
ESB + Coterie Club Spanish Wine & Sherry Luncheon
The stars align as the culinary rebels of The Coterie Club team up with Epicurean Santa Barbara for an exploration of Spanish wines & sherries paired with Chef Nick’s Creative cuisine! This afternoon culinary experience will be a 6-course meal featuring Chef Nick Bodden’s creative and globally inspired cuisine and winemaker and curator Alex Russan’s unique wine portfolio from around the world. Sherries and Spanish wines are known to pair well with everything from seafood, to asian cuisine and Spanish fare, and the menu will be an exploration of all styles! Rather than the traditional Rioja and Tempranillo, this event will explore lesser known, unique grapes, such as Mencia, Carrasquín, and Palomino. These wines are elegant, complex, perfect for a warm Santa Barbara Fall afternoon. Alex will be in attendance to enlighten guests on unique varietals, the winemakers, and the world of Sherries.
Menu to come, but wines have been chosen!
Welcome Beverage
2018 Metrick Albariño (Paragon Vyd, Edna Valley)
Luncheon
Kumiai Oyster/ Canary Melon/ Cucumber/ Chili Pepper
2016 Moraima “Aba de Trasumia” Albariño
Braised Artichoke Hearts/ Brown Butter/ Hazelnuts
Alexander Jules Manzanilla Sherry 9/41
Cacio De PePe
2017 Siete Vidas Tinto
Marinated Cucumbers/ Buttermilk/ Sumac/ Herbs
Almaroja “Pirita” Crianza
Braised Short rib/ Snap Peas/ Horseradish
Alexander Jules Amontillado Sherry 3/10
Cheese Course
Piñero Cream Sherry
More about Alex…
Alexander Russan’s career started in the coffee industry in Latin America, where he spent ten years working with a well respected importer, tasting thousands of coffees every year, and importing exceptional coffees from producers in Brazil and in Colombia. His focus eventually turned towards the exploration of Spanish sherries, whose unique aromas fascinated him. Eager to work with wine, he founded Alexander Jules, a company with a focus on importing Spanish Sherries and Wines.
His sherries are meticulously selected after tasting hundreds of barrels, selecting only a few for blending and bottling. They have received many notable accolades from the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. The Spanish wines Alex showcases are from lesser-known, underrepresented regions. They are small producers, farming gently, organically or biodynamically, tending to rare and unique grapes, some in far flung corners of the country. These grape varietals are slow gaining popularity, and in the next 20 years they could be the foundation of Spanish Wines! Alex will also pour an Albariño from his label, Metrick. Metrick wines are elegant and precise, made gently but intentionally, with the goal of aromatic complexity, freshness, and showing with as much transparency as possible, a time and a place.
Alex is also the Advanced Winemaking columnist for WineMaker Magazine, and a contributor for SevenFifty Daily’s science section.