THE WINE
Stage 20 raced through the southern end of the Vosges Mountains. The Vosges Mountains are a low mountain range in northeastern France, home to Thibaut Pinot and the Alsace wine region. These are wines of place. Perfect for watching the Tour de France.

Alsace's wines are produced under three key appellations: Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru for still white wines (both sweet and dry), and Crémant d'Alsace for sparkling. Almost all wine produced in this region fits into one of these three designations. The Alsace Grand Cru wines are produced from one of 51 favored vineyards distributed along the length of the region.

Grand Cru vineyards and wineries produce wines marked by a cool climate, a variety of soil types, in a region that has been making wine for over 400 years. The wines are distinct from wines made in Germany, the US, or Australia. In Alsace, you find delicious white, rosé, and red wines, made in dry styles of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. The wines are bright with the ample acidity you should expect in a cool climate vineyard. Many wineries also produce delectable dessert wines with balanced sweetness and acidity. There are numerous Alsatian estate wineries imported widely into the US, such as Maison Trimbach, Maison Lucien Albrecht, Hugel et Fils. Alsace creates beautiful wines that are delicious upon release, and cellar very well. I love white wines from Alsace. If you have not had wines from Alsace, I hope you try one soon. They are great summer wines.

Images by Lisa Kolick

THE RACE
Stage 20 is the penultimate stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Racing from Belfort in the south of the Vosges Mountain range to Le Markstein Fellering. These mountains are home to Thibaut Pinot and great wines from Alsace.
 
Pinot lead the stage today over the penultimate climb of the day with thousands of fans cheering for him. Today, he received the award for most aggressive rider on the stage. Pinot has said this is his last Tour de France and he is retiring at the end of the season.

Coming into Stage 20, Vingegaard led Pogacar by 7’48”. No one expected Pogacar to catch Vingegaard, but Pogacar did not give up the fight. At 5km Pogacar, Vingegaard Felix Gall, Adam Yates, and Simon Yates were the lead group. It looked as though Pogacar was setting up to make a move in the final 1km. Adam Yates took the lead in the group, Pogacar followed, then Vingegaard responded with an acceleration through the 2nd to last turn; coming out of that turn Pogacar took off and the sprint between the 2 race leaders was on. Pogacar put in an aggressive sprint and won the stage! ​

Tomorrow is the final stage of the 2023 Tour de France. The entire race apparatus will travel from Le Markstein Fellering to the outskirts of Paris tonight. Their travels will take them up and over the region of Champagne. So, tomorrow I will write about Champagne and raise a glass and toast all of the riders of the Tour de France.
Santé

​THE WINE
Today the race continues through the Savoie region of the French Alps. Given the significance of the climb to Mont-Blanc, I have chosen a sparkling wine, Domaine Belluard 'Les Perles du Mont Blanc' Brut from Savoie Ayze, France. Made from Gringet, a white wine grape from the region. The wine is fresh, young, and sparkling. This wine is available across the US at $30-$50. I hope you can find this wine near you, and enjoy it at your next celebration. 

THE RACE
Off the riders race up Mont-Blanc one of the most famous mountains in Europe. Today team UAE controlled the peloton through much of the race. There were a few more crashes and then we were at the last 2km of the stage and the race was on. Wout Poels (team Bahrain Victorious) is the sole leader of the stage at 1km. He continues on to win Stage 15. A big congratulations to Poels, this is his 10th Tour de France and his first stage win!

Behind Poels the same race is happening. Yates leads out Pogacar and Vingegaard, then Yates accelerates to take 2nd on the stage, but Pogacar can’t or doesn’t accelerate to follow. Now it’s the two race leaders coming across the finish virtually together, still just 10 seconds separate them. The day ends mostly as it started with Vingegaard in 1st, Pogacar in 2nd, and Rodriguez in 3rd.

​Tomorrow is a rest day and Tuesday, Stage 16, is the individual time trial. Enjoy the day off!
Santé!  

THE WINE
Stage 14 raced through the Haute Savoie. The mountains of this stage fragment the vineyards throughout the region. These wines are not well known in the US unless found by travelers to the area or in wine research. Savoie is noted for its white wines, as the mountains’ cool climate makes it challenging for reds to ripen fully. Savoie wines are typically low alcohol, around 12% ABV in cool climate styles. I enjoyed tasting Pinot Noir from the Vin de Savoie sub-appellation: Caveau Savoyard, Vin de Savoie Pinot Noir, 2021. The color is much lighter than Pinot Noir from Burgundy, with aromas and flavors that are fresh and light with balanced textures and a midpalate finish. I encourage you to ask your local wine merchant for wines from this region. There are not a lot of imports from Savoie to the US, but if you find one, try it! 

