Sunday, July 22, 2018

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2018: Stage 15: Millau to Carcassonne

Where are we?
Millau:The town as it is today has its origins in the eleventh century through the viscounts of Millau  but its growth really started in the late twelfth century when King Alfonso II of Aragon built the tower overlooking the city.
From 1562, Millau became a southern stronghold of Calvinism: the ideas of the Reformation had seduced the notables of the city by 1558.
In the eighteenth century, carrying the ideals of freedom,  the French Revolution allowed the return of Protestant exiles to Millau. Manufacturing of leather and gloves developed making Millau an international center of  glove-making by the mid-twentieth century. 
The "Pont Vieux":  This is one of the oldest bridges in the Rouergue, probably built prior to 1156. It is mentioned for the first time by the Count of Barcelona and his nephew, the Earl of Millau, who granted toll rights to the abbot of Sylvanès.
Although characteristic of medieval bridges in style, all that is left of the work are two stacks of sandstone and tuff, from  its original 17 arches, starting from the left bank of the Tarn and protected by  triangular cutwater piles. A mill, of relatively recent construction balances atop the structure, a memory of the industrial heritage of the city.
LeTour specialties:Gastronomy : Tripoux trenèls (pork-stuffed tripe), farçous (French chard fritters), fouasse (brioche), cheese (Roquefort, pérail, Causses blue)

Carcassonne:The local tourist site tells me: The oldest traces of man - 6th century B.C.- were found on the promontory where the Cité lies. Around 300 B.C., the Volques Tectosages brought the Iberians of Languedoc to submission. In 122 B.C., the Romans conquered the Provence and the Languedoc. They fortified the oppidum which took the name of Carcaso, and occupied our region until the middle of the 5th century. The Visigoths then became the masters of Spain and the Languedoc. The Cité remained in their hands from 460 to 725 A.D. In the spring of 725, the Saracens took the Cité. They were driven away in 759 by Pépin le Bref, king of the Franks. After the death of Charlemagne, the dismembering of the Empire gave birth to the feudal system. It was under the dynasty of the Trencavels, from 1082 to 1209, that the town began to gain tremendous influence.
The Crusade: During this prosperous period, Catharism grew rapidly. Raymond Roger Trencavel, vicomte of Carcassonne (1194-1209) both tolerated and protected the heretics on his own lands. He suffered the first impact of the crusade preached by Pope Innocent III and on August 15th, 1209, after a two-week siege, it was all over. The Cité and the lands of Trencavel were first handed to the military commander of the crusade, Simon de Montfort, then to the King of France in 1224.
Destroyed and rebuilt: As the Cité made its entry into the Royal Estate, its destiny took a new turn. Under the successive reigns of Louis IX, Philippe Le Hardi and Philippe Le Bel, it grew its modern-day shape. A new borough was born on the left bank in 1262: La Bastide Saint-Louis. Set on fire by the Black Prince in 1355, it was immediately rebuilt. While this new town was bustling with activity, the Cité consolidated its role as a royal fortress.
The end of the stronghold: But due to the use of new war techniques (gunpowder, cannon) and above all to the recession of the Franco-Spanish border in 1659 after the Peace of the Pyrénées, it was gradually abandoned. In the 18th century, the Cité was little more than slum, a poverty-stricken, outlying area in a town made wealthy by the wine trade and the cloth manufacturing industry. Only through the joint efforts of Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, a historian and a citizen of Carcassonne, of Mérimée and the famous architect Viollet-le-Duc was it saved from demolition. Thousands of people today are able to see and admire the most accomplished fortified town in Europe.
LeTour specialties: 
Castelnaudary cassoulet, Limoux fricassée, rice from Lake Marseillette, Leucate oysters, lucques (olives), écu du Pays Cathare (cheese), Argent Double valley cherries, La Belle Aude ice cream, Ciutat beer, Aude wines (7 AOP including Blanquette de Limoux)




