LA MARCHA CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL SHERRY WEEK WITH PAIRING DINNER, EDUCATIONAL FLIGHTS AND “A NIGHT IN JEREZ”

Popular neighborhood tapas bar serves as the premier San Francisco Bay Area destination for Spanish cuisine and sherry lovers

BERKELEY, Calif. – October 19, 2017 – La Marcha, Berkeley’s critically acclaimed destination for Spanish tapas and paella, is hosting an array of events in honor of International Sherry Week, November 6-12, with a three-course sherry pairing dinner and educational sherry flights, plus the inaugural “Night in Jerez,” the ultimate sherry tasting party featuring tapas, paella and a live flamenco show on November 10.

The beloved restaurant is one of a handful of bars in the East Bay with an extensive collection of 30 different fortified wines, sweet wines and sherries, as well as eight sherry flights. In addition to an impressive collection of sherry, a fortified wine originally from Southern Spain, and more than 90 old-world Spanish style wines, La Marcha boasts a menu of authentic and imaginative Spanish cuisine and weekly flamenco shows, further strengthening its status as a bastion for Spanish culture in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sherry Pairing Dinner
Available November 6-12
La Marcha (2026 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley)

Throughout International Sherry Week, guests are invited to enjoy the following three-course sherry pairing dinner for $40 per person, excluding tax and gratuity:

• Bone marrow and clam croqueta with oyster alioli paired with La Kika Manzanilla Pasada
• Duck butifarra sausage with a fennel and orange infused sherry vinaigrette, paired with Cruz Vieja Amontillado En Rama
• Braised pork cheeks with olives and almonds paired with Lustau Eugenia Emperatriz Oloroso

Educational Sherry Flights
Available November 6-12
La Marcha (2026 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley)

During International Sherry Week, La Marcha will offer 50 percent off seven educational sherry flights, providing guests with an opportunity to learn more about the world-renowned fortified wines from a certified sherry specialist. Each flight will include printed material with information about the various sherries from bone-dry to sweet. A variety of sherries and fortified wines will also be available for purchase.

Intro to Sherry ($6.50)
Sherry is one of the most versatile wines of the world. This flight covers the spectrum of sherry with one dry biologically aged sherry, one dry oxidatively aged sherry, and one sweet sherry.

• Tío Pepe Fino
• Fernando de Castilla Oloroso
• Gonzales Byass Nector Pedro Ximénez

Vinos Generosos ($12.50)
Explore all of the different types of dry style sherry wines. Manzanilla and Fino typically come from the first press of the wine and are both aged completely biologically, or under the “flor,” while Amontillado and Palo Cortado undergo both biologically aging and oxidative aging, and Oloroso is completely aged oxidatively, or without “flor.”

• Tío Pepe Fino
• Aurora Manzanilla
• Bodega Obregón Amontillado
• Cruz Vieja Palo Cortado
• Fernando de Castilla Oloroso

Taste the Flor ($6.50)
In biologically aged wines a natural yeast, or “flor,” is formed on top of the wine that protects it from oxygen. The “flor” is different in each of the three cities where sherry wines are matured so much so that in Sanlúcar de Barrameda that style of sherry is given its own name. Taste a wine from each town, and see how the flor changes from its proximity to the water.

• Aurora Manzanilla
• Tío Pepe Fino
• Bodegas Obregón Fino del Puerto

Amontillandose ($14)
An Amontillado starts off as a Fino or Manzanilla, and typically continues to age to the point where the flor dies off. The result is a wine that has undergone both biological and oxidative aging. Taste four wines that showcase the different stages of this evolution. A Manzanilla, an aged Manzanilla, a young Amontillado, and an Amontillado.

• La Guita Manzanilla
• La Kika Manzanilla Pasada
• Alexander Jules Amontillado
• Manuel Cuevas Jurado Amontillado

Palo Cortado ($8)
Palo Cortado is a rare and accidental sherry. It is destined to be a Fino, but when the flor dies, for unexplainable reasons, the result is a wine that sits somewhere between an Amontillado and an Oloroso. Palo Cortado is defined as a wine that has the bouquet of an Amontillado, with the body of an Oloroso. Guests should request to taste this flight “blind,” and see if they can match which two share the same bouquet and which two share the same body.

