Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening (Ba&Ba Turin) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Piedmont calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year.
Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening (Ba&Ba Turin) is one of the wine festivals that anchors the Piedmont calendar, drawing both local visitors and international wine travellers each year. It is held at Turin (Torino) in Italy, in the heart of one of Italy's most distinctive wine areas. It is an annual event with an established local audience and a consistent place in the regional calendar. Two weekends of structured tasting in Turin where the new Barolo and Barbaresco vintages are presented, with over 100 producers gathering in one place — a rare chance to compare the major Nebbiolo expressions side by side before they hit the international market. Tickets around €50; trade and press sessions take place during the week alongside public events. Italian wine trade fairs are the most efficient way to taste a broad cross-section of producers in a short time. Attendees can expect organised tasting halls grouped by appellation, masterclass programmes with guest speakers, sommelier-led sessions on individual grape varieties, and structured opportunities to meet producers. Most major events are reserved for trade visitors — buyers, importers, sommeliers, journalists, restaurateurs — but include public-facing days or evenings during the run of the event. The events have grown into key fixtures of the international wine industry calendar, with several Italian fairs now drawing buyers from over 60 countries. The event is organised by Consorzio di Tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani, which sets the tone and direction of the programme each year. Piedmont produces some of Italy's most age-worthy reds — Barolo and Barbaresco from the Nebbiolo grape — alongside Barbera, Dolcetto, Roero Arneis, the sparkling Moscato d'Asti and the high-altitude Alta Langa traditional-method sparkling wines. The Langhe and Roero hills are UNESCO-listed. Wine tourism here is anchored by Alba and the Langhe villages, with festivals running from the Barolo & Barbaresco anteprima in March through Vinum in spring and the Alba International White Truffle Fair from October through December. The 2026 edition is scheduled for 2-4 March and 9-11 March 2026. Cost details: Paid (tasting passes; trade-only sessions). Full programme, ticketing and updated information are published on the official site at https://www.langhevini.it/. Visitors are advised to check directly with the organiser for the latest schedule, as Italian festival programmes are sometimes updated close to the event date. Piedmont is reached via Turin or Milan, with Alba serving as the natural base for any wine festival visit in the Langhe. The region pairs naturally with food tourism, since Slow Food was founded here and the area produces some of Italy's most respected truffles, hazelnuts, beef and cheeses. Piedmontese cuisine builds around the wines: bagna cauda, vitello tonnato, tajarin al tartufo, brasato al Barolo. October through early December is white truffle season and the busiest time of year.
