Thursday, July 21, 2022

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2022 Stage 18: Lourdes to Hautacam

Where are we? Why, yes, still in the Pyrenees

Lourdes: The regional tourism site tells me that:  Cosmopolitan, magical and mythical… Lourdes is one of those extraordinary other worldly places. Each year more than 6 million visitors from more than 140 countries visit Lourdes. It was in 1858 in this small mountain town that a young girl called Bernadette saw 18 separate apparitions of the Virgin Mary in a cave close to the river. It is the second most visited town in France after Paris, but Lourdes possesses a calm and tranquillity to offer a place of prayer, charm and legend which leaves nobody insensitive.
The sanctuaries: In 1857 the Virgin Mary made 18 apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous, at the Massabielle grotto. Since then the sanctuaries have received millions of visitors of all nationalities and all faiths. This «Universal» site is accessible 24h / 24h and throughout the year welcomes visitors from the world over. Things to see : the Massabielle Grotto, the Basilica (Immaculate Conception, the underground Basilica Pius 10th, Our Lady of the Rosary, in the form of a cross), the crypt, the St Bernadette church, the Adoration tent, the Reconciliation Chapel and the exterior stations of the cross. Not to be missed is the torchlight procession which takes place every evening at 9pm from April to October.

Le Tour regional specialties:  spit-roasted cake, Bigorre black pork, Pailhasson chocolates, Malespine sweets, Pyrenean cheese, garbure, Tarbais beans

Hautacam: And another ski resort!
Le Tour regional specialties:  garbure bigourdane, rocher des Pyrénées (cake), Black pork of Bigorre.



Christian Prudhomme says: The last mountain test presents all kinds of possibilities. Unexpected collapses, ambushes and twists of all kinds could be on the cards thanks to the linking of the Aubisque and Spandelles passes, the latter appearing on the route for the first time, followed by the final ascent to Hautacam. There’s simply no respite. If the leading positions haven’t been secured by this point, the Tour’s biggest battle could be played out on this final Pyrenean stage.

The stage: The last big mountain day of the race and it was daunting. 
It was also another real challenge to establish a break. 
It was beautiful, to watch.
Eventually, there would be a large break and an attempt to gain some gc time from a few interested in places within the top 10. In particular, Meintjes, who was threatening the third place of Geraint Thomas.
With 40 kilometers to go, the yellow jersey consisted of Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Tadej Pogacar, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic), David Gaudu, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Romain Bardet (Team DSM) and Alexander Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) with a gap of 3 minutes to the break.
And then, attack Pogacar with the yellow jersey on his wheel. Kuss would make it back to the duo, followed by some further regrouping. 
Again, an attack by Pogacar and again. You would have to give him an A for effort, but he had yet to make up any time.
Eventually, an attack by Thomas. That was unexpected. But he was not gaining real time over the yellow jersey trio.
Still at the front of the race were Van Aert, Pinot and Martinez. 
Another attack by Pogacar, catching Thomas. This was a stronger attack, but he again did not distance himself. They would continue to power through riders who had been in an earlier break.
So much of this: But still the lead trio had a gap.
Yikes. Very scary moment for Vingegaard on the downhill. He stayed upright, but that would make him very nervous. Pogacar down, but up quickly. Vingegaard would wait for him. Old school rules!
Twenty kilometers to go and Pinot, Van Aert and Martinez still had 2 minutes. The yellow jersey group had been caught by chasers after slowing on the descent. Hey, Macron.
Still to come was the final true mountain of the race.
Up front, attack van Aert. You almost have to laugh. That effort would drop Pinot.  
The yellow jersey would catch the riders in between, as Thomas struggled.
As they climbed, they were steadily gaining ground on the leading duo.
And then came the catch. Amazing to see green, yellow and white all together. If only Geschke had survived to climb with them.
Wow! Pogacar dropped. Van Aert and Vingegaard surged ahead with just under 5 kilometers to go. And then van Aert would drop and be caught and passed by Pogacar. Behind, bike change for Thomas. 
Seeing yellow surge away solo seemed juts about right. It was rather terrifying to watch the fans closing in.
What a win! Hoe would gain over a minute. Stage:

GC:

        
The wine: Camin Larredya Jurançon Les Grains des Copains 2020 From Copake Wine Works Christy says: sweet - and charming. Gotta have a sweet wine!!
From an importer: Jurançon near the city of Pau is a special place for many reasons. It’s simply one of the most beautiful French vineyards, with steep slopes and scenic landscape, including the towering, often snow-covered, Pyrenees in the background.

