Jose Maria Ferrer of Freixenet introduced his wines at La Fiesta, Resorts World Genting

Dancing bubbles are in themselves a cause for celebration but Jose Maria Ferrer popping open the cava at Resorts World Genting’s La Fiesta one evening makes the occasion even more momentous. The Spanish restaurant is pairing its best tapas with select Freixenet wines at an exclusive dinner to showcase the breadth and depth of the flavours of both.

Ferrer moves from table to table with a porró, a traditional Catalan glass pitcher that allows drinkers to tip wine into their mouth from a distance. The perfect sharing utensil for a party, it is potentially messy but visually impressive when done right — and Ferrer incites loud cheers and applause from diners with his demonstration.

Such festivity is the very spirit cava aims to evoke and Ferrer is an authority on the subject, being from a family with long winemaking legacies on both sides. The family business Freixenet, the largest producer of Spanish sparkling wines in the world, was started by Francesc Sala Ferrés, who began making and bottling limited quantities of cava in 1861. In the rolling hills of the Penedès, southwest of Barcelona, rich red soil and ample sunshine provide the ideal environment for the specific grapes to grow while traditional winemaking and fermentation methods at the winery in Sant Sadurni mature them into sparkling finesse.

Carta Nevada, with its stone fruit nose and big, soft and round flavours, became the company’s bestselling product when it was launched in 1941, before being surpassed by the Cordon Negro in 1974.

Ferrer took on the mantle as CEO in the 1980s. “I grew up in the winery, among the vines and bottles. It was our playground,” he tells Options before the dinner, as effusive as his signature products. “I started working for the company over summer holidays and vacations when I was a teenager, and even though I studied law, I never practised. Instead, I graduated and joined Freixenet’s marketing and sales department.”

Ferrer is credited with elevating Freixenet into a household name for cava with clever marketing strategies, which included expanding to embrace still wines in the 1990s. “We wanted to be where the best wines in the world could be found, building not just our company portfolio but also volume and visibility,” he says. “We now have quite a collection of premium wineries, featuring families and labels that mostly produce very limited quantities. We use only grapes we produce ourselves.”

Overseeing that guarantee of quality is head winemaker Judit Llop, a prolific professional in her own right before joining Freixenet Group’s Morlanda winery in 2003. Like Ferrer, wine runs in her blood; she grew up on her family’s vineyard in Spain’s northeastern Tarragona region and went on to obtain degrees in agronomy and oenology. She is pioneering the use of probiotics in enhancing soil quality, ensuring that by next year, the wines produced will qualify for organic certification. Her approach is as scientific as it is artistic, combining rigorous research and creativity.

“We even have bees returning to the vineyard, which is a sign that we’re doing something right,” she says. “I feel like an artist, especially since working with a small, exclusive winery allows me to create my own designs. I hear what the wine wants and respond accordingly. There’s no protocol because each season differs. One year, it might need just a few months in the barrel to show its full identity while the weather the next year might allow the grapes to naturally reach full structure and complexity. If you want the same wine over and over, if you want a guarantee in consistency of taste or flavour, it might be best to look elsewhere.”

Dictated by the vines, deliberate distribution strategies and an uncompromising stance on delivering high value at good prices, Ferrer has succeeded in shepherding the family business in a   direction he feels is right.

“Smart consumers look for good quality-to-price ratios,” he explains. “Even our premium brands are well priced. Brand prestige is what assures customers of value, not price. The many challenges we face are interrelated: there are so many good, competitive wines in the world and when it comes to dealing with big supermarket chains, who have the upper hand in negotiations and promotions, it can be tough. We focus on good marketing, packaging and price, as well as introduce new products every few years to attract new consumers and diversify our audience.”

His go-to label is Casa Sala, which produces only about 14,000 bottles a year and is one of the few exclusive vineyards designated for cava in Spain. Another label mentioned is the Honoris de Valdubón from Ribera del Duero, which he enjoys for its complex blend of tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

“Wine is special to me. It is part of my culture and a 2,000-year history of consumption means it’s an inherent part of our lifestyle,” he explains. “It’s a very social drink and ties in strongly with good memories. I always have cava around the holidays. Most memorable was a getaway to Formentera, the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. I was there with my wife and we had cava constantly. It was like paradise, as blue and sunny as you can imagine.”

Llop, meanwhile, usually has a glass while cooking. “When I’m in the kitchen, I’m having fun, I’m relaxed,” she says. “I love to feel the aromas of the wine and taste their provenance. My priority upon joining the brand was to use just indigenous varieties to showcase the primary aromas of the wine … from 2003 to 2009, I concentrated on this.” The jammy 2010 Morlanda Garnacha Tinta is her favourite, her “baby come to fruition.”

The evening’s offerings

As we mingle before being ushered into the restaurant, we partake of pickled and salted anchovies, toasted bread with olive oil-infused tomato spread and marinated olive, all enlivened by effervescent Segura Viudas Cava. The informal dinner features Iberica cuts of jamon, chorizo, salchichon and lomo; garlic prawns poached in olive oil; and sous vide octopus with paprika potatoes. A red wine reduction evoked the especial spiciness of the Chorizo al Vino, matched in temperament by the Mas de Subirá from Priorat, whose equal blend of Garnacha Tinta and Cariñena results in an intense, balanced wine with a strong dark fruit character.

The highlight of the night is the pork and chicken paella, cooked in a massive pan that requires the constant supervision of two chefs. The glassed-in kitchen fronts the cosy restaurant and the action draws dozens of curious passers-by. Llop’s Morlanda Garnacha Tinta accompanies the dish, playing off the well-seasoned flavours of the rice and morsels of meat. Silky individual portions of Crema Catalana or caramelised custard cream round off the meal, ending a night of discovery, conversation and camaraderie on an appropriately sweet note.

This article first appeared on Apr 9, 2018 in The Edge Malaysia.