Friday, July 14, 2023

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2023: Stage 13: Chatillon Sur Chalaronne to Grand Colombier

Where are we? Heading through the Ain  

Chatillon sur Chalaronne: The regional tourist site tells me that Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, formerly Châtillon-les-Dombes, is located in the heart of Dombes in Ain, about 1 hour from Lyon. This medieval city of character, classified as the Most Beautiful Detours of France ,  Flowery City Four Flowers (Fleur d'Or) ,  Green Station ,  City and Crafts , House of the Illustriousand Apicité will seduce you with the richness of its preserved heritage and the natural beauty of its landscapes!
Let's go to the market: The traditional Châtillon market takes place every Saturday morning under Les Halles . Throughout the year, the producers follow one another to offer you: cheese, poultry, game, fish from Dombes, meat and charcuterie but also takeaway meals. A space is also reserved for live poultry. An exceptional setting and quality products that have earned it its title of 3rd "Most Beautiful Market in France" in 2021!
An organic market , organized by Lunab, was born in 2020. Every Wednesday morning, find around ten organic producers under the halls!

Regional Specialties: carp from the Dombes. Frogs. Pond fish goujonnettes. Water game. Breadillon from Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne. Wines from Bugey.

Grand Colombier: Le Tour tells me that this is the highest point of the Bugey (1,531 m), located in the south of the Jura mountain range, the Grand Colombier massif offers numerous marked hiking trails, mountain bike trails (GTJ) and a panoramic view of the Alps, Mont Blanc, the Bourget lake, the Rhône and the Bugey. 

Regional Specialties: Diots with Bugey marc, Bugey truffle, savoury (walnut and onion tart). Cheeses (Tome de Belley, Pavé d'Affinois, Comté in Arvière-en-Valromey). Sugar pie. Bugey wines (AOC), plant liquors from the Kario distillery, Seyssel AOP wines (Altesse "Roussette" and Molette), AOP Roussette de Savoie cru Frangy.

Christian Prudhomme says: The dynamic format of this stage, which takes place entirely in the Ain, will leave little room for doubt. The riders’ legs will certainly have to be sharpened on the climb to the Hauteville-Lompnes plateau, because a major challenge awaits the Tour’s favourites leaving Culoz: they’ll have to put all of their cards on the table for the ascent of the “Bugey pyramid”, which extends for 17.4km at an average gradient of 7.1%.

The stage: Bastille day and fireworks to start as attempts were made to form the break. Eventually a large group would get away, but they were given a short leash.
40 kilometers to go and they had about 3 minutes. That gap would grow. 25 kilometers to go and it was up to 4 minutes.
Up next: As soon as they started to climb, riders dropped from the break. Also, as they climbed, so many fans so, so close to the race. I once again wonder why people roadside think flares are a good idea?
13 kilometers to go and Pacher, a frenchman, had a small gap, but would soon be passed by Van Gils, Tejada, and Shaw.
Lovely hairpins: Back up to the front, Kwiatkowski, who would pass the trio. Under 10 kilometers and he would have over 30 seconds over the first chasers. The peloton was at about 3:15. Behind, most thought it would be a matter of when and not if, Pogacar would attack.  6 kilometers to go and Kwiatkowski had a minute. Under 5 kilometers and slight under one minute. The gap to the ever shrinking gc group was around 2:18. My fingers and toes were crossed for Kwiatkowski. It is always a joy to see someone who has worked so hard as a domestique for so many years have solo glory.
Yay Kwiatkowski!
Behind, an attempt by Pogacar, taking some bonus seconds and a few seconds as well. Insert marginal gains joke here.
Stage:


GC: 



The wine: Dufaitre Brouilly Le Millesime 2020
The importer tells me that: Rémi makes wines in a classic carbonic style, using whole bunches, which are carefully sorted to avoid broken grapes or rot. He adds some carbon dioxide gas to protect the grapes at the beginning of fermentation and does not use any temperature control. He avoids foot-stomping the grapes unless he sees some volatility starting to creep in. His goal is to have as little juice in the tank as possible. He also performs routine analysis to see how the yeast is performing and whether or not there is any volatility. Remi makes all his wines with the same method, thus we can really see and taste the differences between the sites, with minor differences in the elevage of each cuvée. He tastes each cuvée before bottling and may decide to add between zero and 2 mg of sulfur, depending on how stable he judges the wine to be.

The Food: Savoury Pie

Ingredients (for 6 people):
Bread dough
Onions 
Walnuts
Salt
Pepper
Walnut oil

Preparation:
Spread a bread dough on a sheet metal plate where you will have a mixture of onions cut into rings, finely chopped walnuts. Add salt, pepper and drizzle with walnut oil. Bake in a hot oven for 40 minutes, being careful not to let the filling dry out.
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