Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Wine and Food of the Giro 2022 Stage 16: Salò to Aprica

Where are we? Climbing some mountains in Lombardy. 

Salò: The local tourist site tells me that Salo is an elegant and fairly big city, neighboring on a long narrow gulf. 
Its old buildings and, in particular, its lakeside promenade which is, for that matter, one of the most beautiful, if not even the most beautiful of all promenades in the tourist area delineated by Lake Garda, are the chief attractions which render this city so appealing to tourists.
The outskirts of the city, south from the gulf, are the place where a shingle beach is located, and here tourists can relax while sunbathing and contemplating the beauty of the city and of the background mountains.

The foodIn Salò you can taste the typical food and wine excellences of Upper Garda Park and of the nearby Valle Sabbia: these lands see the typical elements of the Mediterranean scrubs and the Alpine belt.
FISH Lake fishes common in the Garda Lake waters are trout, tench, carp, burbot, lake whitefish, sardines, chub, pike, bleak and eel. The lake fish is not farmed but fished according to the old ways using traditional nets.
OIL Garda oil’s excellent sensory profile and health benefits make it an oil of superior quality. It has a low free oleic acid percentage and is an ingredient in all the local dishes.
LEMONS The citrus fruit grown on the western shore of Lake Garda are lemon, bergamot, citron and orange. Due to the favorable climate and through the use of special greenhouses, the production of lemons, such as the production of other citrus fruit, reached its maximum expansion around 1700 but still resist today thanks to the local culture.


Aprica: The Giro tells me that Aprica‌ ‌links‌ ‌Valtellina‌ ‌with‌ ‌Valcamonica‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌heart‌ ‌of‌ ‌italian‌ ‌Alps.‌ ‌The‌ ‌easily‌ ‌accessible,‌ ‌scenic‌ ‌resort‌ ‌has‌ ‌a‌ ‌bounty‌ ‌of‌ ‌activities‌ ‌for‌ ‌families.‌ ‌Aprica‌ ‌really‌ ‌shines‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌summer‌ ‌as‌ ‌it‌ ‌transforms‌ ‌into‌ ‌an‌ ‌outdoor‌ ‌playground,‌ ‌full‌ ‌of‌ ‌cycling‌ ‌and‌ ‌hiking‌ ‌routes.‌ ‌Aprica‌ ‌will‌ ‌be‌ ‌familiar‌ ‌to‌ ‌many‌ ‌road‌ ‌riders‌ ‌as‌ ‌it‌ ‌often‌ ‌features‌ ‌in‌ ‌game-changing‌ stages‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Giro‌ ‌d’Italia.‌ ‌Hit‌ ‌it‌ ‌up‌ ‌for‌ ‌some‌ ‌rewarding‌ ‌climbs,‌ ‌including‌ ‌the‌ ‌iconic‌ ‌Mortirolo‌ ‌and‌ ‌Santa‌ ‌Cristina.‌ ‌For‌ ‌off-road‌ ‌riders,‌ ‌there‌ ‌are‌ ‌many‌ ‌mountain‌ ‌bike‌ ‌ routes‌ ‌to‌ ‌explore.‌ ‌Once‌ ‌the‌ snowy‌ ‌season‌ ‌hits,‌ ‌skiers‌ ‌flocks‌ ‌to‌ ‌Aprica‌ ‌and‌ ‌its‌ ‌50km-plus‌ ‌of‌ ‌ski‌ ‌pistes‌ ‌for‌ ‌all‌ ‌levels‌ ‌and‌ ‌tastes.‌ ‌Ranging‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌Pistone‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌Magnolta‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌child-friendly‌ ‌ones‌ ‌next‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌town,‌ ‌ Aprica‌ ‌has‌ ‌it‌ ‌covered.‌ ‌As‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌2020/2021‌ ‌season,‌ ‌Aprica‌ ‌lights‌ ‌up‌ ‌the‌ ‌hearts‌ ‌of‌ ‌night‌ ‌skiing‌ ‌fans‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌super‌ ‌panoramic‌ ‌Baradello‌ ‌run,‌ ‌which‌ ‌is‌ ‌now‌ ‌the‌ ‌longest‌ ‌floodlit‌ ‌pist‌ ‌in‌ ‌Europe.‌

