Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Wines of the Giro Stage 4: Battaglin & Falanghina


http://www.gazzetta.it/static_images/ciclismo/giroditalia/2013/zoom/planimetria_04.jpg

Policastro - Serra San Bruno 

From the Garibaldi:  Long stage at 246 km. The first 190 km are mostly flat with slightly rolling sections along the SS18. Road surface in good condition, with some lit tunnels along the race route. The other side of the Lamezia Terme plain, the climb begins towards Maierato and Vibo Valentia (GPM: Gran Premio della Montagna or King of the Mountain) with very ‘pedalable' gradients despite short, very steep stretches (road surface paved with stone slabs in some villages). Beyond Vibo Valentia, the road descends as far as the final climb up to Croce Ferrata (Intermediate Sprint at Soriano Calabro, the half-way point of the climb) with gradients of around 5%. Stage finish is 7 km after the GPM.

After the GPM at Croce Ferrata the road loses altitude quite quickly, first narrow and twisting, then from -6 to -3 km along a wide road. Final 3km climbing towards the town centre. At 600m the road narrows and the surface is stone slabs. The finishing straight is 550 m long and 6m wide with a slight upward gradient.

 The first uphill finish of this year's race and the question of the day is whether or not Katusha will be able to keep Luca Paolini in the race leader's jersey after yesterday's stage win. Early on, pre-video, the break of the day formed with: Johan Le Bon (FDJ), Francis Mourey (FDJ), Julien Berard (AG2R), Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli), Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel), Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel), and Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil). They are mainly a group of non-threatening riders, though the presence of Sella would keep the teams behind alert. 
With a little under 200 km remaining the break riders had a lead of 7:55 over the peloton behind. Things continued and with less that 100 km to go, the breakaway was 3:50 ahead of the Katusha led peloton. The break split, with Minguez, Ligthart, Le Bon and Berard pushing up ahead, probably hoping that the peloton would chase less aggressively if they dropped Sella. 
With about 73 kms left, Be-in went live and I no longer had to fight livestream pop-ups. Note: I sometimes like to think of finding the right x as a not very exciting video game. 

With 65 km to go, the gap was down to 4:00. Action ahead as they climb?
mrconde 6:57am via Web
Vini-Fantini really set a high pace and in no time the gap has gone from 4 min to 1½ min. 57,4 km to go. #giro

Then as word came of rain at the finish, the break attacked each other. Much to the amusement of the tv commentators, the Euskatel rider, Minguez, had just loaded up his jersey with water bottles in preparation for the catch and had almost a hunchback created by bottles. He ended up tossing them to the side and riding ahead on his own. From twitter:
nyvelocity 7:07am via TweetDeck
Sammy Sanchez is all like, "Where's Minguez with my water?"

Sure enough, rain on the camera lens and more limited video. 
TeamSky 7:23am via Web
The weather is making it's presence felt now with 43km to go. Heavy rain at the finish and it's reaching the peloton now. #Giro

Nervous time for the peloton and after a commercial the sight of Nibali on the side of the road getting a wheel from a teammate. It was time for a chase back to the bunch. And chase he did, making it back to the main peloton in time for the climbs ahead. 

inrng 7:54am via Web
20km to go and a group of five riders trying to go clear on the descent but the bunch will surely catch then on the Croce Ferrata climb?

  opqscyclingteam 8:06am via TweetDeck
14.2km to go, gap went from 1 minute to 37" quickly. #Giro. Pirazzi, Quintero, Rabottini still chasing.

A solo attack by Sylvain Georges looked good for a little while, but he was caught as twitter groaned at the sight of Danilo Di Luca.
 
  giroditalia 8:20am via Twitter for iPhone
Attack by Di Luca (FAN) and Chalapud (COL) 8 km left / Attacco di Di Luca (FAN) e Chalapud (COL) 8 km dall'arrivo #giro

Would they make it?
giroditalia 8:26am via Twitter for iPhone
Di Luca, Chalapud > 10'' > Peloton / Gruppo. 5 km left #giro

No, but it was very close. Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) won the sprint of a surprisingly large group to win the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. The peloton, which included all the favourites, caught late breakaway rider Danilo Di Luca with only a few hundred meters to go, and Battagli took the win by several bike lengths over Fabio Felline (Androni) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar).

Stage:
http://www.podiumcafe.com/2013/5/7/4307588/giro-ditalia-stage-4-live
 

 



 







GC:  
1 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha

2 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:00:17  
3 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:26  
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:31  
5 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:34  
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling    
7 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 0:00:36  
8 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:00:37  
9 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:00:39  
10 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:42   




 From the importer: 
Wine Description: The Mastroberardino family has been dedicated to making wine from ancient varieties that are indigenous to the region. Falanghina is the primary grape for the Sannio appellation and is named after "phalange" which is Latin for "supported by stakes." Many believe this grape to have been the basis of the legendary Falernum wine, the most prized wine of ancient Rome, due to its unique profile and fragrance.

Tasting Notes: Pale lemon-green in color, this Falanghina displays fresh aromas of lemon citrus, pineapple and white flowers. On the palate, these layered notes are complimented by zesty acidity and hints of honeysuckle and toasted almond that linger into the finish. This summer-sipper is a definite crowd-pleaser.

Food Pairing: Serve it with oysters, clams, scallops or seafood stews.

  • Vineyard  & Production Info

    • Production area/appellation: Sannio DOC
    • Vineyard name: The Sannio zone/Benevento area
    • Vineyard size: 105 acres
    • Soil composition: Sandy and volcanic
    • Training method: Guyot
    • Elevation: 825 feet
    • Vines/acre: 1,200
    • Yield/acre: 4 tons
    • Exposure: Southern/Eastern
    • Year vineyard planted: 1970
    • Harvest time: September
    • First vintage of this wine: 1996
    • Bottles produced of this wine: 80,000
I say: Purchased and not consumed for a Giro stage last year. Citrus, flowers and indeed almond. Another winner.
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