STEVEN W. ALEXANDER
As Wine Director and Sommelier of Spiaggia, Chicago’s only four-star Italian restaurant, Steven W. Alexander sources remarkable and authentic Italian wines from celebrated as well as cutting- edge producers to enhance Spiaggia’s elegant cuisine. Alexander calls his philosophy on wine “classic,” believing firmly that wine should speak of its place; that a well-chosen wine menu will communicate the history of each viticultural region.
Under Alexander, the prolific Spiaggia wine program remains a reference point for Italian wine in the US, with a strong emphasis on the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco and the Collio, as well as emerging wine regions such as Mount Etna, Montefalco, and the Valtellina. Alexander utilizes over ten years of Italian wine expertise, as well as Spiaggia’s twenty six years of relationships with Italy’s most important wine families, to introduce many selections for the first time outside of Italy.
In addition to his cutting edge work with emerging wine regions, Alexander is a pioneer in the Italian craft beer movement, expanding Spiaggia’s beverage program to include artisan beer from over half of Italy’s regions. With a strong emphasis on healthy, organic beverages, Alexander is a champion of sustainable agriculture and natural winemaking.
Prior to his appointment as Wine Director at Spiaggia, the Illinois born Alexander gained valuable culinary experience at Berkley’s famed Chez Panisse restaurant after studying Cultural Anthropology at the University of California San Diego.
Inspired by his travels within Italy, Alexander joined Chef Thad Morrow to open the nationally acclaimed Bacaro, an intimate Italian wine bar and restaurant in Champaign, Illinois where Alexander authored his first influential regional Italian wine program.
Alexander gained valuable expertise and built relationships with winemakers as an Italian wine buyer and educator for the famed Sam’s Wines and Spirits in Chicago, then the largest, most comprehensive Italian wine department in the US.
Rounding out his experience in the wine trade, Alexander spent time as the European Wine Portfolio Manager for a Miami based wine importer, as well as a member of the wine team at Chicago’s avant-garde restaurant Moto. Alexander has accreditations from the Court of Master Sommeliers as a Certified Sommelier and the prestigious Wine and Spirits Education Trust as a Diploma Level student.
Alexander has contributed to Wine and Spirits Magazine, Wine Spectator, Chicago Magazine, CS, Chicago Tribune and Today’s Chicago Woman and is quoted in various online publications.