Sunday, May 30, 2021

Wine and Food of the Giro 2021 Stage 21: Senago to Milan

Where are we? Finishing up in Lombardy.
Senago: The Giro provides no information, but clearly, a suburb of Milan. 
Milan: Let's go to our friends at the Giro one last time: World capital of fashion and design, Milan lives poised between a centuries-long historical and cultural tradition and a creative stance looking forward to innovation and the world at large. Its destiny is already in its name, Mediolanum , meaning “place in the middle” between different territories and peoples, a hub for trade and commerce from the very beginning. Born as a Celtic village it has been through the centuries the Capital of the Western half of the Roman Empire, a major Renaissance Court at the time of Ludovico il Moro and Leonardo da Vinci, a place of plunder for French, Spaniards, Austrians - finally to be annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. From the 18 th century to the present Milan has never ceased to renew its look, from the Neo-Classical lines ofTeatro alla Scala to the sumptuous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and finally to the high-rise of its skyscrapers that, from Gio Ponti to the international archistars, have re-drawn its skyline.
Giro specialties:
Senago: None listed
Milan:  Tradition and innovation also co-exist in the Milan of taste, between ancient recipes and contemporary gourmet versions. History is represented by risotto alla milanese , with marrowbone steak and saffron rice, mondeghili (fried meatballs), rostin negàa (roast doused in white wine). The typical Christmas cake is Panettone , now famous throughout the world.
Milan provides cooking for every taste and every budget: 20 Michelin-starred restaurants , countless trattorie, local eateries, vegetarian, romantic, traditional and ethnic. But also bars and pubs to celebrate the rite of aperitivo in the evening, with elaborate cocktails and tasty finger food.
The stage: A flat time trial to finish it all off. The early leader on the day was not at all surprising, despite the fact that he had to stop for a bike change. 
Looking like he might be able to catch Ganna was Cavagna, but he mis-judged a corner and crashed. Despite being back on his bike quickly, he would come in about twelve seconds down.
One could expect that Ganna would hold on, but there could be a surprise. Sobrero would come close, but a bit of a traffic jam at the finish, held him up. 
It was strange to watch a Giro without Nibali truly in the mix, but pre-race injury and age took its toll.   
Eventually, all of the riders were out on the road. We were not expecting significant changes today, but there could be movement in some of the top twenty spots. Even the announcers are honest about not expecting any drama and they are motivated to keep us all watching.

Stage:

GC:


The wine: Arpepe Valtellina Superiore 2016 Il Pettirosso
A treat to finish things off from Dig.
From an importer: Tucked in between the Orobic and Retic Alps just south of the Italian-Swiss border, you’ll find the terraced vineyards of ARPEPE. At the helm of this storied estate, located in the Grumello subzone of Valtellina in Lombardy, is the fifth generation of the Pelizzatti Perego family. The roots of this blue-chip estate go back to the 1860s, when the current generation’s great-great-grandfather Giovanni founded a successful winery in the area, then known only as “Pelizzatti.” Over 150 years of history have passed since then, including the dark days of the 1970s during which the current generation’s grandfather fell ill, and the family was forced to sell the Pelizzatti brand along with some of their vineyards. The more recent history of the estate is an almost deus-ex-machina turn of events: the family re-founded their company under the ARPEPE label in 1984, got back many of their proprietary vineyards from renters, and were able to reclaim their cellar in Grumello. Today, ARPEPE is widely recognized as the single best producer in the appellation (as well as a benchmark producer of Nebbiolo in general.


The food: You'll note that this is not a picture of food. During this long pandemic year +, my daughter has taught herself to make lace. So, today, Milanese lace. She says: it is a style of tape lace, with a thin strip and fun designs inside. The tape does not have to be a straight piece, so you can make it into interesting designs. This is just a sampler and the first time I have tried this style. 


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