Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2018 Stage 11: Albertville to La Rosière Espace San Bernardo

Where are we?
Albertville: The local tourist site tells me: Since its foundation, Albertville situated at the crossing point of four alpine valleys the Combe de Savoy, the Tarentaise, the Val d’Arly and the Beaufortain; has always been a place of cultural exchange and meetings.
Its history demonstrates this: Since its creation in 1836 by King Charles-Albert, who united the city of Conflans and the borough of l’Hopital, Albertville developed through commercial exchange between France, Italy and Switzerland. It harnessed the water course and installed thriving industries (paper mills, tanneries, hydroelectricity…) and became the administrative centre for the entire district.
In the second half of the 20th Century as winter sports took off and agricultural thrived, Albertville consolidated its position as a properous alpine town.
In spring 2003 Albertville was awarded the title of “Town of Art and History”. This was an official recognition of the town’s efforts over a long period to give due attention to its heritage and a confimation of its engagement to bring it to the attention of an ever wider and more numerous public.

LeTour specialties: Savoyard charcuterie, pormonaise (sausage with herbs), crozets (Savoie pasta), cheese (Beaufort and tome des Bauges), Savoie wines

La Rosière Espace San Bernardo: From the local tourist site:
10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT LA ROSIERE DURING SUMMER


  1. Explore the French and Italian Alps: the Italian border is just a ten-minute drive away on the Petit Saint-Bernard Pass!
  2. Play Golf on one of the highest greens in Europe.
  3. Ride around the bike zone, which boasts breathtaking views of the Tarentaise Valley and Mont Blanc.
  4. Turn the mountain into your own outdoor gym. Trail running, mountain biking, hiking…there is so much to do in the great outdoors! If you are looking for a challenge, why not enter the Trail de La Rosière trail running race?
  5. Take part in the many events organised over the summer: Fête des Clarines, Vent d’Est Festival and Saint-Bernard rally, to name but a few!
  6. Admire the stunning sunsets.
  7. Head to the Plan de l’Arc, a unique leisure area for all ages, which is equipped with a skatepark, playground, climbing rock, sports court and barbecues!
  8. FREE childcare at the Galopins Kids’ Club!
  9. Relax in the resort’s wellness areas and spas: Spa ô des Cîmes, Spa des Balcons. They offer a host of different treatments to help you to unwind.
  10. Savour the French and Italian gastronomy and explore the village of La Thuile. Lunch in Italy and dinner in France? No problem: pop across the border for the day on a culinary voyage!
Le Tour specialties: Diots à la polenta (pork sausages cooked with cabbage and accompanied by polenta), cheese (Beaufort)




 
The stage: This should be fun. Again, for those of us watching at home, not the riders. Another stage in the Alps, this one shorter and uphill from the start. Plus, gorgeous scenery. Will we see Geraint Thomas in yellow at the end of the day? Time will tell.
The initial break of the day went early: Sagan, Navarro, Caruso, Sicard and Barguil. Happy 35th to Navarro! There were several large counter attacks behind. If the groups eventual come together about 1/4 of today's starters will be in the break. Sprint point done, Sagan would quickly drop from the lead group.
With 92 kilometers to go, there was a lead group of 4, with 40 chasing less than a minute behind, followed eventually by the main peloton, three minutes back. Joining the front four: Julian Alaphilippe and Tejay van Garderen. They would have more company quickly.  Poljanski and Perez were the first to make it, but there would be more coming across from that very large chase group.
Behind, a Sky led peloton and the devil.


Ahead:


More KOM points for Alaphilippe. He seems determined to stay in the polka dot jersey.


10 kilometers before the top of col du Pré, 31 riders are in the lead with an advantage of 6' over the peloton: Rolland, Kragh, Barguil, G. Izagirre, Nieve, Soler, Van Garderen, Alaphilippe, Pauwels, Vichot, De Gendt, Taaramäe, Skujins, Herrada, Navarro and G. Martin are among the leading riders.
Back in the pleoton, Greg Van Avermaet and Rigoberto Uran were dropped. Hi Valverde. Action ahead?