Jurançon is a pocket-size appellation of about 1,000 hectares farmed by 100 producers. Producing only white wine, it is historically known for late-harvest sweet wine or 'moelleux'. However dry white Jurançon wine was recognised with a separate AOC in 1975, known as 'Jurançon sec'. Dry Jurançon can be among the best whites you'll ever taste, particularly in the hands of a legend like Didier Dagueneau who helped to put Jurançon on the map. Today Jean-Marc Grussaute from Camin Larredya is one of the leading force and gaining plenty of fans among the sommelier community in France.

Jean-Marc and his mother run the show and farm 'their hill' together. The 9 hectares of vines and farm have been owned by the family since the early 1900s, with most of the current vines were planted in 1970s by Jean-Marc’s father. Organic farming has been the norm here from 2007 onwards, certified in 2010 and turning to biodynmaic farming in 2016. The vineyard is classically local in varietal plantings: 65% Petit Manseng, 27% Gros Manseng, 8% Petit Courbu and Camaralet.

The vineyard sits at 300m altitude, with soils of silica-clay and subsoils of puddingstone.  Precision is life here, every action serves the "purpose of the terroir and its continuity", according to Jean-Marc, who respects the soil’s health and its life. It's essential for him that the roots go deep to express the terroirs in the final wine. Jean-Marc works the soils, grow cereals or pulses in between the rows, and uses natural compost when needed. The singularity and honesty of his wines come from permanent attention.

The food: Garbure
Le Tour says: The garbure This is the traditional soup in Bigorre. Made from cabbage and beans, it is simmered with confit or "camayou", a local ham bone. You can find it in many restaurants in the area and especially at the Auberge de l'Arrioutou, the Hautacam restaurant which has made it a speciality.
At the beginning of June, you should not miss the Confrérie de la Garbure in Argelès-Gazost, the traditional celebration of the typical Bigorre dish: mass led by the Ariélès Singers, parade of the brotherhoods of the south-west, inductions, market and garbure meal.
food52 has a recipe! 
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2022: Stage 17: Saint Gaudens to Peyragudes

Where are we? Still in the Pyrenees!

Saint Gaudens:  The local tourist site tells me that: The inhabitants of Saint-Gaudens will tell you: if you only see one monument during your time here, it should be the Saint-Pierre church! Renowned as one of the most beautiful churches along the Way of Saint James, it is one of the most recognisable symbols of Saint-Gaudens.
At the heart of the old town, this building is impressive for its dimensions and impressive bell wall. History and architectural buffs, take notice: the collegiate church, dedicated to Saint Pierre and Saint Gaudens, is a true masterpiece of Romanesque art, built between the 11th and 12th centuries.
This is the largest Romanesque church in all of the Comminges (and in our opinion the most beautiful)!
The pretty cloister is a great place to linger and admire the surrounding architecture.
The kids’ discovery circuit, organised by the Saint-Gaudens tourist office, offers young visitors a fun way to explore the Saint-Pierre collegial church!

Le Tour specialties: veal reared under the mother, Pyrenean lamb, mounjetado (cassoulet), Napoléon commingeois (sheep's cheese), millasson (pastry)

Peyragudes: A mountain in the Pyrenees? It must be another ski station. The local tourist site says: Innovative and convivial to make skiing the epitome of enjoyment, this resort is counting on flexibility both in number of ski runs and within the village itself, ensuring maximum snow cover and preservation of the environment
At the foot of the pistes, overlooking the Louron and Larboust valleys, the resort is divided over two mountain sides- Agudes and Peyresourde. Since its creation Peyragudes has constantly innovated with a particularly well developed programme of activities
Le Tour specialties: frênette (drink made from ash), cheese, honey. In the department: garbure, black pig of Bigorre (AOC), Barèges-Gavarnie sheep, Tarbais beans, Trébons onions, spit cake, wine (Madiran, Pacherenc).


