La Baule to Sarzeau 7/10/18, Stage 4 195K Flat
To recap where we are for Stage 4, we have moved further north to Sarzeau (Breton: Sarzhav) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. It is located on the Rhuys peninsula between the Gulf of Morbihan and the Atlantic Ocean. (Wiki) Brittany is not part of any AOC wine region in France but thanks to global warming, it could be in the future, according to the Anya Walsh at the online site The Local.
The sprinters are still ruling the race, Gaviria takes the win, Sagan just beats out Andre Greipel for 2nd and more crashes.
Sarzeau, the commune where this stage finishes sounds pretty interesting. It resides on a peninsula and since much of the world prior to the 20th century moved around the world by boat, this area has been active since neolithic times.
In Sarzeau, there is the Cave de Fromagère that has been acclaimed and showcases many of the local cheese of Brittany including The Tome de Rhys made with local Bretonne Pie Noire’s cow’s milk. (socheese.fr) I think it is worth a trip here just to try the local cheeses.
Although Brittany is an up and coming wine region, what it definitely is now is a region Known for ciders. In his book, The World’s Best Ciders, Pete Brown cites that cider is traditionally known as chiste, that there is a thriving artisanal scene and that other apple related beverages are made including Pommeau de Bretagne and an apple brandy known as Lambig. I view ciders as that intermediary product between beer and wine, although most ciders really can be viewed as apple wine in terms of how they are made. So a local, artisanal cider maker in the area is Cidres Nicol.
So time for those watching the race to fuel up with some cidre from Brittany!
Traveling By The Glass 