Join us on Thursday, August 6, 2026 in the Belvedere Room at 6pm, for our Wine Pairing featuring Basque Wine Imports. This event is co-hosted by the Les Dames d'Escoffier Kansas City. We will be donating $5 from every ticket sale to the organization.
Watermelon Espuma | rosemary pickled watermelon, green olive, marcona almonds Pairing: Bodegas Gorka Izagirre, “Ilun”, Bizkaiko Txakolina, Spain
Kerri Lesh, PhD and CSW, is the founder of Basque Wine Imports and a cultural anthropologist with a lifelong connection to the Basque Country. Her journey began with a high-school trip to Spain, where she first encountered Euskara, the ancient language isolate of the Basque people, a spark that eventually led her to earn a PhD in Basque Studies–Anthropology and spend three months studying in a Basque language immersion school. She returns to the region often, maintaining deep professional and personal ties.
Basque Wine Imports was born from a desire to introduce American consumers to wines that carry centuries of Basque culture, history, and tradition. Based in Kansas City, Kerri pairs each bottle with the stories behind it and brings that same passion to her work as a college instructor and leader of cultural wine and travel experiences for U.S. groups. The company's logo says it all: the ikurriña (Basque flag) framing the word Topa, "Cheers!" in Euskara.
