Jacques Pépin Lecture Series: Sherry, So Easy to Love

For our second Pépin lecture of Fall 2025, chef-sommelière and certified Sherry Master Deborah Hansen will share her expertise in an informative and engaging sherry tasting.

Sherry is one of the most misunderstood categories of wine, and absolutely one of the most fascinating. Did you know that most sherries are dry, best enjoyed cold, and pair beautifully with savory snacks and entrees? The full gamut of sherry is quite broad, ranging from pale and bone dry to dark and sweet. In this class we’ll experience a concise yet exemplary flight of five sherries: Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, and Pedro Ximénez. Light snacks will be served as we learn about the magic and microbiology of sherry.

Deborah Hansen was the chef-owner-sommelière of Taberna de Haro, Brookline, from 1998 to 2024. Her exclusively Spanish wine list won many awards, including a James Beard semi-finalist. Trained as a sommelière in Madrid, Spain, Deborah is passionate about Spanish wine and now is the owner of a consultancy called Wine Matters, LLC, specializing in wine education, translation, curation, and degustation for professionals and consumers alike. She is a certified Sherry Master.