July 14 is BASTILLE DAY in France. On this day, the French celebrate the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison and the start of the French Revolution in 1789. 

​THE WINE
Today the Tour de France started east of Beaujolais, south of Macon (southern Burgundy), and north of the Northern Rhône regions, and finishes in the Jura Massif—so many wines to choose from, reds, whites, and more reds. The race finished on the massive climb of the Grand Colombier in the Jura mountains.
 
The Maconnais is the vineyard surrounding the historic town of Macon, bordered in the east by the Saône River as it flows south to meet the Rhône. They grow predominantly Chardonnay with a bit of Gamay and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay from the Maconnais can spend some time in oak, but the Maconnais also produces unoaked Chardonnay. Unoaked Chardonnay is lively, with a purity of aromas and flavors like white peach, yellow apple, and pear, with good acidity, and a fresh finish. These types of Chardonnay are refreshing wines. Great to drink on a hot summer day watching the Tour de France

Chardonnay from Jura is very different from the Maconnais. White, Rosé, and Red wines are made in the region. The reds tend to be much lighter and low alcohol than wines in the more well-known wine regions of France. The chardonnay I tasted was golden in color, with floral and apple aromas. The acidity was balanced with the fruit flavors creating a full-bodied texture and a long finish. Jura vineyards grow in several different soil types and a variety of elevations. I encourage you to ask your local wine store for wines from Jura. Enjoy! 

 THE RACE

​Today’s stage is all about the last 50km of climbing. He last 1km is the culmination of the entire Stage 13; also the shortest stage in the 2023 Tour de France. MICHAL KWIATKOWSKI won the stage ahead of Maxim Van Gils with Tadej Pogacar in 3rd and Jonas Vingegaard in 4th and Tom Pidcock 5th.
 
Pogacar takes the 4 second time bonus and a 5 seconds from race leader Jonas Vingegaard. Jonas Vingegaard is first and Tadej Pogacar is in second place. These mountain stages often decide the race. I am not sure about this year; it has been a race that I have not seen in my 50 years of watching the Tour de France.  Today’s race highlights.
 
Tomorrow is another day in the Jura and Savoie. Santé

THE WINES

​Racing through Beaujolais, the Tour de France skirted one of my favorite wine regions, the Cote du Rhone. Wines of the Cote du Rhone are characterized as middleweight red blends based on Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. The wines of the north Rhone Valley are more Syrah and lean more towards a cool-climate style. They show good structure and notes of black cherry and fresh pepper (examples include those from Guigal and Chapoutier). The southern Rhone Valley blends are more Grenache with a more warm-climate style. They are a bit fruitier with a softer structure. These are some of my favorite wines. I hope you will try a wine from Cote du Rhone. The wines can be of good value, with styles for many palates.

​THE RACE
Today's race was designated a hilly stage, but as you can see on the profile graphic, there are numerous categorized climbs. This stage looks like it would be very challenging. But, at the beginning of the day, the pundits thought this would be a day for a breakaway and for the GC teams to save their strength before the Alps. The race did not play out as expected.
 
Stage 12 saw several attacks and accelerations before the peloton consolidated, with team Jumbo-Visma trying to control the peloton and breakaways. Despite Jumbo-Visma's efforts, numerous riders took off to establish breakaways on each climb. The chase group, with the race leaders, worked hard to keep the breakaways in check and not let them get too far ahead of the leaders' group. Watching this stage was exhilarating, with situations changing often, sometimes every 5km. The race also saw Thibaut Pinot out front in the last breakaway of the day. He has shown he's not done racing yet. Pinot has said he is retiring at the end of the season. Check out the highlights of today's fascinating stage. Today's winner was ION IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI (team Cofidis) from the Basque region in Spain.
 
These days in the middle of the Tour de France are difficult on a difficult course.  Team strategy and tactics are on full display, surprising the pundits daily.  The race continues tomorrow in the Jura Massif near Italy and Switzerland. The stages pass through the Jura and Savoie wine regions. Join me tomorrow. Sante!

