article here.
Posted by DSBabble.com at Friday, July 16, 2010 7:36 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: dripping springs bell springs winery francois picart truffles
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: dripping springs bell springs winery francois picart truffles
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