# Learning Barolo and Barbaresco This Autumn: Tastings Worth Booking _Saturday masterclasses in Alba, weekends with the growers in Barbaresco, and walk-in tastings around Barolo, through November._ > Il Vino Bello, 2026-10-04. Il Vino Bello editorial (https://ilvinobello.com/editorial/learning-barolo-and-barbaresco-this-autumn-tastings-worth-booking). The best way to understand Barolo and Barbaresco is not to read about them but to taste several side by side, with someone who knows the wines explaining what is in the glass. This autumn the Langhe makes that unusually easy. Between now and the end of November there are Saturday masterclasses in the centre of Alba, weekend tastings with the growers themselves in Barbaresco, and walk-in tastings in wine bars around Barolo. Here is what is on, what it costs, and how to fit it into a weekend. ## Saturday masterclasses in Alba From 10 October to 14 November, the Strada del Barolo e grandi vini di Langa, the wine route association of the Barolo area, brings its Wine Tasting Experience back to Alba. The format, which the association says is inspired by the French École du Vin, runs for six consecutive Saturdays, with two sessions each day at 15.00 and 17.00, in the tasting room of the Consorzio Albeisa on Piazza Vittorio Veneto, in the old town. There are three different tastings, and each runs twice in the season: - **Barolo Essentials** (10 and 31 October): three wines, a pure Nebbiolo, a classic Barolo and a single-cru Barolo. The idea is to learn to recognise nuances, character and how the wine evolves. - **Verticale di Barolo DOCG** (17 October and 7 November): a vertical tasting, the same Barolo across different vintages, to show how the wine changes with age. - **Three 2022 Barolo crus blind, plus one** (24 October and 14 November): four different Barolo labels poured blind, so you can test whether you can pick out what makes each cru distinct. Each session lasts about an hour and is led by the same teacher in Italian and English. Tickets cost 36 euros per person, sold in advance online, and include teaching materials in both languages. The association pitches the series at an international and younger audience, and times it to the white truffle season, one of the high points of the Langhe year, so book before you travel. ## Weekends with the growers in Barbaresco In the village of Barbaresco, the Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco is housed in the church of San Donato on Piazza del Municipio, once the seat of a lay confraternity. The town bought the disused building from the diocese and the enoteca opened there in 1986; today it represents more than 150 of the wineries that make Barbaresco. Every weekend from 26 September to 29 November, its autumn series "I Weekend di Piacere Barbaresco" puts two member wineries behind the counter each day, from 10.30 to 17.30, to pour Barbaresco and its crus and talk about them. A visit takes about 30 minutes, with at most ten people at a time, and groups of up to six do not need to book. A few dates with producers you can look up on Il Vino Bello first: - Sunday 4 October (today): Mainerdo F.lli and [Ressia](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/ressia) - Saturday 17 October: Cà Moranda and [Cantina del Nebbiolo](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/cantina-del-nebbiolo) - Saturday 24 October: Cascina Vano and [Mauro Molino](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/mauro-molino) - Saturday 31 October: [Piazzo Comm. Armando](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/piazzo-comm-armando) and Piercarlo Culasso - Saturday 7 November: Bricco Ciarla and [Pertinace](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/pertinace) - Sunday 8 November: Fenocchio Renato and [Pelissero Pasquale](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/pasquale-pelissero) - Saturday 14 November: Francone and [Pelissero](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/pelissero) - Sunday 15 November: Luigino Grimaldi and [Poderi Colla](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/poderi-colla) - Saturday 21 November: La Vedetta and [Vietti](https://ilvinobello.com/wineries/vietti) If your dates do not line up, the enoteca is open every day from 10.00 to 18.00 and pours three Barbaresco by the glass at the counter daily. That one is not a guided tasting, but the staff will answer questions about the zone and the wines, and groups of more than eight should book. Counter tastings are served until 17.45. ## Walk-in tastings around Barolo If you cannot make a Saturday, the Strada del Barolo runs a more flexible version of its tastings in two partner wine bars: Monvino in Monforte d'Alba and La Crota in Roddi. Expect a selection that includes Barolo, Nebbiolo, Barbera and other Langhe wines, about an hour and a half, for 30 euros per person. The association says you can simply turn up, though booking is always recommended. In the village of Barolo itself, the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo sits in the old cellars of the Castello dei Falletti. It showcases the wines of some two hundred producers, with more than 120 Barolo labels that you can taste with a guide or on your own, using dispensers and prepaid cards. Its own site gives opening hours of Thursday to Sunday, 10.30 to 18.30, but the regional tourism board's listing currently marks it as temporarily closed, so check with the enoteca before making the trip. ## Putting a weekend together The dates fit together neatly. Spend a Saturday afternoon in Alba with a masterclass, then drive to Barbaresco on Sunday morning to taste with the growers. On the weekend of 17 and 18 October, for example, you could do the Barolo vertical in Alba and then meet Adriano Marco e Vittorio and Bera in Barbaresco. On 14 and 15 November, the blind cru tasting in Alba pairs with Luigino Grimaldi and Poderi Colla the next day. One practical note: if you are driving between tastings, spit, share a glass, or bring someone who will drive. ## Sources - [Strada del Barolo: Wine Tasting Experience, Alba, autumn 2026](https://www.stradadelbarolo.it/wine-tasting-experience/calendario-autunno-2026-albeisa/) - [Strada del Barolo: Wine Tasting Experience at partner wine bars](https://www.stradadelbarolo.it/wine-tasting-experience/wine-tasting-experience-presso-le-nostre-enoteche/) - [Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco: I Weekend di Piacere Barbaresco, autumn 2026](https://www.enotecadelbarbaresco.it/post/weekend-piacere-barbaresco-autunno-2026) - [Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco: about the enoteca](https://www.enotecadelbarbaresco.it/chi-siamo-enoteca) - [Enoteca Regionale del Barolo](https://www.enotecadelbarolo.it/) - [Visit Langhe Monferrato Roero: Enoteca Regionale del Barolo](https://www.visitlmr.it/it/pois/luoghi-del-vino/enoteca-regionale-del-barolo)