Christian Prudhomme says: The scenario is as sumptuous for the spectators as it is demanding for the leaders, who will have to defend their positions. After crossing the Col d’Aspin and the Hourquette d’Ancizan, attacks could come as early as the climb to the Col d’Azet. And in the final, even the best climbers might flounder when tackling the steep gradients towards the Peyragudes altiport... the third runway to success in the 2022 Tour!

The stage: Climbing, climbing, climbing.
Getting a breakaway was a challenge. With 93 kilometers to go, they were still all together. A break would eventually form. As they continued, the yellow jersey group was getting very small. With 25 kilometers to go we had:
Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM)
+10” Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-EasyPost),
+20” Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar Team), Romain Bardet (Team DSM),
... Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers), Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Bob Jungels (Ag2r-Citröen)
+45” Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Tadej Pogacar, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers)

The leading groups would be caught and passed by the very small yellow jersey group, which kept getting smaller.
Again, Pogacar kept trying, but every move had been nullified. Really great riding from McNulty to support the yellow jersey.
The last challenge on the day was ahead. As they climbed, the trio of McNulty, Pogacar and Vingegaard remained together. With 5 kilometers to go, Thomas and Bardet were at 1:20' while the Gaudu-Quintana group was at 2:40.
Two kilometers to go and Thomas had dropped Bardet, but the trio at the front remained locked together.
At the very top, they would drop McNulty with Pogacar taking the win, with the yellow jersey on his wheel. They would be followed by McNulty with Thomas coming in just over 2 minutes down.
Stage: 

GC:


The wine:  La Teuf Côtes de Gascogne Gros Manseng 2020 from Copake Wine Works Christy says: We usually wind up doing a Colombard, but this is a gros manseng - so something a little different, but still cheap and cheerful!
From an importer: Domaine de Laballe, consists five and a half organically farmed vines Gros Manseng vines, of which three and a half are being worked biodynamically. It is a one of a kind winery nestled in the heart of the French South West, in between Landes and Gers. The domaine was first bought by Mister Jean Dominique Laudet in 1820. From there, it was passed along generation to generation. The eighth generation is now running the domaine with Cyril and his wife, Julie. By respecting his family heritage and traditions, Cyril is now producing wines with their very own identity. La Teuf, a French slang term for “party” it was formed by pronouncing “fête” backwards, because Gros Manseng = party.

The food: Ah, yes, the annual spit cake stage:
You can only see spit cake listed so many times before you need to find out more, The BBC tells me that: Made by pouring layers of batter on a rotating conical-shaped mould over an open fire, the cake on a spit, called le gâteau à la broche in French, is a typical Eastern European recipe. But according to legend, when Napoleon's soldiers were withdrawing from their invasion of Russia in 1812, they brought it back with them to France. There, the recipe had been transmitted orally, with no written record of the original version. Although the cake is considered rare, according to Slow Food, the tradition is alive and well in two French regions: Hautes-Pyrénées and Aveyron.

(serves 120 people)

Ingredients:120 eggs 3kg sugar 3kg flour 3kg butter 2 litres rum2  cups Ricard While the fire is being prepared, mix the egg yolks with half the sugar. Add the rum and Ricard, and then fold in the flour. Stir in the melted butter. Separately, beat the egg whites, adding the remaining sugar once soft peaks form. Continue beating until they look like ‘snow’, and then combine with the yolk-sugar mixture until a deep yellow dough is formed.Cover the big, conical-shaped wooden mould with baking paper and place it on a spit in front of the fire, turning it constantly. After about an hour, begin gently pouring the dough on it. Continue adding the dough and turning the spit for about five hours.

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)