 
Meanwhile, the scenery continues to be incredible:

 
Way behind, word that Mark Cavendish is in big trouble and is likely to not finish the stage. You know things are dire when they tell his teammates to leave him to save themselves from the time cut.
Ahead, Valverde made it to the waiting Soler. Team tactics!
More scenery:


 
To the front of the peloton, Nibali. Did he have a plan? Meanwhile, the peloton passes Alaphilippe who looks very done. 
Valverde would briefly be in virtual yellow, but with 23 kilometers to go, it was Thomas in virtual yellow by 15 seconds.
On the descent, an attack by Dumoulin.
As they approached the final climb, the gaps were growing smaller. Indeed, Dumoulin and his teammate Anderson would catch Valverde and Soler. Behind, the Sky train was fully engaged working for Geraint Thomas.
Still ahead: Barguil, Caruso, Nieve and Valgren, with six more riders in between them and Valverde and Dumoulin. Valgren would be the first to drop from that lead group.

 
Dumoulin would drop Valverde at around nine kilometers to go, as the peloton below continued to shrink.


The Sky domestiques were doing an excellent job dropping the team leaders of most every other team. Nice work by my daughter's favorite, Kwiatkowski.


Geraint Thomas attack! Next off, Bardet, Foome and Quintana. Lots of climbing still to go.


Next out, Dan Martin, followed by Froome.


Poor Nieve. It looked like he would take the stage, but flying past him: Geraint Thomas. Good day for my fantasy team.



 Stage:



 GC:


 
The alcohol:  Dolin Blanc
Sometimes, Christy likes to throw a curveball.  

From the producer:  DOLIN the one and only INVENTOR of the VERMOUTH of CHAMBÉRY

The reason for which DOLIN legitimately states that it is the inventor of Vermouth de Chambéry, a particularly significant annotation that has never been contradicted nor challenged by any party, is based on the civil judgement delivered by the Court of Chambéry on 15 January 1929. Réf. : Archives judiciaires dans la cote ARRETS CIVILS 1926 à 1929 / 2 U 139 (Conseil Général – Archives Départementales) – [Legal archives filed under CIVIL JUDGEMENTS 1926 to 1929 / 2 U 139-fol 468 v° to 471 (Savoie County Council – County Archives)].

Food: Beaufort cheese Culture magazine tells me that:
Produced in the Haute-Savoie region of southeastern France, Beaufort is one of the most famous "Alpine" cheeses, weighing in at an impressive 80-130 lbs. References to the production of Beaufort date back over 2,000 years, before the Roman occupation of France. Government legislation finally caught up in 1976 when Beaufort was granted AOC (name protected) status.
Milk for production comes from a multitude of small farms. 80 percent of the milk used is sourced from Tarantaise cows, an ancient mountain breed, with the remainder coming from the Abondance breed. It takes the milk of 45 cows from two milkings to make just one wheel of Beaufort.
The cows graze the high pastures of the Haut Savoie that stretch across Beaufortain, Tarentaise, Maurienne and part of the Val d'Arly regions, an area highly regarded for superior grazing during the summer months.
Three versions of Beaufort are produced: Beaufort, Beaufort d'Ete (Summer Beaufort) and Beaufort d'Alpage which is made in the mountain chalets.
Wheels of Beaufort are matured for at least six months. During this time, flavors of the cheese concentrate and develop, becoming extremely deep and complex - especially with cheeses made from summer milk.
Aromas are mildly pungent and pleasantly barnyardy. The rind of Beaufort is a reddish-brown color and slightly sticky.
Flavors are savory, herbacous and fruity with notes of butter, grass and salt underpinned by a granular sweetness. A wonderful cheese.
Pairs well with Champagne, Chardonnay, Riesling, Gamay, and Tannat.

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