Ola! Time For A Cava!

In recent times more and more Spanish restaurants have opened in Hong Kong with the popularity of tapas style sharing food on the rise in a country that traditionally eats food in the same style as tapas, but here it’s called dim sum. Chinese food has always been one that’s shared amongst people around a table and Spanish style foods are very much the same.

But what to drink when you go to these newly opened restaurants, most of which have a very good selection of Spanish wines on their wine lists from places such as Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat? Restaurants such as FoFo by El Willy, Solera, Boqueria and Mesa 15 are driving the popularity in everything Spanish with high quality foods alongside their wines.

But for me, there’s one Spanish wine that stands out as one that pairs excellently with most Spanish style foods and one that can be drunk at almost any time of the day – that is Cava, Spain’s sparkling answer to France’s champagne. Obviously, by law, only sparkling wines from the Champagne region can be called Champagne, but Cava is made in exactly the same way, but by using different and indigenous Spanish grapes.

Cava was invented in 1872 by Josep Raventos of Codorniu, a winery that dates back to 1551 when documents from the time clearly showed that Jaume Codorniu was planting vineyards and making wines. The marriage of Anna Codorniu and Miguel Raventos in 1659 brought together two of Spain’s most influential winemaking families and saw the continued growth and expansion of the Codorniu winery.

Josep Raventos, looking to make a classic Spanish sparkling was inspired by travels to Champagne in the 1860’s where he was enlightened to the potential of making a wine in the same style but in Spain.  The grapes that went into the first Cava’s are the same as the grapes used today, that is; Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada.

Cava is, quintessentially, a Catalan inspired concoction – the name cava comes from the Catalan for ‘cave’ or ‘cellar’ and was introduced as the universal name for Spanish sparkling wine in the 1970’s. It is predominantly made in the same style as Champagne but its production is much higher thus making it much more affordable and approachable to the everyday drinker.

So, we decided we would try two Cava’s from the winery that has such a long and rich history and tradition of winemaking Codorniu, and take a peek at their most basic, entry level Cava and their most recent to market, and one of their top-end Cava’s made solely from the Pinot Noir grape.

Codorniu Clasico is a reflection of Cava in its most classic style being fresh, fruity and very easy drinking. This Cava is made from the traditional Xarel-lo, Macabeo and Parellada grapes. The wine is nicely balanced with tropical fruit aromas on both the nose and the palate. It’s a great aperitif before dinner or just one to sip in the sunshine on a weekend afternoon, or take to that BBQ going on at your friends place. I drank this wine with seafood here in Hong Kong recently and it was a simple yet easy pairing with the food and, for its price, I can highly recommend anyone give it a go when they get the chance.

The flagship Cava, Reina Maria Cristina is made to pay homage to Queen Maria Cristina who, in 1897 granted Codorniu the title of Purveyor to the Royal Household (a special wine for the palace is still made to this day). The wine was first launched in 2010 and is the first Blanc de Noirs Cava that has been made by Codorniu. Blanc de Noirs is a 100 per cent Pinot Noir wine and is one for those who like their wines with a little more complexity. The wine itself bears many of the characteristics of its grape with plenty of red fruit nuances such as raspberry and strawberry with plenty of freshness on the palate and a long finish that does not disappoint. This too, is well within most everyday drinkers budget and is a great value for money wine, one that can easily be used for parties and celebrations – or just a romantic night at home with a loved one.

So, as Spanish fever takes over Hong Kong this year, make sure you are along for the ride and, if you decide that going out is not your thing then no bother; these wines are available for your home consumption too. Cava is a great and inexpensive way to drink sparkling wine at home. Although the ones in the supermarket are acceptable, spend a few more dollars to get something special with heritage and tradition from Codorniu.

Codorniu cava is available in Hong Kong from Seapower Trading Limited and you can contact Brian Chung at brian.chung@seapower.hk  for more information or for sales contact Joey on joey.yue@seapower.hk