We’re approaching the multi-holiday season and with Chinese New Year just over a month away that means lots of sticky things. Whether you refer to it as sticky rice or glutinous rice, this round-grained gluey textured rice is particularly popular during Chinese holidays. Sticky rice is used to make a variety of both sweet and savory foods. The problem with these treats is that when you eat a lot of them, digestibility becomes an issue. One great solution is a palate pleasing, digestion facilitating sparkling wine from Spain.

Cava to the rescue

The first Spanish sparkling wines were made on a miniscule scale in the late 1840s and early 1850s. However, the first real commercial production happened when an intrepid traveling salesman for the Catalonian wine producer Codorniu was finding it exceedingly difficult to sell his still wines in France and other European wine markets. Joseph Ravento returned to Spain and convinced his company to make sparkling wines using the classic Champagne method. Instead of using the authorized Champagne grapes Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Cardonnay, Codorniu used the local Macabeu, Parellada, Xarel-lo varieties. The first vintage was 1872 and soon thereafter other Spanish producers joined the sparkling bandwagon and a new age of Spanish sparkling wines had begun.

Over the first century of their existence the sparkling wines of Catalonia were usually referred to as “Champana,” or “Spanish Champagne.” The French rightfully took exception to this, so in 1970 Spanish producers changed the official name of their sparkling wines to “Cava” borrowing the Catalan dialect name for the caves where their wines were aged and stored.

Since 1981, Cava producers were also allowed to use the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Subirat grapes in their blends. Today these wines can be produced in a number of Spanish wine regions, but the spiritual and commercial home of Cava remains in the Catalan region of Penedes, specifically the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia. This otherwise unremarkable town is home to the world’s two most important Cava producers, namely Codorniu and Freixenet. As noted, Codorniu was the first commercial producer but Freixent deserves special mention as it has become the world leader in producing and marketing Cava wines. Freixenet is sold in more than 140 countries and is the world’s largest producer of traditional or Champagne method sparkling wines.

What really differentiates Cava from Champagne is price. Spain in general and Penedes in particular are able to make sparkling wines with better price-quality ratios because they benefit from larger growing areas and advanced winemaking facilities. Catalan wine producers invented the gyro-pallet, a large machine that replaces the time consuming and costly practice of hand riddling. They also mechanized other steps in making sparkling wines and implemented them on an unprecedented scale. As a result, Cava producers are able to make traditional method sparklers with outstanding price-value ratios.

Put to the test

Earlier this year at an international wine competition in Europe my panel of judges were blind tasting a flight of premium sparkling wines. The wines were remarkable in terms of intensity, persistence and elegance and we were fairly sure they were all Grand Cru Champagnes. Later we discovered that, in fact, the wines were Gran Reserva Cavas. With collective wine tasting experience of over 250 years, my panel unanimously agreed that these sparklers were every bit as good as more costly Champagnes.

Basic Cava sparkling wines must be aged on the lees for a minimum of nine months, while Reserva Cavas require 15 months of aging and Gran Reserva Cava must have at least 30 months of aging.

It’s obvious that I’m a big fan of Cava wines, but why exactly are these sparkling wines such great companions to sticky rice foods? The balance between fruit and acidity in Cava sparklers makes the sticky rice flavor enhancers and digestion facilitators. In addition, just as glutinous rice treats range from sweet to savory, Cava wines also come in a range of flavors.

For savory sticky rice foods, I suggest pairing a dry style of Cava; while for sweet treats I suggest one of the sweeter versions. The dry styles include in descending levels of dryness the Brut Nature with little or no dosage, Extra Brut and Brut. Extra Seco or Extra Dry Cavas are only slightly sweeter than the three Brut styles. Next, in ascending levels of sweetness are the Seco, Semi-Seco and Dulce. This diversity of styles means there’s an ideal Cava sparkler to pair with a plethora of sticky rice treats.

Three of the most important and best Cava producers — Codorniu, Freixenet and Segura Viudas — have several of their wines available in Shanghai. Codorniu has a range of nice modestly priced Cavas and a new premium sparkler called Gran Reserva Gran Codorniu. Freixent has the widest range of Cavas available in China, including their flagship Cordon Negro Brut, the world’s best-selling Cava. The Freixenet Nevada and Rosato sparklers are also fine values with the former being a very pleasant and fruity Extra Seco Cava and the latter a flavorful Brut rose. The top-of-the-line Freixenet Reserva Real outperforms many more costly Champagnes. Segura Viudas is another producer of note, with a lovely premium sparkler Reserva Heredad that sports a medal crest label.

Where to buy in Shanghai

Varieties:

The three traditional varieties for Cava are Macabeu, Parellada and Xarel-lo with modern blends allowing a minority contribution of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Subirat grapes.

Key term:

Traditional method is a term widely used around the wine world to refer to the Champagne method of a second fermentation in the bottle, a process that gives sparkling wines their bubbles.

ISACS is the founder and CEO of EnjoyGourmet, a leading gourmet digital (www.enjoygourmet.com.cn) and print media company in China. He has authored over a dozen wine and food books including the awarded ISACS Guides and other gourmet books and is a wine consultant to governments, wine regions and organizations. He also hosts wine events for leading organizations and companies throughout China. Contact John via jcolumn@enjoygourmet.com.