"At the Villa Más restaurant, where I work, we have a wine list of 1,500 wines, including many natural ones."

BarcelonaDays of wine and roses. This phrase (originally from an English poem by Ernest Dowson) could define the impact of the award for best sommelier in Catalonia for Paula Cuenda (Badalona, ​​1998), who She emerged as the best in the competition organized by the Catalan Association of Sommeliers"I've received congratulations, lovely comments," and all of this is the beginning of a journey in which Paula confesses her passion and vocation: to promote Catalan wines and their pairing with food.

Among all the current trends, the sommelier points to natural wines, which are largely unknown, although more and more restaurants and sommeliers are championing them. "At the Villa Más restaurant, where I work, we have a wine list of approximately 1,500 wines, including many natural ones," explains the sommelier. "There isn't a legally defined term..." natural "In natural wines"; there is no definition, so minimal intervention wines are included in the same category as natural wines.

Definition of natural wines

"With natural wines, the work begins in the vineyard, which is sustainable, cultivated using biodynamic or regenerative farming methods," says Cuenda. He continues, explaining that natural wines have their own native yeasts, which are potent enough for "fermentation to occur spontaneously, and therefore there's no need to add selected yeasts or sulfites." So, if we had to give a rough definition of natural wine, we would have to emphasize spontaneous fermentation, without added yeasts, because the yeasts it contains are those that come from the vineyard.

In recent years, criticisms leveled against natural wines have claimed that it's impossible to predict how wines made in this way will age. "We need to taste more, we need to open our minds to tasting new wines, and not just natural wines but other types as well," says the top sommelier, who also comments that the best way to learn is "by visiting wineries, touching the soil where the vines are grown, and talking to the winemakers." One of the natural wineries that the sommelier recommends, especially to observe their excellent aging potential, is Domaine Pierre Overnoy, a family-run winery located in the town of Pupillin (Jura, France). To continue, Cuenda explains that her passion for wine stems from her love of cooking and her desire to understand the connection between a dish and a wine. “Having worked with Josep Roca at Bodega de Can Roca has also helped me develop my passion, because the Roca family is a great training ground: they are highly skilled professionals and, moreover, generous with their knowledge,” she says, recalling that she worked there until 2023, when she moved to Vraba in Barcelona. “I never stop learning, because I’m interested in this world; it’s a vocation and at the same time a very rewarding profession.” It also allows her to start a personal project, parallel to her work as head sommelier at Villa Más, which involves managing a catalog called Champers and Wines"I'm starting with champagnes, and in the future I'll do sparkling wines and Catalan wines." She won't be a distributor, a word she doesn't like to use to describe the project she's starting, and a profession she admires because it's complicated, she says. What she'll do with the catalog she'll be distributing is to showcase small producers from wine regions around the world. "I trust these small producers, and I share their philosophy, and that's why I'm investing in them," she says.

In practice, there are five producers, whose products she'll promote through Paula's personal Instagram account, where people can buy from her. "I explained it at the Liquids Vins fair, which runs parallel to Barcelona Wine Week, and I've told them champers because it's the colloquial English name for champagne." The sommelier confesses to feeling "excited" about the project, because it's "very personal," and because it's just beginning.