A cava from the Conca drilling? Too much luck, ours.

To talk about Tres Naus, a dirty pink Cava made with tapping (how lucky I am today), we go to the modernist building, designed by César Martinell, that gives it its name. "We'll be remodeling it soon," Ciriac Carbó, technical director of the Cellers Domenys cooperative, tells me. He adds: "Now we want to remodel it, to open the doors to wine tourism." They are in the land of tapping, Conca de Barberà, in Rocafort de Queralt. The building has existed since 1918.

"In fact, tapping itself was originally the base wine for making sparkling wine. From large-grained, productive vines. No value was given to it. But now it's made from red and sparkling wine..." A pale rosé sparkling wine, so pale that some. The one we have in the glass is number 22, and draft 23. It's made more like a boys' target (We make the black wine but don't macerate it; there's a direct pressing process).

It's made in the "cathedral of wine." The aging process takes place in the cooperative's old winepresses. The vineyards are at a good altitude, 600 meters, in the upper part of Roquefort de Queralt. That means the temperature is ideal. "Yesterday I was in the cellar and it was 13 degrees. And it's a cellar that should be between 12 and 14 or 15 degrees. These aging processes, with slow fermentation, are one of the keys."

There's a whole invisible movement that wants to get to know our own. We've traveled, we've gotten to know everything that came from outside, and we've left the town next door. "Getting to know the people and the territories... We've returned to the origins. They wanted to give color to the drilling. And we've learned that each person has what they have. And you can find lighter, fresher wines with a lighter finish..." This is what's in demand now. More white wine is consumed, more sparkling wine... And structured reds are saved for more special moments. "Wines with less oak are desired, aren't they?"

A son of a cavist

I smile as I listen to the story: "I'm the son of a winemaker, from one of the oldest wineries, Mas Oliver, in the center of Sant Sadurní, below Recaredo. The thing is, I'm the youngest in the family and I've gone it alone. Since I was little, I've been involved in the winery at home. We have vineyards... from Estudio in Espiells."

Joan Milà. That name that everyone pronounces with reverence. "I only have good things to say; he had such a passion for wine, he was such a good person, so generous... A role model. If I studied engineering, it was because of him, because at that time Tarragona wasn't officially approved, and he told us: 'What you know about wine, you already know. Instead of confining yourself to oenology, open up to engineering.' You were focused.

We lack role models, and Joan Milà was one. "The feeling is that we are in a vibrant period, and that at some point or another must stabilize. The DO will be much smaller. We need to make a collective mark."

If we talk about today's cava, so cheerful, it tells me this: "They are liquid stories of many years in a bottle, each of the drops is one of our partners." The result, softly pressed, clean and bright, with fine, persistent bubbles, giving a perfect crown in the glass. It is subtle and elegant, with wild red fruit and floral notes. The spicy tones of the drilling and a fresh and vibrant entrance. Drink it with rice, with salad, with pasta, as a straight glass... You won't be able to stop. How lucky I am.

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