Surrounded by bucolic vineyards and rows of olive trees, my wife and I follow truffle hunter Francesco Veltorni and his partner Mery into the Tuscan forest, their Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, Rigel and John Wick, close at our heels.

Francesco, also known as the Tuscany Truffle Hunter, watches his dogs carefully as they investigate the terrain around us, sniffing for black truffles. Rigel jets off to the base of a tree, and her tail stiffens, pointing up—the signal that the dog has found one. Mery runs over to inspect Rigel's work. “Ha trovato! (She found one!)”