The food
Valtellina and Aprica are famous for their food excellence. Many of its products are certified as PDO and PGI certified. The local cheeses, wines, bresaola, apples and pizzoccheri are the outcome of this territory: from the valley floor to the icy peaks, it’s a neverending succession of terraced vineyards, cultivated fields, apple orchards, forests and alpine pastures. This variety and Valtellina’s long-standing agricultural and farming tradition give culinary delights. Valtellina’s traditional dishes are the perfect example of how its people have adapted to a difficult territory that offers an incomparable variety of resources. Valtellina is also known worldwide for its pizzoccheri. It’s a first course that encloses the authentic taste of Valtellina. Fresh buckwheat pasta, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, and Malga butter are the main ingredients. Sciatt is the fun side of Valtellina’s cuisine because of the shape, which gives the name to this dish. These cheese-filled buckwheat fritters are usually served on a bed of salad. These delicious nibbles have the shape of toads, hence the name sciatt (“toad” in Valtellina’s dialect). And of course, you can’t forget desserts! Aprica’s traditional dessert is called panvì, which consists of slices of rye bread toasted in butter and sprinkled with red wine and sugar.



The stage: Welcome to the final week of the 2022 Giro. To start and we could repeat this all week., a stage I am very glad to be watching and not riding. 
Early in the day, a 23 man breakaway. A break with some interesting names including Valverde, Carthy, Yates, Kelderman, and Martin.
As they approached the Motirolo, that group had begun to attack each other and split apart. Eighty eight kilometers to go and the front group of 8 had 4:27 over the Ineos led peloton. That group would, as expected fall apart as they climbed the Motirolo.
Did it last? No. Did I cheer out loud? Yes.
As they headed into the last 50 kilometers, the lead group was  Valverde, Hirt, Arensman, Carthy, Bouwman, Kamna, Poels, though Bouwman would drop quickly. 
Two mountains in, this was what was ahead.
Twenty five kilometers to go and the gap had dropped to just over three minutes. The pink jersey group had shrunk to about 20. This could be close. 
Getting a gap off the front of the break, Kamna. He would be followed eventually by Arensman.
Yikes, Bilbao down in the bunch as he touched wheels with Landa. 
Finally, the anticipated Landa attack.
Ahead, Hirt and Arensman caught and passed Kamna.
Behind, Carapaz, Hindley and Landa surged ahead, taking turns attacking. 
There were lots of annoying runners on the road today.
Yikes, wet roads on the descent. This was kind of scary.
3.5 kilometers to go and Hirt had 17 seconds over Arensman. 
Stage win Hirt! Very well done.
Stage: 
OSRIDER TEAMTIME
01Jan Hirt Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert05:40:45
02Thymen Arensman Team DSM+ 07
03Jai Hindley BORA-hansgrohe+ 01:24
04Richard Carapaz INEOS Grenadiers+ 01:24
05Alejandro Valverde Movistar Team+ 01:24
06Mikel Landa Bahrain Victorious+ 01:24
07Lennard Kämna BORA-hansgrohe+ 01:38
08Joao Almeida UAE Team Emirates+ 01:38
09Vincenzo Nibali Astana Qazaqstan Team+ 02:06
10Hugh Carthy EF Education-EasyPost+ 02:13

GC:



The wine
ArPePe Rosso di Valtellina
from Dig
The importer tells me: 
  • 100% Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo)
  • 50-100-year-old vines
  • Sourced from lower slopes of Sassella and Grumello vineyards at 350-400 meters
  • South/east exposure.  110-day maceration on the skins
  • Aged 6-12 mo. in 50 -hectoliter untoasted casks
  • 4,000 cases produced annually
  • First vintage 2003

The food:  
Traditional pizzocheri 
recipe from La Cucina Italiana 
 Ingredients:
14 oz. buckwheat flour
4 oz. white flour
7 oz. butter
9 oz. Valtellina Casera DOP cheese
5 oz. grated cheese (we suggest Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano)
7 oz. cabbage
9 oz. potatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
Pepper to taste

Method:
Mix the two types of flour together, kneading them with water and working the dough for about 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out a sheet of pasta until you reach a thickness of 2-3 millimeters.
Cut strips with lengths of about 7 - 8 cm. Lay the strips over one another and cut them in the direction of the width to obtain noodles about 5 millimeters wide.
With cabbage cut in small pieces and potatoes cut into quarters, cook vegetables in salted water.
Add pizzoccheri after 5 minutes (potatoes are always present in this dish while cabbage can be replaced with collard greens or green beans, depending on the season).
While the pasta is cooking, fry garlic in butter and let brown well. After about ten minutes, strain pizzoccheri and pour (one portion at a time) into pan with garlic, sprinkling with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and flakes of Valtellina Casera DOP.
Stir pizzoccheri and cheese mixture as you alternate adding pasta then cheese and so on. Sprinkle with butter and, without stirring, serve the pizzoccheri boiling with a little pepper.

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