The Pairing: Dim Sum and Catalan Sparkling Wine
Food The Pairing Wine

Dim Sum and the New Sparkling Wine of Catalonia

A table of dumplings, buns and fried morsels needs bubbles. Corpinnat brings Champagne-method precision from the Penedès.

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Dim sum is a meal of variety: steamed har gow and siu mai, crisp spring rolls, glossy char siu bao, turnip cake and soy-dipped everything. One wine has to cope with steam and fry, sweet and salty, delicate and rich. Sparkling wine handles that range better than anything else.

Why Corpinnat

Corpinnat is a group of producers in Catalonia’s Penedès who left the Cava appellation to set stricter standards: organic grapes from the heart of the Penedès, harvested by hand and fermented in bottle in the traditional method, with long ageing on the lees. The result is a sparkling wine with the precision and depth of good Champagne, built on native grapes such as Xarel·lo.

The bubbles and acidity clean the palate after fried dishes and soy. The wine’s toasty depth suits roast pork and turnip cake. A rosé version adds red-fruit weight that works with char siu and sweeter sauces.

At the Table

Serve the wine at 8 to 10°C (46 to 50°F) in white-wine glasses. Order widely, and keep the bottle within reach.

The Bottles

Llopart Brut Reserva Rosé Corpinnat 2022

From one of the founding Corpinnat families, a dry, red-fruited rosé sparkling wine with the structure for roast pork buns and fried dishes. Shop it at Wine.com.

More Corpinnat at Wine.com

For a white option, look for a Xarel·lo-led brut nature for steamed shrimp dumplings. Shop it at Wine.com.

One Rule

Order more dumplings than you think you need. The wine will see to it.

The Pairing is Santé’s daily column on one dish and the wine that makes it better. A new pairing every evening.

About JQ Louise

JQ Louise is the publisher of Santé, which has written about wine, spirits and the table since 1996. A Boston-based journalist and founder of The JQ List, she covers wine regions, hotels and restaurants from the vineyard and the dining room, and is the author of Historic Maps of Boston.

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