Aurillac to Villeneuve Sur Lot, France – Day 12
Riding southwest from Aurillac, the race goes just north of the Cahors wine region.
They are closer to the Dordogne than the winding river Lot. They roll north of the Cahors region, but…let’s look south and explore this region anyway.
Cahors
Cahors is the name of the city at the eastern end of the area. It sits on a hairpin turn on the winding River Lot.
The region is famous for Malbec, once known as the black wine of Cahors because this grape produces inky black juice. They also grow Merlot and Tannat, which together cannot make up more than 30% of the blend.
Here there are 45 Communes making 20 million bottles of wine, most of which never leave France.
The city of Cahors has thrived since Roman times and thanks to the river, these wines traveled across Europe and as far as Russia.
The route passes just south of Vin de Domme and Domaine Le Briel, staying to the North of the Lot River but coming close at the end of the day to Villeneuve sur Lot.
We happen to love these wines and have written about them before: Cahors – Malbec from along the winding river Lot
Rocamadour
Along the route, there is a spot that I found fascinating, while not wine-related.
The race passes through Rocamadour. This is Marian city, is a sacred village built into the cliffside on the levels. It is part of the pilgrimage of “the Way of Saint James.” There is an old saying describing the city: “Houses on the river, churches on the houses, rocks on the churches, castle on the rock.”
The day finishes in the city of Villeneuve sur Lot.
For more information on all of the Stage’s of the “Tour de France”
Wine along the “Tour de France” – 2024
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
Check out our book series, “Tempting Spoonfuls” available through Amazon!
Inspired by the flavors and aromas in wines, these books create “tempting spoonfuls” of flavors to pair with wines.
“Tempting Spoonfuls – Pairing single bites with glorious wines” – Our first book paired wines from boutique wineries on the west coast, in California, Oregon, and Washington, with delicious spoonfuls.
This book is 60 pages, 18 recipes, lots of beautiful photos, and insights into some fantastic small wineries!
“Tempting Spoonfuls – small bites paired with wines from around the Globe” – This book takes us around the globe to explore 12 wine regions, a wine from the region, and then gives you a recipe for a pairing!
A slightly larger book at 104 pages, this time you learn about pairing with a type of wine from a region. Rather than a specific bottle, you can look for a style of wine from a region and feel confident that it will go well with the recipe pairing we provide. We give you 12 recipes, each to pair with a wine.
The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
Leave a Reply