I’M NOT known for my fitness levels, but I‘m pretty good at running to a bar at last orders. So cycling? Not a chance. And don’t even think about me in Lycra. No. Don’t.
But watching cycling is a different matter, and next weekend the much-heralded Tour de France 2014 begins in Yorkshire.
I was lucky enough to be in York the week before it prepared for the Grand Depart Tour de France 2014York prepares for the Grand Depart
For Chilean winemakers Cono Sur the bicycle is a symbol of the winery’s commitment to sustainability, with workers travelling around the estate on environmentally friendly bikes. The symbol on the Bicicleta range is a bike. Naturally.
So it seems to make perfect sense that Cono Sur is an Official Supporter of the Grand Départ du Tour de France 2014.
There’s several wines in the range, but Bicicleta ‘heroes’ for the Grand Départ are sauvignon blanc, viognier, pinot noir, and merlot.
And there’s plenty of mileage in each of them.
Whites: The sauvignon blanc is typically fresh and grassy with gooseberry and green pepper skin. The viognier is a perfumed cloud of apricots, tinned mandarins, and orange blossom. It delivers mouthfuls of bright peach. Very nice indeed.
Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir
Reds: The pinot noir has a savoury mushroomy nose and pecks of spice. It is black-fruity rich with fine tannins and is perfect with roast beef on a Sunday. The merlot packs a velvet-gloved punch with plums and blackberries and just the hint of toastiness.
There are several supermarket offers around on the Bicicleta range to mark Le Tour. Shop around and you could get all four wines for just over £20 and you can’t complain at that.
Cono Sur Bicicleta
Tesco: Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are reduced to £5 from July 2 to August 12.
Sainsbury: Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are reduced to £5.49 from July 2 to July 22.
Morrisons:Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and Merlot are reduced to £5.49 from July 20.
Asda:Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier are £5 to August 1.
To continue the Tour theme, Sainsbury’s has selected seven French
wines to mark places “en route” which you can enjoy from the comfort of your armchair. Wear cycling shorts if you must to get in the zone. Here’s three of them … Taste the Difference Alsace Gewürtztraminer 2013 (£8) is a flurry of lychees and roses and a thoroughly enjoyable wine.
Taste the Difference Beaujolais Villages 2013 (£7.25). There’s beaujolais and then there’s beaujolais villages … this is a step above the basic (ignoring nouveau here) and only certain villages are allowed to class their wines as such.
This was awash with red berries and was a juicy fruity light refreshing garden treat.
Taste the Difference Côtes de Provence Rosé 2013 (£8) is a blend of grenache, cinsault and syrah. If you haven’t had a rosé yet this summer why not? This is crisp, dry, with a good bite of cherries and strawberries from Provence in the south of France. Think of those chappies cycling away and just enjoy.
Les Jamelles Syrah 2012
Also in my glass … staying in France, Les Jamelles Syrah 2012 (£6.49, the Co-op). This dark red beauty from the Languedoc won a silver outstanding medal at the 2013 International Wine and Spirit Competition. It has bowls full of ripe bramble fruits and is lush and deep and herby too.
Published in the saturday extra magazine June 28 2014