• Cruz Vieja Amontillado
• Cruz Vieja Palo Cortado
• Cruz Vieja Oloroso

Very Old & Rare Sherries ($24)
The VORS, or Vinus Optimum Rare Signatum, label is given to sherry wines that have an average age of 30 years or more. These wines undergo carbon dating and must pass a taste test, guaranteeing a wine of superior quality and complexity.

• El Maestro Sierra Amontillado 1830
• Bodegas Tradición Oloroso
• Gonzales Byass Noé Pedro Ximénez

• Williams & Humber Dry Sack
• Lustao East India Solera
• Cruz Vieja Moscatel Pasas

• Sherry pouring/educational stations and buffet of hors d’oeuvres and tapas with labels for recommended sherry pairings will be available from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The five sherry stations include the following themes: Intro to Sherry, Biologically Aged, Biologically/Oxidatively Aged, Oxidatively Aged and Sweet Sherry.
• Paellas (both meat and vegetarian) will be served to guests at 7:30 p.m.
• In the Spanish tradition, flamenco dancers, palmeros and musicians will perform authentic dances and songs about various sherries starting at 8 p.m. Sherry and flamenco both originate from the same region (Jerez de la Frontera), so for every style of sherry there is a style of flamenco. Performers include flamenco artist Kina Mendez of Jerez de la Frontera, dancers Melissa Cruz and Bianca Rodriguez, and famed guitarist Kenny Parker (Keni El Lebrijano).

ABOUT LA MARCHA
La Marcha is a rustic, neighborhood tapas bar in the heart of Berkeley, Calif., focused on creating delicious and classic Spanish cuisine elevated to the next level in a lively, intimate and warm space. Chef/Owners Sergio Emilio Monleón and Emily Sarlatte have created a menu of tapas and paellas that reflect their passion for Spanish cuisine and desire to bring the tapas bar culture to Berkeley. “La Marcha” is a reference to the typical late-night Spanish bar crawl, where patrons stroll from place to place and enjoy small plates and drinks throughout the evening. Recently named one of the Bay Area’s five best Spanish restaurants by San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer, the acclaimed East Bay restaurant offers casual tapas-style dining at the bar or main dining room with more than 20 small plate (tapas) options, salads, an array of six distinctive paellas, and a variety of Spanish-inspired desserts.

Winner of Wine Spectator’s 2017 Award of Excellence, La Marcha boasts a wine program that showcases nearly 30 different fortified wines, sweet wines and sherries, a fortified wine originally from Southern Spain. In addition to eight sherry flights, La Marcha’s wine program also entails a variety of 90 old-world Spanish style wines, as well as three wines on tap. Other alcoholic beverages include a rotating selection of Spanish-style ciders, seven Spanish beers and local Bay Area craft beers. La Marcha’s menu is the embellishment and embodiment of Chefs Monleón and Sarlatte’s very successful Ñora Cocina Española, launched in 2012, which specializes in high-end weddings, corporate parties, special events and Bay Area food festivals such as Off the Grid and Eat Real Festival.

With interior architecture and design by Restaurant Design Concepts that includes natural and rustic elements such as wood, bricks and terracotta, the atmosphere at La Marcha reflects an authentic cozy tapas bar set in Spain. Televisions at the bar show soccer games, adding to the ambiance of the neighborhood restaurant. Friendly and knowledgeable staff members are committed to providing professional yet engaging service, providing an inviting and memorable dining experience.

La Marcha is located at 2026 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, Calif. The Spanish tapas bar is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner in addition to two happy hours. From 4 to 6 p.m., La Marcha hosts an early evening happy hour where guests are offered complimentary tapas with purchased drinks. Dinner is served from 4 to 10 p.m. Just like a traditional tapas bar in Spain, La Marcha continues into the evening with late night happy hour from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., again offering free tapas with purchased drinks.

For additional information and updates, please visit www.lamarchaberkeley.com.