 
The stage:  A stage for the breakaway or will we see some gc actin before our second rest day? Indeed, it was a challenge to establish the break.
Eventually though, we had Barguil, Yates, and Muehlberger getting a small gap with numerous chasers. Already in trouble off the back, one of the few remaining sprinters, Demare.
Thirty five kilometers into the stage and that front trio had been brought back under the impetus of Quick Step, who were concerned about Barguil's challenge to Alaphilippe's polka dot jersey. Time for another group to try and almost fifty kilometers into the stage, they were still trying.
Eventually, a break of 29 riders made it away:
Daniel Martínez (EF Education First), Silvan Dillier (Ag2r La Mondiale), Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb), Amäel Moinard and Florian Vachon (Fortuneo - Samsic), Sonny Colbrelli, Ion Izaguirre and Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain - Merida), Damian Howson and Daryl Impey (Mitchelton - Scott), Daniele Bennati, Imanol Erviti and Marc Soler (Movistar Team), Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team), Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors), Peter Sagan, Rafal Majka and Pawel Poljanski (Bora - Hansgrohe), Magnus Cort and Michael Valgren (Astana Pro Team), Serge Pauwels (Team Dimension Data), Arthur Vichot (Groupama - FDJ), Lilian Calmejane, Fabian Grellier and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie), Bauke Mollema, Julien Bernard and Toms Skujins (Trek - Segafredo) and Jesús Herrada (Cofidis).
Meanwhile, way behind:



 
Surging from that break: Calmejane.



 
Back into the back, surprisingly, Demare. I wasn't expecting that. 
Ahead, with 102 kilometers to go, Calmejane had been caught by his breakmates. They had about 6:30 over the peloton.
Soon, that break would start to to attack each other.
Fifty five kilometers to go and Bernard and Grellier had 1:28 over their former beakaway companions and 11:54 over the main peloton.



 
Clearly, it was time for the many groups on the road part of the stage, as some riders from the break attacked as others fell off the back.



 
Behind, apparently Dan Martin had attacked from the main peloton and had about a minute gap, but he would be realled back in. Ahead, Majka would lead, solo. Twenty five kilometers to go and his gap had dropped to around twenty seconds. Nearing fifteen kilometers to go and the catch was imminent leaving eight riders at the front: Majka, Calmejane, Valgren, Mollema, Pozzovivo, Izaguirre, Nielsen and Skujins. With the peloton over twelve minutes back, the winner would come from that group. As they made their way towards the line, there would be attacks. Just under six kilometers to go and Mollema, Nielsen and Izaguirre had a small gap. The fastest of that three was Nielsen.
Three kilometers to go and they had :35. 
As predicted, Nielsen took the win!




 Hey, look, the peloton. They were cruising along kilometers behind. Tomorrow, they rest before tackling the Pyrenees.

Stage:
GC:
1 THOMAS GeraintTeam Sky
2 FROOME ChristopherTeam Sky1:39
3 DUMOULIN TomTeam Sunweb 1:50
4 ROGLIC PrimozTeam LottoNL-Jumbo2:38
5 BARDET RomainAG2R La Mondiale3:21
6 LANDA MikelMovistar Team3:42
7 KRUIJSWIJK StevenTeam LottoNL-Jumbo3:57
8 QUINTANA NairoMovistar Team4:23
9 FUGLSANG JakobAstana Pro Team6:14
10 MARTIN DanielUAE-Team Emirates6:54



The wine: Julie Benau Libero 2015
From CopakeWineWorks
Christy says: - the barrel is aged
underwater, in a shallow oyster bed. I’m sure there was some alcohol involved in this decisions, but it works and they have now done it for years! Somehow, it has a more honied, richer, character. 



  





Food: Fricassee of Limoux
Here is the recipe for Fricassee de Limoux , a truly traditional dish where pork and white beans are served separately.
Ingredients (for 8 people):
- 1.5 kg of lean pork
- 150 g of pork liver
- 2 pork kidneys
- 250 g of country ham
- 250 g of pork rind
- 1 onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 15 cl of dry white wine
- 7.5 cl of wine vinegar
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- parsley, thyme, bay leaf, olive oil
- 500 g dry white beans (preferably Ingots of Cathar Country)
Preparation of the recipe :
The day before, do not forget to soak the white beans, very important. Rinse and cook for 1 hour with rinds. Add a minced garlic and parsley.
Cut the meat into small pieces of 1.5 cm, then return to low heat in olive oil. Add ham in small pieces, chopped onion and sauté. Stir in liver and kidneys into pieces and persillade and continue to fry. When everything is golden, add the tomato coulis and vinegar while stirring. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour and mix well to melt
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let evaporate slightly. Add 10 cl of water, the white wine, the thyme, and simmer gently for a good hour or more to allow the aromas to develop.
Allow about 30 minutes for preparation and one to two hours for cooking.
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