 Grand Depart, San Sebastian, Spain with Lisa Kolick. Photo by Lisa Kolick Stage 1- Bilbao to Bilbao, 182km of hilly, winding, narrow roads. The excitement of the start of the 110th Tour de France called for a crisp, lively white wine. I chose Celdina Albarino, 2021. This is a dry white wine from Rias Baixas,DO, Galicia Spain, west of Bilbao. Albarino is crisp and dry with aromas of ripe stone fruits and herbal notes such as tarragon. On the palate, there is bright acidity leading the way to flavors of ripe peach, ripe citrus, and a mouth-filling finish. Albarino is widely available for purchase, throughout the US and Europe. Enjoy this wine chilled or create an amazing white sangria with peaches and apples to enjoy with summertime fare, such as seafood, goat cheese appetizers, or roasted chicken. Albarino is usually a great value with a price that makes it easy to try something different.  Glass of Celdina Albarino. Rias Baixas White Wine. by Lisa Kolick Today’s race was a very challenging to start the 2023 Tour de France. The racing was full-on from the start. The race coverage was good and showed the beautiful green forests and towns while capturing most of the action. Several notable riders are out and injured due to a crash around 161km of the race: Enric Mas (Spanish rider) from Movistar (Spanish team) abandoned the race and Richard Carapaz (Ecuadorian rider and national champion) EF Education/EasyPost, was injured in the same crash. Carapaz finished the day, but we are not sure if he will start tomorrow. The race favorites Pogacar and Vingegaard raced over the final climb of the day, together. On the descent, Pogacar accelerated with a small group to push ahead. Twin brothers, riding for different teams, went out ahead race and finished with Adam Yates (UAE team) winning, Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) second, and Tadej Pogacar (UAE team) third. Vingegaard and his team Jumbo-Visma finished just behind the lead group. See all of today’s final standings here.  Pogacar and Vingegaard going over final climb. by Lisa Kolick Stage 2: VITORIA-GASTEIZ to DONOSTIA- SAN-SÉBASTIEN 209 KM of terrain similar to Stage 1. They call it hilly, but these are substantial hills with twists and turns that are fast and technical. It is sure to be another exciting race. So, I have chosen 2021 Etxaniz Getariako Txakolina (Chock-oh-LEE-nah) for this exciting stage. Txakoli is a wonderful style of wine widely available at Total Wine. Txakoli is the wine of the Basque and pairs well with all the seafood, cheese, and stews the Spanish Basque region has to offer. Santé Comments are closed.
|