Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra-Dry and Piper Heidsieck Cuvee Sublime
price: $12 and $35, respectively
suggested food pairings: anything suitable for celebrating Chinese New Year

Wine columns postulate that a great Chinese meal need not be a wine-free experience; open a bottle of Riesling or Gewurztraminer and voila, delicious food that goes in 10 different flavor directions with wine that matches. The advice is correct, but too limiting. There’s something else out there… think bubbles.

Riesling and Gewurztraminer succeed in this arena by possessing levels of fruit and acid high enough to stand up to salt, spice and flavorful oils all at once. It’s time to share my newest secret: extra-dry sparkling wines and Champagnes carry those very same characteristics, with the added bonus of palate cleansing bubbles. Extra-dry sparklers are not so much sweet as they are not bone-dry like a Brut tends to be. The roundness of an Extra-Dry Champagne marries perfectly with the fruit based sweeter sauces of Chinese fare, and is an easy companion for both salt and spice. As a bonus, the above-average acid level in sparklers works in concert with the bubbles to keep those delicious oils in your stir-fry and batter fried Asian foods from dominating the palate.

To put this theory to the test, we went for some top-shelf take-out. To push the envelope, we procured an order of spicy General Tso’s Chicken and some Pork Lo Mein from the vaunted Chen Yang Li. Freixenet’s Cordon Negro Extra-Dry from Spain, and Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Sublime from France were the liquid half of this experiment.

The chicken was outstanding; a perfect batter to protein ratio, and the Freixenet’s roundness was every bit the equal to the snappy sweet pepper glaze. A bite of mushroom with a sip brought out the earthiness of the ingredient, and showed the wine’s sunny acid. The Freixenet also accented a pleasant egginess to the chicken coating, and played well with the rich oil nuances of the Lo Mein.

Piper-Heidsieck is a true champagne, and shows why French-Asian fusion cuisine has a bright future. Each component of the food showcases something yummy in the wine, and when you’re talking General Tso’s Chicken, that’s a wide array of components. The bubbles perform their job masterfully, clearing the mouth for the next flavorful bite. The Piper-Heidsieck’s caramel, apple, and honeyed citrus notes could dance the Can-Can with this dish. Even the soy and green onion flavored pork of the Lo Mein would seem more of a classic European continental recipe when exposed to the wine’s sleek acid. Final verdict: Freixenet is a home-run, Piper-Heidsieck a grand slam.

Craig Pierce can be reached at craig_l_pierce[at]hotmail[dot]com.