Le Tour 2024 Stage 6: Macon to Dijon

Where are we? Burgundy! Visiting some names very familiar to wine drinkers and mustard lovers.

Macon: Let's face it, wine tasting is the obvious option. A bike ride along the vineyards? But the local tourist site has a few ideas for a one day visit.  But since wine is likely, this is an option: The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne is a network of three cultural and tourist sites located in three emblematic places of the Burgundy vineyard: Chablis, Beaune and Mâcon. Open to everyone, from beginners to enthusiasts, the City invites you to discover all the riches of this great vineyard shaped by man through friendly, sensory and educational experiences for young and old. A true multi-sensory dive into the world of wine and vines, the immersive tour of each site reveals the infinite cultural richness and diversity of Burgundy wines. Visitors can also enjoy workshops and tasting classes, and a varied program throughout the year.

Le Tour specialties: Mâconnais wafers, Idéal mâconnais (cake), Mâconnais wines, wines (Viré-Clessé, Saint-Véran, Pouilly-Fuissé), bouchon (chocolate with Burgundy marc), andouillette, snails and goat's cheese.

Dijon: Why not a visit to the International Cité of Gastronomy and Wine? Just one kilometre from the historic centre of Dijon and the route des grands crus. The 6 hectares of the former Hôtel-Dieu which has been restored by a daring architectural renovation, will become the place for an out-of-the-ordinary experience between expositions; the Ferrary Paris Cooking School, the BIVB Burgundy Wine School, the food shops, the Gourmet Bookshop, the Experiential Cuisine of the Gastronomic Village, 9 cinema halls in Pathé, the Village start-up by CA, its engines Vitagora and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Foodtech… All visitors will be able to gather and mingle at the Cité to cultivate their skills, taste, practice cooking and oenology, take part in masterclasses and conferences, make the most of the boutiques, restaurants and a 4-star hotel, or attend film screenings. A wide range of itineraries are available to choose from for visitors in the spirit of maintaining an exceptional project that has been enriched by the strengthening of its original goal : to tell a story and bring to life the values o the “gastronomic meal of  the French” and the “Climats du vignoble de Bourgogne” recognized by UNESCO.

Le Tour specialties:  mustard, blackcurrants, crème de cassis, kir. Burgundy snails, parsley ham, Burgundy truffles, beef bourguignon, gougères, eggs en meurettes, chicken Gaston Gérard, gingerbread and nonnettes. Burgundy wines.

Christian Prudhomme says:  Fans of medieval architecture will be treated to aerial images of Cluny Abbey and much more. The breakaway will set off with the ambition of holding off the peloton’s pursuit though the vineyards of the Côte Chalonnaise, but the sprinters should have the last word on the 800-metre straight into the prefecture of the Côte-d’Or.

The stage:Hello sprint stage. Hello doomed, small break. It all feels a little different after yesterday, doesn't it. In case you thought I woas kidding about crying yesterday, watch this video and you may tear up as well. 

Some sites along the way.

🤩 Postcard of the day: l'Abbaye de Cluny

🤩 Carte postale du jour : l'Abbaye de Cluny#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/jnMLnsBevA

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2024

Echelons creating a bit of excitement in the peloton. Not only was Cavendish and others caught out, but Pogacar was left isolated. That said, they would all end uyp back together.

Crash, but everyone back up riding quickly.  Another as they closed into the finish. 

Tight sprint to finish it with Dylan Groenewegen taking the win.

The wine: Domaine Rougeot Clos des Six Ouvrees Monopole 2020

From Copake Wine Works 

From Christy: Domaine Rougeot. If you know, you know. And if you didn't, now you do. This is one of the next big thing Burgundy producers, at least as far as I'm concerned. And this is one of those vineyard sites that Burgundy-lovers love to love. It's just across the border from the line that seperates "Burgundy" from "Meursault" - so it's essentially Mersault that doesn't cost as much as a Meursault.

The food: Gougeres

Alain Ducasse's Gougères
from Food and Wine

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• Large pinch of coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 3 1/2 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (1 cup), plus more for sprinkling
• Freshly ground pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg

How to Make It

Step 1    

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.

Step 2    

Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool for 1 minute. Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between each one. Add the cheese and a pinch each of pepper and nutmeg.

Step 3    

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip and pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat in a 350° oven until piping hot.