Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Wine & Food of the Giro 2017 Stage 10: Time Trial Time

Foligno – Montefalco, 39 km TT

 Where are we? Umbria--the only Italian region having neither a coastline nor a border with other countries.
Foligno:The third largest city in Umbria, located along the River Topino.
From Michelin:
Situated 18km southeast of Assisi, this small town is worth a visit for its Romanesque dome and the frescoes adorning the 14C Palazzo Trinci.
From the Giro site: FOOD
Grass-pea soup, strangozzi and pappardelle with wild game sauce or truffle, cheese bread, rocciata (savoury strudel); Colfiorito lentils and red potatoes; extra-virgin “Muraiolo” olive oil.
WINE: Montefalco DOC: Montefalco Bianco DOC, Montefalco Grechetto DOC, Montefalco Rosso DOC e Montefalco Rosso DOC Riserva. Main vine variety: Grechetto, Trebbiano Spoletino, Sangiovese, Sagrantino.

 Montefalco: Mount Falcon! Apparently aslo known as the ablcony of Umbria. An agricultire center. Apparently grape growing  is largely and with much care proved in legal documents dated year 1,000.

Food: Umbria DOP extra-virgin olive oil, honey, strangozzi (square spaghetti), gnocchi al Sagrantino (dumplings in wine sauce), maritozzi con il mosto (sweet must buns), la ‘ntorta (apple cake)
Wine: Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG: Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG e Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG passito. Vine variety: 100% Sagrantino.

The stage:
Our first time trial of the race. 
Lots of riders falling on the course. With the top GC ready to go, this was the status:


Wow. 51:26 for Geraint Thomas. Behind Tom Dumoulin, the favorite for the stage, was setting impressive intermediate times. Would he be in pink at the end?
Close for Bob Jungels, but he would come in seven seconds behind Thomas.
Nice ride from Nibali, finishing 1:18 down to Thomas.
Dumoulin in at 50:37, 49 seconds ahead of Thomas. Wow.



Stage:



GC:
 Wine: Bea 07 Pipparello from Dig 
If it is Umbria it must be time for a Bea wine.  

 From Italian Wine Merchants
As with all of Paolo Bea's wines, the estate uses non-interventionist techniques to grow grapes for its Montefalco Riserva Pipparello--a blend of about 60 percent Sangiovese with the rest split evenly between indigenous Umbrian grapes Montepulciano and Sagrantino. This natural wine is traditional in spirit, undergoing a long and unusual maceration of six weeks, extended aging in large neutral casks and delivered to market with additional bottle aging for approachability. Offering aromas of ripe blackberry layered with black pepper and licorice, this wine offers a soft, structured palate with a distinct streak of acidity and notes of ripe Morello cherry, blackcurrant, game, truffles and baked earth. An exceptional vintage in Umbria, this ’07 Montefalco Riserva Pipparello presents immediate drinkability combined with age-worthiness; soft, round, herbaceous and juicy, it’s a delicious bottle from one of IWM’s favorite cult producers.

 Food:  Umbrian lentils
From Market Hall foods: In the hills of southern Umbria, the Bartolini family have been growing olives, grains, and what they call pulses (legumes) since the 1850's. Their lentils are famous throughout Italy and beyond for their outstanding color, texture, & flavor. Pale brown and tan in color, the crops of Umbrian lentils are actually quite small, so the demand often outweighs the supply.
The fabled Castelluccio lentils are not a protected DOP product - this means the Italian government hasn't yet clamped down on imposters and refined the market to include only the authentic lentils of Castelluccio.  The tiny tiny tiny town in Umbria called Castelluccio simply can't produce enough lentils for the world's demand. That said, these lentils are the same variety, but we cannot attest to their exact origin.
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