Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2022: Stage 16: Carcassone to Foix


Where are we? In the mountains!

Foix:  Michelin tells me that: From a distance, Foix appears as a site bristling with high peaks and an impressive, austere castle whose three towers seem to stand guard over the mouth of the Ariège valley. Yet, Foix attracts tourists by its pleasant site with narrow streets and half-timbered houses. This pleasant town makes an ideal base camp for excursions into the routes Verte or Crouzette, which command wonderful panoramas of the region

Le Tour specialties:  liver sausage (pork), azinat (stuffed cabbage), mounjetado (enriched cassoulet), duck, Tomme des Pyrénées, Flocons d'Ariège (confectionery), Hypocras (medieval aperitif)



Christian Prudhomme says: The first day in the Pyrenees could be a good moment for breakaway riders... provided that they’re well equipped to deal with the mountains, of course. To celebrate victory in Foix, the riders will first have to deal with the climb to the Port de Lers and then make their move on the Mur de Péguère. The 20 or so kilometres from the summit towards the administrative centre of the Ariège aren’t particularly testing.

The stage: The good news: one week left and it is not yet certain who will win the Tour. The bad news, after his effort Sunday, Morkov finished, but was eliminated due to the time cut.
To start the day, a very large break with almost 30 riders.
They would get a good gap. That group would shrink, as they attacked each other.
Behind, one could not say that Pogacar was not trying. He would attack uphill, he would attack downhill.   Seven kilometers to the summit of Mur de Péguère, Houle was solo in the lead with Tony Gallopin followed by Storer, Madouas, Woods, Jorgenson and Caruso the closest chasers. Behind, as the road got much steeper viewers and his rivals were bracing for another Pogacar attack. Struggling, were quite a few, including Bardet and Thomas. Thomas would have Yates to help pace him back to the group. 
Yimes! Mechanical for Majka at the front of the yellow jersey group. It looked like his chain came off. Pogacar would have liked to keep a teammate in this group, which would shrink again after Kuss upped the pace. There were 4,  Kuss, Vingegaard, Pogacar, and Quintana, with Thomas about 30 seconds behind. 

Ahead, with 22 kilometers to go, Houle had 30 seconds over the two chasers.
Teammates of several of the gc riders had dropped back from the break, so Thomas would have Martinez to help him get back to the yellow jersey group. At the front of the group, van Aert, who had also dropped back. Also there, McNulty for Pogacar. It was time to join the Wout express.
Ahead, a crash for Jorgensen. He would be back up quickly. It was Canadians one and two on the road.There had not been a Canadian stage win at the Tour since 1988. Jorgensen would catch Woods. They were 50 seconds back with 7 kilometers to go. Three kilometers to go and he had 1 minute.
He would hold on.  You can read more about his brother here.
Vlasov would come in ahead of the yellow jersey group, gaining some valuable time.

Stage:

GC:


The wine: Domaine de Martinolles Blanquette de Limoux Le Berceau Brut NV - Sparkling Mauzac from Copake Wine Works Christy says: I LOVE sparkling Mauzac!!! - Appley goodness. And great value. T
he Vergnes family has owned the Domaine de Martinolles since 1926. The estate, which has been enlarged over the generations, lies on the same hillsides that the monks of St. Hilaire cultivated in 1531 when they produced the world’s first sparkling wine. The vines, which are planted in chalky soils at elevations ranging from 200 to 600 meters, are worked traditionally without herbicides or fertilizers. 
Domaine de Martinolles is a member of Terra Vitis, an organization that certifies the practice of sustainable agriculture. The Vergnes limit their yields in the vineyard to 40 hectoliters per hectare. Harvesting is done by hand and the Blanquette de Limoux is kept for a minimum of nine months on the lees before being disgorged. The “Le Berceau” which translates to “cradle” a reference to the birthplace of sparkling wine, is produced from the Mauzac grape, a traditional grape of this region. It is produced using the Methode Traditionnelle.

The food: Azinat, from a regional travel site:
1 large cabbage
750 g firm potatoes
4 salted pork ribs
2 "saucisses de couennes"
duck confit (4 thighs or 8 wings)
4 garlic cloves4 carrots
2 large onions
1 bay leaf
1/2 liter ham broth (make from dry cured ham -- "jambon du pays")
1 dried liver sausage (300 g)
pepper
Wash the cabbage. Blanch it for 5 minutes in boiling water.
Mince the carrots and onions and sauté in duck fat. Add the pork ribs ("coustellou") which you first washed to remove excess salt, the saucissons de couennes, the ham broth, bay leaf; cover with 2.5 liters of water, season with pepper and bring to a boil. Add the cabbage.
Cook on a low flame for 2 hours. Then add the potatoes, the liver sausage cut in pieces, the duck confit with excess fat removed. Lay the rouzole on top. Cook for another 30 minutes on low heat.
After cooking, skim off the fat and pour the broth into sepaate pot. You can serve the broth as is or after cooking some vermicelli in it.
Serve the vegetabels, the meat and the rouzole on a large platter, with mustard and cornichons on the side.
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