Thursday, May 29, 2014

Wines of Giro Stage 18 : Arredondo & Bele Casel Colfondo


Where are we: In the mountains again, in the Veneto. Our start town, Belluno is surrounded by the Dolomites. Panarotta is the western gateway of the Lagorai mountain range, with its valleys, alpine lakes, mountains, and chalets. Pristine nature makes the perfect setting for high-altitude hiking, mountain biking and paragliding. 

Foods of the day from the folks at La Gazetta: 
Smoked herrings (rènga), fagioli di Lamon della Vallata Bellunese, barley minestrone, casonziei (fried ravioli with a pumpkin and ricotta or asparagus and spinach filling), Belluno-style pumpkin dumplings, wild game, pastin alla bellunese (minced meat with lardo, wine and sage, roasted), biondola (a kind of cotechino), figadet (liver sausage with raisin)
Knudel with chanterelle mushrooms, beef with onions and potatoes, mountain lamb, wild game goulash, bacon-wrapped rabbit roll; wurstel with sauerkraut; strudel
 

 The route: Up we go again, 171 kilometers this time. Inrng stage preview here. As you can see from the stage profile above, it is a hard day with several difficult climbs. Fireworks possible, though based on Quintana's performance earlier this week, it is hard to imagine that he will lose significant climbs.

The race: Basso! Oh, wait, that is simply my fantasy team director heart dreaming of points. But there he is in our break of the day:


By the way, not starting today: Ivan Santaromita and Diego Ulissi. It is also raining again or maybe that is sleet? Also though, some sun. It will apparently be a mixed weather day.


Sixty kilometers to go and the gap was still 7:47. Forty nine kilometers to go and Arredondo attacked for the KOM points, followed by Cataldo. 
Sheep art!


Hard to imagine it, but there was Basso pushing the pace on the descent. 




Thirty kilometers to go and the gap was still around 6:45. Go Basso, go! Cannondale apparently agreed with me:




22 kilometers to go and the gap was over seven minutes. 17 kilometers to go and an attack by Thomas De Gendt. Fifteen kilometers to go and the gap was under six minutes. 12.4 kilometers and it was just over five minutes and De Gendt remained alone out front. Just over 10 kilometers to go and an attack from Basso from the break. Could he catch De Gendt? Next to go: Cataldo. The gap to the peloton had dropped under five minutes. Nine kilometers to go and it was De Gendt up front with the next chase group on the road containing Cataldo, Deignan and Arredondo. 


Just under eight kilometers to go and Duarte had caught the chase group behind De Gendt. 




Lots of time gaps today mean significant GC changes, yet again. And, of course, 7th on the stage for Basso.

Stage: Julian Arredondo
GC:
1 Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS Colombia MOV 24 77:58:08
2 Rigoberto URAN URAN Colombia OPQ 27 +1:41
3 Pierre ROLLAND France EUC 28 +3:29
4 Fabio ARU Italy AST 24 +3:31
5 Rafal MAJKA Poland TCS 25 +3:31
6 Domenico POZZOVIVO Italy ALM 32 +3:52
7 Ryder HESJEDAL Canada GRS 34 +4:32
8 Wilco KELDERMAN Netherlands BEL 23 +4:37
9 Cadel EVANS Australia BMC 37 +4:59
10 Robert KISERLOVSKI Croatia TFR 28 +8:33
The wine: Bele Casel Asolo Prosecco DOCG
“Colfondo” 2012
From Biondivino

From the producer:
Production area: Maser (Crespignaga)
Grape variety: Glera
Vineyard: sloped, 225 meters a.s.l.
Training system: Guyot – organic
Harvest: 4 September, picked by hand
Vinification: the grapes are soft-pressed with a pneumatic press followed by static racking of the must and temperature-controlled fermentation (18-20° C.) with cultured yeast; the wine is then aged on its lees in stainless-steel vats for 3 months.
Secondary fermentation: Coming from Asolo tradition, second fermentation in the bottle without degorgement.
Bottling Date: 08.05.2013
Fermentation time: around 32 days
Aging: no fewer than 6/8 months in bottle.
Tasting Notes

In the glass: straw yellow with fine, persistent bubbles.
On the nose: this wine changes from one moment to the next; from the classic fresh fruit notes and “bread crust” that you find in Prosecco as soon as fermentation is complete, more complex notes emerge the longer the wine is in the glass thanks to the presence of the lees.
On the palate: As on the nose, delicate notes of fruit evolve as elegant hints of yeast emerge.
Alcohol: 11.04%
Pressure: 2.3 atmospheres
Acidity: 5.27 g/l
Residual sugar: less than 1 g/l
Serving temperature: 8-10° C.
Carefully decant this wine into a carafe or decanter and avoid uncessary movement so as to eliminate the light sediment. You can also gently turn the wine upside down so as to make it cloudy.

I say: After all of those pictures of Prosecco vineyards yesterday. 

‘Colfondo’ refers to the artisanal approach of making Prosecco, whereby the second, carbonic fermentation takes place in bottle, leaving a slight residue at the bottom of the bottle (‘il fondo’) which when disturbed makes the wine cloudy, enriching it with the lees of the vinification. Read more here from Jeremy Parzen.  

Dry with light fruit and some yeast. A lovely pairing with charcuterie.

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