THE WINE
The riders raced north to a sprint finish in Moulin today. The sprint finish was spicy, like a well-aged Beaujolais Cru wine. The grape is Gamay. The AOC is Moulin-A-Vent. The entire wine region is the Beaujolais, just south of Burgundy. Beaujolais is known worldwide for Beaujolais Nouveau, a very young, light, fruity wine released in November of the harvest year, but Beaujolais is so much more than that. Try a Beaujolais Cru, a wine from Moulin-A-Vent with a bit of age. These wines are well-priced and well-regarded by critics. Wines in Beaujolais made in the Burgundian style are usually a great value, meaning it drinks better than its price. A Beaujolais Cru will use a bit of oak, creating rich and beautifully structured wines with elegant tannins. Enjoy these wines with roasted meats, fall stews, and a rich fish dish. Tomorrow the race will be in a different part of Beaujolais. More great wine!!

THE RACE
Leaving CLERMONT-FERRAND, we find the race still in the area around the Puy de Dome. The race started, and 3 riders took off straight away, but the peloton kept the lead out within 2-3 minutes all day. While they call this a flat sprint stage, there were category climbs in the first third of the race, then small hills and flatter but more narrow roads to finish the day. The race experienced head, tail, and crosswinds through the fields and hills; there was a bit of rain with 40km to go. This type of hilly stage and the team tactics employed, allowed many riders to recover energy, even though the peloton was racing at about 25 mph all day. The recovery comes from the tempo being constant throughout the race. The accelerations and higher speeds make riders exert much more energy.
 
The last 40km of the race was hilly with riders and teams setting up for the final sprint for the stage win. The last 1km really was the race for the finish with a bunch sprint rather than a lead-out sprint. In this last kilometer, each sprinter was moving through the bunch, drafting for a position, with about 150m to the finish, riders are hitting speeds over 65kph. Dylan Groenewegen is leading the sprint, then Jasper Philipsen accelerates past and wins the stage. The standings for the race remain the same for the top 5 riders.

Tomorrow will find the race riding through more of the Beaujolais wine region and the race will go through one of my favorite wine regions, The Northern Rhone. They will be racing from ROANNE to BELLEVILLE-EN-BEAUJOLAIS, categorized as a hilly stage.
Enjoy a Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais red wine. Sante

THE WINE
Today was not a wine day. The race left the forests the other day and raced onto the plateaus and hills of the Massif Central and Puy de Dome. Tomorrow the race heads towards the Moulins and the region of Beaujolais. There will be much to write about.
 
THE RACE
Circumnavigating the Puy de Dome on its plateaus and up and down long hills, we saw an explosive race today. Out of the start, we saw a breakaway that broke apart the peloton. These explosive accelerations happened several times throughout the race. This crazy race comes following a rest day. Rest days can cause issues for some riders, and some riders respond well.
 
The last 5km was the race for the finish with games of cat and mouse for the lead group and the chase group. Pello Bilbao (Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) wins the stage. The win was emotional for Bilbao and his team, as they lost teammate Gino Mäder. Mäder died following a crash in the Tour de Suisse in June.
​Santé

​Today, the race won’t go through vineyards. They are racing in the Massif Central area, the plains, hills, and mountains that expand across the center of France. The Tour de France has not raced here for 35 years because this beautiful rolling terrain leads into the national park. France tightly controls the number and types of visitors because of the fragile ecosystem of the Puy de Dome, an extinct volcano. 

The race opened with a 14-rider breakaway. Just before the 1st of 4 climbs with 112k left, the peloton was 10 minutes behind. Neilson Powless is in this lead group and looking for the KOM points to retain the Polka-Dot Jersey. The riders raced through the towns and countryside of the western Massif Central towards the Puy de Dome. Something unusual occurred with 20km to go: Powless accelerated to catch Matteo Jorgenson, and suddenly 2 Americans were in the lead of the stage. At 15km to go, the peloton is 15.36 behind the lead group with the Yellow Jersey, Vingegaard, and the White Jersey, Tadej Pogacar, in the peloton.

Many people are lining the roads before the last 5km. Spectators are not allowed at the finish with 5km to go, so everyone is below 5km. The riders literally race around the top of the Puy de Dome, which starts at an 8% gradient, averaging a 12% gradient the last 4km.
Jorgenson attacked from 48km; Michael Woods closed several minutes over the last 10km. Woods accelerates at 5km and passes Jorgenson to take the stage. Woods wins the stage, with Jorgenson taking 4th place, and Neilson Powless finishes 5th, keeping the Polka-Dot jersey.
 
Meantime, the chase group with Pogacar, and Vingegaard are climbing together; Pogacar takes off, trying to drop Vingegaard at 1.3km. Pogacar is attempting to take time from the Yellow Jersey, Vingegaard.
​
Pogacar took 7 sec back from Vingegaard. At the end of the day, Vingegaard keeps Yellow Jersey with a 17-second race lead.
 
