Seven stages in a loop from the hills of Barbaresco to those of Barolo. A rugged land to be crossed slowly, from Alba all the way to the pastures and farmsteads of Alta Langa.
In October, a tracked tractor climbs along a dirt track leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. In the hollow of Asili, just a few hours after setting out from Alba, there are only vineyards, their rows so regular they look combed. At the top of the bricco — as the hilltops are called here — an old oak tree has been left standing. Sitting in its shade and setting down your rucksack is inevitable, after the first long climb. The winegrower who left that tree standing perhaps gave up a small income for a little shade, to the benefit of those passing on foot as well. The route's name plays on the first syllables of Barolo and Barbaresco, but it will not be only the man-made landscape of the vineyard that serves as the backdrop for the journey. The loop starts and ends in Alba, passing through the entire production zones of the two principal red wines made from nebbiolo grapes — a territory that since 2014 has been part of the Unesco site of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato wine-growing landscapes.
But as early as the third stage we venture into the far wider territory of the "wild" Langa, the Alta Langa. Crossing these precious wine lands, the walk also becomes a lesson in economic history. The Langhe today are among the best-known production areas in the world. Yet those who walk through them encounter two worlds within the same journey: that of the wineries, the Michelin-starred resorts, and international tourism — and, especially in Alta Langa, they can still glimpse, against a backdrop of general well-being and prosperity, the unforgiving land of the 1920s and 1930s, of emigration to South America, and, in the post-war years, towards the factories of Turin and the Ferrero plant in Alba.
In October the Truffle Fair fills the streets of Alba's old town centre. But stepping outside the walls towards the Altavilla hill is all it takes to rediscover the silence of the white gravel roads. After a stretch along the Tanaro river, the path enters the most prized vineyards of Barbaresco, between Asili and Rabajà. The soil underfoot is pale and sandy, and one immediately feels the disorienting sensation of walking across a seabed. And that is precisely what it is: these hills are layers of marls, sandstones and clays deposited on the floor of the Tethys Ocean between 30 and six million years ago, then thrust upward by Alpine orogeny. The first stage thus arrives at Barbaresco, a village of a single street — via Torino — with winery doors on either side. At the far end, the tower rises up overlooking the Tanaro valley: one last effort is well worth the climb to the top, for a view over the sea of hills that awaits, and for an aperitivo on the terrace.
A few kilometres further on, in the castle of Castelborgo in Neive — where the second stage leads — around the mid-nineteenth century a dry nebbiolo was fermented for the first time, the ancestor of all the region's age-worthy wines. The innovation lay in carrying out fermentation inside the cellar, sheltered from the cold. Until then, the vats had been placed in the farmyard courtyards, and the first November frosts would halt the process, producing sweet and sometimes sparkling wines.
The ridge between the Belbo valley and the val Tanaro wedges its way, with a more rugged relief, between the nebbiolo lands and those of moscato. The most typical landscape of Alta Langa seeps into the domesticated world of the vine, and the path even passes through a beech forest, rare at these altitudes. On the drier south-facing slopes, oak grows alongside Scots pine — the only conifer native to the Langhe, surviving here since the last glaciation. In October the mixed woodland of cherry and maple trees changes colour alongside the vineyards, and it is the season of porcini mushrooms and Caesar's mushrooms. At the end of the ridge lies Pavaglione, a restored farmstead housing a cultural centre; in summer a wine bar opens in the stone barn opposite, and various accommodation options allow travellers to stop over in one of the most peaceful spots in the Langhe.
The route continues southward, winding through hazelnut groves that occupy the cooler, less vine-friendly terrain. Once, hazelnuts were planted along riverbanks and field margins for household use. Then, in the post-war years, a confectioner short of cocoa — Pietro Ferrero — began using them as a cheaper substitute for chocolate. Today the prized Tonda Gentile variety covers entire hillsides, and dormice and squirrels help themselves to a share, much to the growers' displeasure. In Cravanzana, a giant steel hazelnut greets the traveller, balanced on its pedestal in front of the town hall.
From here onward, the villages perch along the ridgelines, growing ever more sparse, with pastures and ploughed fields alternating with woodland. A few flocks still find good grass after the first autumn rains: it is an indigenous breed of the Langhe, whose milk yields the excellent tome cheeses of Murazzano DOP. In San Benedetto Belbo the plane trees still stand under which Beppe Fenoglio used to sit with his typewriter on his knees, and so does Placido's censa — the tavern-cum-grocery (which required a special licence, hence the name) mentioned many times in his stories.
The route then climbs to Bossolasco, a ridge-top village known for the rose bushes in front of its doors and along its house facades. The shop signs painted in the 1960s by Felice Casorati and his friends — all summer visitors to Bossolasco — can be seen in the deconsecrated church of the Disciplinati. Having reached the halfway point of the Bar to Bar, in the surrounding valleys one may still catch a glimpse of a group of roe deer fleeing — animals that were nowhere to be found here fifty years ago. In their wake, the wolf has returned, finding in the Alta Langa a suitable habitat and plentiful food resources.
From Serravalle Langhe the route turns westward, with views over the arc of the Alps, and a long sequence of descents and climbs begins. The castle of Serralunga d'Alba, high on its hill, marks the entrance into the lands of Barolo. Between Monforte d'Alba and Barolo the path crosses a wooded ridge that has remained wild because the terrain is too steep and rocky for vines. It is a wedge of biodiversity, a precious refuge for wildlife: along the trail one can make out the tracks of the badger, resembling a small hand, while above the rows of vines a kestrel hangs motionless in the air before dropping onto its prey.
From La Morra the trail glides down towards Verduno. Along the ridge path, fragments of gypsum crystals glitter underfoot — remnants of the salt lagoons left behind when, six million years ago, the Mediterranean had almost completely dried up. In Roddi we spend a little time learning about the truffle, which grows invisibly among the roots of oaks and hazel trees. The final stretch of the route descends to the Tanaro through poplar groves and hazelnut orchards, and returns to Alba along the cycle path that runs alongside the Ferrero factories. The hazelnuts seen for days on the hills of the Alta Langa end up here, just a stone's throw from the station.
The Bar to Bar is a loop of approximately 127 kilometres in seven official stages, ranging from 12.5 to 29 kilometres, though it is advisable to split them differently, allowing more time. The elevations remain those of the hills, between the 170 metres of Alba and the 800 metres of the Alta Langa, but the ups and downs are constant: added together, they amount to roughly 3,700 metres of ascent, with daily totals of between 600 and over 800 metres on four of the seven stages. The route is waymarked along its entire length with the regional red-and-white signs and the bunch-of-grapes logo, supplemented by painted blazes wherever needed.
October is the richest month: the nebbiolo harvest draws to a close, the leaves change colour variety by variety, and Alba is taken over by the international truffle fair. As the days grow shorter, splitting the stages helps ensure you arrive while there is still light. Vineyards and hazelnut orchards are working land and private property: stay on the marked paths and taste the grapes only once the harvest is over. Back in Alba, walkers often return with mud-caked boots, along the same via Maestra from which they set out, closing the loop where it began, at the station.
Alba is easily reached by train. The main centres are connected by bus services — predominantly school buses — run by Gtt and small local operators. To plan the stages, start with the Bar to Bar entry on SlowMap, which offers GPS tracks to download, accommodation along the route including rest stops for breaking up the longer stages, and a travel planner for building the trip day by day.