Monday, July 20, 2015

Wine & Food of the Tour de France 2015 Stage 16: Domaine Nicolas Gonin Persan & Pogne de Romans

Stage 16 201km
Bourg-de-Péage / Gap
Bourg-de-Péage from Wikipedia:If Romans had acquired a great reputation with luxury shoe, Bourg-de-Péage owes its own to felt hats. Succeeding a solid tradition of hosiery under the Ancien Régime, mainly manufacturing women's underwear, felt headwear was introduced around 1810 by workers from Cognin in Isère. In 1811, three workshops were reported, and half a century later, this activity employed more than 400 workers divided into 16 workshops.The felt was obtained from domestic rabbit hair, which was the subject of many processes, carried out by workers in difficult conditions of humidity, such as blowing or fulling. In the surrounding countryside, there were many workers collecting rabbit hair, and their activity was sometimes perpetuated in the name of localities. However, the installation of the railway line to Romans in 1864 put an end to the local origin of the raw material, since cheaper Australian rabbit hair was then preferred.These imports thus caused hundreds of job losses in the countryside.In 1883, an unprecedented crisis occurred for milliners due to the protectionist attitude of some countries where production flowed. The difficulties overcome, the activity grew further still until 1929 when it reached its apogee. At that time, the Mossant business, which was the pioneer of péageoise millinery, employed more than 1,200 workers, and many other workshops produced alongside the quality headwear of Mossant.However, from 1930, the fashion of "bare heads" and the lack of exports caused a rapid decline of the headwear, although some workshops continued to operate until 1985.
LeTour lists no specialties.
 
Gap: From Michelin: Still in the Alps, but already in Provence. Such is the impression you get when you come across this city set in the centre of a large basin surrounded by often snow-capped summits. The tortuous streets, the facades in warm colours, the animation, all reinforce this feeling. Having suffered the ravages of war in the past, Gap is of interest today for the close proximity of the Serre-Poncon lake, the Bayard col and the winter sports resorts such as Superdévoluy, Risoul.
Specialities: tartes de Champsaur (prune tart), cheese, pâtés, tourtons (beignets), oreilles d'âne (spinach gratin), Gap ravioli, lamb, golden delicious apples 
The stage: Christian Prudhomme's comment: It should be one of the last opportunities left for the long breakaway specialists. However sprinters who will be able to remain within shooting distance in the climbs of the day could also have their word to say. Especially because for the finish in Gap, one of the nicest straights awaits.

 A day for the breakaway specialists? Maybe. Two riders out of the race today: Van Avermaet to attend the birth of his child and Kennaugh due to illness. Early on there were two groups of twelve out front separated by one minute. 

  
With one hundred kilometers to go, the first group on the road had almost a minute over the chasers behind and eight minutes to the main peloton. 
Those two groups would eventually combine into one, with Didier slightly behind.

Sagan impressive on the descent, but the group would remain together with a gap of thirteen minutes to the peloton. 

 Soon enough, attacks would start from within the break. Given everything, I'm hoping for Adam Hansen and sure enough, he was on the attack. 
And sun Le Tour?

 
Haller would bridge to Hansen with thirty seven kilometers to go. Twenty four kilometers to go and they had one minute over the chasers with a gap of over eighteen minutes to the peloton. 

Alas. 


 Ten kilometers to go and Plaza had almost a minute to the chasers. And off the front of that group, Sagan chased. Behind, the main peloton had gotten very small. Just under four kilometers to go and the gap was at thirty seven seconds.  Plaza would hold on! Another second for Sagan. 
And then I had to go to work, so I'll point you to the recap from Podium Cafe, which includes, Vincenzo Nibali stealing away near the top and giving himself room to attack on the final descent and Warren Barguil losing control on one particularly notorious corner and taking out Geraint Thomas of Sky. 
Stage: 
1. ESPPLAZA MOLINA Ruben 156 LAMPRE - MERIDA 04h 30' 10''
2. SVKSAGAN Peter 47 TINKOFF-SAXO 04h 30' 40'' + 00' 30''
3. COLPANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson 188 IAM CYCLING 04h 30' 46'' + 00' 36''
4. GERGESCHKE Simon 86 TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN 04h 30' 50'' + 00' 40''
5. LUXJUNGELS Bob 147 TREK FACTORY RACING 04h 30' 50'' + 00' 40''
6. FRARIBLON Christophe 17 AG2R LA MONDIALE 04h 30' 50'' + 00' 40''
7. ERITEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel 219 MTN-QHUBEKA 04h 31' 03'' + 00' 53''
8. BELDE GENDT Thomas 73 LOTTO-SOUDAL 04h 31' 10'' + 01' 00''
9. ESPMATE MARDONES Luis Angel 174 COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS 04h 31' 32'' + 01' 22''
10. FRAVOECKLER Thomas 129 TEAM EUROPCAR 04h 31' 32'' + 01' 22''