The race has been exciting through the first week of the Tour de France. The travelog has been great too. The race has gone to parts of France I have not seen before. Tomorrow is a rest day. I hope you have found a lovely Bordeaux to enjoy while watching the 2023 Tour de France.
Santé

​THE WINE
Heading east out of Bordeaux toward Limoges, the home of beautiful porcelain wares, we enter the Massif Central. This is an area of immense natural beauty with plateaus and ancient forests. There are vineyards that produce very local wine in this area, but we do not get this wine in the US. It has very small productions and distribution is very local. The forests in this area, however, are an integral part of wine production. The oak grown here is used for wine barrels in many parts of France and the US; including Armagnac, Bordeaux, California, and Washington.

THE RACE
Today was a hilly course from Libourne to Limoges. The finish was expected to be another all-out sprint, with the last 2km bringing the excitement for the day. Mark Cavendish was expected to contest for the win today. He was looking very good in his last two sprint finishes. It was widely thought that this would be his last best opportunity to break the record for most stages won in the Tour de France. He is currently tied with Eddy Merckx at 34 wins. This was not to be. There was a crash with 64km to go; a sad, sad crash. No crash is good, but this was sad and disappointing. Cavendish broke his collarbone in the crash and did not finish. He is out of the Tour de France. I think anyone who has been watching probably shed a tear or two. He has been a great competitor for a long time. He was an explosive sprinter who redefined the sprint. He will be missed. Mark Cavendish announced earlier this year that he is retiring at the end of the racing season. Unfortunately, I believe this is the end of his season.
 
This hilly course was led by individual contributors riding throughout the race, taking the peloton into another all-out sprint. Mads Pederson beat Jasper Philipsen on the line. The announcer called it a drag race, which it was.

Tomorrow, we head to the Puy de Dome. An extinct volcano in the center of France. This is a fragile ecosystem, a highly protected area. The race has not been here for over 35 years. It will be a special stage we won’t see again for a while.
​Santé

​Today, the most famous Grand Tour race ends in arguably the most famous vineyards in France, Bordeaux.
 
The Bordeaux vineyard encompasses more than just the famous Chateaux. There are many small to medium-sized family-owned vineyards and wineries that sell great wine, but you will only know of them if you talk to your local grocery store wine steward or shop owner. Many delicious wines from the Bordeaux region won’t break the bank. The 2019, 2020, 2021 vintages are good to very good for both white and red wines. You can find everyday drinking wines to very special occasion wines from Bordeaux. I encourage you to talk to your local wine person, they will be happy to show you new wines at your price point.
 
White wines from Bordeaux range from fresh, light, fruity, dry wines to full-bodied, sweet wines. The blends are predominately Sauvignon Blanc with Semillon grape varieties. These white wines are food friendly, but also good by themselves. Bordeaux Blanc wines are great in the summer but also support roasted pork or poultry meals. Both wines pictured here are in the $20-$25 price point. The Chateau Le Roc 2021, is very fresh and fruity. The Chateau Granville Lacoste is fresh and full-bodied. 

​Bordeaux red wines are usually Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot dominant blends.  Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot are also included in blends; usually aged in oak barrels for 6 to 24 months. The longer the oak aging, the more expensive the wine, typically. Delicious Bordeaux red wines can also be purchased in the $25-30 range. Enjoy these red wines with your favorite steak or stew, including a Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin. Pictured is a Malbec from the Cahors AOC of Bordeaux and Merlot dominant red from St. Emillion AOC, on the right bank of Bordeaux, Chateau Larmande.

THE RACE
A classic sprint from MONT-DE-MARSAN to BORDEAUX, 169.9 km of flat roads. This was a day for the sprinters and time trial specialists. The GC riders likely taking somewhat of a rest day. The race was fairly quiet until the last 10km when the teams began to compose themselves to launch their sprinters on the last 1km. The last few kilometers of races like this are very dangerous because the sprinters are drafting, and the speeds jump up (58 mph) and it is all out for the last 100 meters. This sprint did not disappoint; Cavendish jumped with Philipsen on his wheel. Jasper Philipsen wins by about a bike length over Cavendish. This should set up a great sprint for tomorrow.
 
Drink Bordeaux wines and continue watching the race as it moves into the Massif Central, the highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. We are leaving the major wine regions for a few days. The next wines will be from the Rhone and Burgundy regions. Santé