Sunday, October 18, 2020

Wine and Food of the Giro 2020 Stage 15 Base Aera Rivolto to Piancavallo

Where are we?
Base Aera Rivolto: On 18th October 2020, for the first time in the history of the bike race Giro d’Italia (also known as the pink race), a stage will start from a military airport, which is Rivolto airbase (UD), home of the 2nd Wing of Italian Air Force and Frecce Tricolori since their establishment in 1961.
The very strong relationship between Frecce Tricolori and Giro d’Italia will get even closer on next 18th October with an event that will mark a fundamental stage on the way to the Frecce Tricolori 60th birthday.

Piancavallo: Piancavallo, part of the municipality of Aviano (PN), is a landmark for winter sports and a nice place for a summer holiday too. Skiers will have at their disposal 17 km. of alpine ski slopes; several competitions of the womens’ Alpine Ski World Cup have been held on these tracks. Piancavallo was one of the first ski resorts in Italy to install an artificial snow system.

The stage: So, another two race day and I'm watching Flanders. Because, well, cobbles. Luckily, they have planned the timing so that it should finish first and we can all watch the end of the Giro stage.
Quite a fancy start:Apparently there was an 11 rider break. It would shrink until we were left with Dennis and DeGendt up front, with Visconti the first chaser. Eventually, it would be Dennis solo out front.
For the record, Flanders was both glorious and heartbreaking. Suffice it to say there was a lot of cursing at Chez Cleary.
What we have ahead: Thirteen kilometers to go and Dennis had about fifty seconds over the chase group and 1:37 over the gc group.
A reminder that tomorrow is the second rest day of the race.
Just under ten kilometers to go and Dennis had only thirteen seconds. The acceleration in the gc group had many suffering. There came the catch and there went Fuglsang and other dropping. Also dropping, Nibali. Bad day for my fantasy team. Just under eight kilometers to go and he was nineteen seconds back.
Ahead, more drama as that front group split with Almeida struggling. He could see the lead three, but could not close the gap. Six kilometers and it was ten seconds.Two kilometers to go and it was thirty seconds to Almeida and still over one minute to the Nibali group. Coming in close enough to keep his jersey, Almeida. The GC would take a minute or two to calculate.
The wine: Ronchi di Cialla Ribolla Gialla 2019
From an importer: Ronchi Di Cialla, meaning “hills of Cialla”, is located in a small valley surrounded by chestnut, oak and wild cherry woods in the DOC Friuli Colli Orientali  Its story begins in 1970 when Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi bought a property here for the purpose of growing local grape varieties. At the time, they were making their living selling Olivetti typewriters, but they found a property for sale near the border with Yugoslavia, abandoned since the Iron Curtain had fallen twenty-five years earlier. Paolo was attracted to its possibilities because it had olive trees growing on it, which suggested an unusually warm, mild climate this far north.  The area’s unique climate characteristics are enshrined in the designation Friuli Colli Orientali DOC - Sottozona Cialla, which specifies, among other things, permitted farming practices as well as the maximum percentage of total surface that can be planted to vines. 
By the 1960s, French vines such Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio, which had been introduced during the Napoleonic wars, had become the mainstay of Friulian viticulture, but Paolo and Dina wanted to concentrate on local grapes exclusively.  Their research suggested that Verduzzo, Picolit, Ribolla Gialla, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso and Schioppettino had traditionally been the most appreciated and popular vines.
Ronchi Di Cialla is certified as biodiversity friendly by the World Biodiversity Association, and they remain committed to using natural practices with minimal interference, having been one of the first winemakers to adopt integrated agriculture with low environmental impact. Today the winery is run by sons Pierpaolo and Ivan, who are also active entomologists with regular publications in Europe’s scientific journals.  The estate produces approximately 115,000 bottles a year and offers library vintages extending back to the 1980s. The wines age exceptionally well--reds, dry whites, and of course the incomparable sweet wines--and the older bottles are highly sought after by knowledgeable collectors and fine restaurants alike!

The food: Well, we have no specialties from the Giro. So I turned to Visit Italy: The cooking traditions Friuli Venezia Giulia are influenced by the Slavic, central European and Venetian cultures. The cuisine relies on simple recipes and genuine ingredients: meat, dairy, sausages and legumes, used to create tasty specialties. 

Some typical dishes of the area are polenta, “porcina”, a dish made with boiled pork meat and sausages served with sauerkrauts and mustard, and the several soups rich in vegetables and legumes. 

The most important typical product of the region is Prosciutto of San Daniele, well-known and exported worldwide, followed by Montasio cheese and Sauris smoked ham. Among the salame and pork meats produced in Friuli, we can find varying salames, soppressa, sausages and musèt con la brovada, (cotechino pork sausage served with turnips soured with marc). 

The most famous regional dessert is called gubana, a shell of pastry stuffed with dried fruit. 

Strudels and fruit cakes are delicious as well. The tasty traditional dishes of the area are accompanied by a rich production of high-quality red and white wines, like Refosco, Terrano, Malvasia, Tocai and Rebula. Friuli Venezia Giulia is also renowned for its distillates, including traditional and flavored grappas. 
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