 GC: 
1. GBRFROOME Christopher 31 TEAM SKY 64h 47' 16''
2. COLQUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander 51 MOVISTAR TEAM 64h 50' 26'' + 03' 10''
3. USAVAN GARDEREN Tejay 61 BMC RACING TEAM 64h 50' 48'' + 03' 32''
4. ESPVALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro 59 MOVISTAR TEAM 64h 51' 18'' + 04' 02''
5. ESPCONTADOR Alberto 41 TINKOFF-SAXO 64h 51' 39'' + 04' 23''
6. GBRTHOMAS Geraint 39 TEAM SKY 64h 52' 48'' + 05' 32''
7. NEDGESINK Robert 131 TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO 64h 53' 39'' + 06' 23''
8. ITANIBALI Vincenzo 1 ASTANA PRO TEAM 64h 55' 05'' + 07' 49''
9. NEDMOLLEMA Bauke 141 TREK FACTORY RACING 64h 56' 09'' + 08' 53''
10. FRABARGUIL WARREN 82 TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN 64h 58' 19'' + 11' 03'




Wine: Domaine Nicolas Gonin Persan 2012
From FranklyWines
From a great interview on the importer's website:
Paul: How much persan is there?
Nicolas: The whole production of persan in Savoie and Isère is ten hectares divided among twenty producers. Nearly all of them are organic. In fact, fifteen years ago persan had nearly disappeared. There was just one old grower left near Grenoble. After that the Grisard brothers planted some. Michel Grisard made a selection, and I have his selection. Under the influence of Michel others in the Savoie began to plant it. You have Gilles Berlioz, etc. And now non-organic producers want to plant it, which is wonderful. So I guess that there will be more persan, but we will have to explain to the non-organic producers not to let yields get out of hand because persan can have hard acidity when yields are high. With that kind of grape, either you make outstanding wine or you make disgusting wine. There is no middle ground. Persan is also sensitive to mildew and black rot, which is why it was abandoned it in the sixties. Before WWII, without herbicides, yields were very low and people were picking very late. Disease was less prevalent because vineyards were less vigorous. When herbicides appeared, yields exploded, and people were forced to pick early. The grapes were not ripe and the wines were undrinkable. It was an era when people were looking for quantity. That era is over and we have come back to a qualitative approach. This is what makes the old grapes interesting again.
Paul: So how much persan do you have?
Nicolas: 0.8 hectares. (Smiling) I am one of the largest producers of persan in the world. The name of the hill is le Coteau de Choulin, but we are not allowed vineyard names in the IGP appellation, only in an AOC.
Paul: That’s nuts too.

 I say: Very deep red. Light berries and plums, white pepper and earth with enough acid to make it an excellent food wine. 


 Food: Pogne de Romans Time for some bread. in this case, a sweet brioche. We liked this recipe enough that I ended up buying the book it was from, Scook by Anne-Sophie Pic. 

 The recipe was clear and easy. On day one you make a poolish out of yeast, flour and water that ferments in the fridge overnight.

 The next day you add more yeast, flour, sugar, salt. eggs, milk butter and orange flour water to the mixture and knead until it forms a ball. You then let rise for a few more hours before shaping it into a ring and letting it rise for a two more hours.



Finally, you brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle with course sugar. It then bakes at 350 for about 25 minutes.
 If you are very lucky, like I was, your daughter will deliver a still warm piece to you at work.
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