Wine & Food of the Tour 2017 Stage 14

Where are we? Blagnac / Rodez

Blagnac: It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Toulous and the headquarters of Airbus. Maybe time for a company tour?

Specialities: aeronautics, fruit and vegetable.

Rodez: The local tourist site tells me:
Located in the heart of the Aveyron département, Rodez welcomes you for a fantastic getaway, a weekend break or a family holiday. Discover our heritage, museums, exhibition halls and the many unmissable events and shows throughout the year.
Between the history of yesterday and today, Rodez is a city of unexpected charm - the majestic Gothic cathedral, the historic heart of town, the ancient monastery which today houses the Haras National - the National Stud, not to mention a beautiful natural environment to discover while walking and hiking.
There are lots of hiking trails in and around the Grand Rodez area with a complete change of scenery from everyday life guaranteed.
Eight town and villages come together to form a single community at the heart of Aveyron. Each has it's own identity while working towards a common future with the upcoming opening of the Soulages museum.
Specialities: aligot (mashed potato with cheese), tripous (guts), beef meat of Aubrac, cheese (Laguiole, roquefort, vieux Rodez), wines of Marcillac

The stage:  Christian Prudhomme's comment
The countryside of the south-west, whether it's in Tarn or Aveyron offers outstanding viewpoints. Sweet to the eyes are the aerial shots of the countless little valleys that are however tough on the legs of the riders on solid ground. The stage will be demanding. In these conditions, the Côte Saint-Pierre will offer a splendid launch pad to a puncher.
Live: A day for the breakaway? Maybe. They will try.

Hollenstein est rentré, ils sont maintenant 5 dans cette échappée qui compte 2'35" d'avance sur le peloton.#PrixAntargaz pic.twitter.com/Ttw0Vou96d

— Prix Antargaz (@PrixAntargaz) July 15, 2017

Once again, rumors of crosswinds ahead:

Le vent de côté pourrait être dangereux dans le final / Crosswinds, that might be dangerous in the final kilometers #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/25L98k30FX

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 15, 2017

Really, this tweet says all you need to know about today's stage.

We've got about 80 more k of "gap at 2 minutes".

— nyvelocity (@nyvelocity) July 15, 2017

Hmm. . .

Ça c'est le #TDF2017 😂 ! pic.twitter.com/12SIMSSk9X

— Le Tour de Franz (@leTourdeFranz) July 15, 2017

Eighty eight kilometers to go and the gap was at 1:40.

When to take a siesta during the Tour, courtesy of @lemondefr. pic.twitter.com/EaFuqG0Svo

— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) July 15, 2017

Sixty kilometers to go and still a two minute gap.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Kittel dropped from the bunch. The most excitement we've had all day!
As more sprinters drop from the pack, with about thirty kilometers to go De Gendt drops his breakmates and goes solo at the front.

A 27 km de l'arrivée, c'est @DeGendtThomas vs le peloton / With 27 km to go, it's @DeGendtThomas vs peloton #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/sb9zCQ7xFp

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 15, 2017

On the broadcast, NBCSN warns of traffic furniture ahead.
Around thirteen kilometers to go, De Gendt was caught.
Hmm. . . Aru is not near the front of the peloton and is very isolated. This has gotten interesting. Could he lose the jersey today?

Peloton réduit à 5 km de l'arrivée ! / The peloton is quite small with 5 km to go #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/CNnvYvOeTK

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 15, 2017

The dull day has gotten exciting as the teams attempt to set up for the hill ahead.
Gilbert! Matthews! GVA!  But it would be Matthews, with gaps in the main bunch behind.
Wow.

Victoire pour @blingmatthews ! Et de 2 pour @TeamSunweb ! / Second stage win for Sunweb with Matthews today! #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/4cqIns2hb2

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 15, 2017

Top-10 on Stage 14 #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/2lfY7EJ082

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) July 15, 2017

New GC, Froome back in yellow #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/n2cHWTeO3d

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) July 15, 2017

Wine: Vignoble Garbier Camargue Gris
From Indiewineries:  Jean Georges Barbier’s parents started producing the famous rice from Camargue in 1942. His father was somewhat dissatisfied though. He grew up in a winemaking family, and always dreamed of returning to the old family passion.

In 1975 he bought the current domaine, but realized that the previous owners hadn’t kept up the vineyards. The old vines of Carignan, Grenache and Aramon couldn’t be saved, and so Mr. Barbier had to rip out all the old roots.
Foiled again, the family decided to plant asparagus, and devoted the estate to that crop for almost two decades, but in the 90s they replanted, and refocused on vineyards. Today 28 of the estates 39 hectares are under vine.

I say: Gulpable. A perfect wine to sip from your backyard hammock. Lots of strawberry on this one.

Food: Roquefort papillon
A sheep's milk blue that most are probably familiar with. 
From the producer:
They say that a young shepherd, in love, was distracted by a shepherdess. Forgetting his rye bread and sheep's cheese in the cave of Combalou where he was resting, he left to pursue the girl. A little while later, he returned to this place and discovered his meal covered in a blue-green mould. Famished, he tasted the cheese and was delighted. Roquefort, alchemy between the natural ventilation of a cave, rye bread and the cheese of the Lacaune ewes had been born.
In 1070 there is mention for the first time of Roquefort in the Carolingian texts. From then on the history of Roquefort remains closely related to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon and the Combalou mountains, thanks to King Charles VI. He decided in the 15th century, and for the first time in France, to grant exclusive production rights to the inhabitants of Roquefort, making the caves protected places. In the Century of the Enlightenment, Diderot consecrated Roquefort by awarding it the title of King of cheeses. In 1925, Roquefort became the first recognised Appellation d'Origine cheese. To date, it benefits from European recognition as Appellation d'Origine Protégée, which guarantees the provenance of a product.