South Beach Food & Wine Festival -- Food, Wine, Sand & Celebs

It took a little recovery before recapping my week at the recent 2011 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach, FL. The three-day affair of delicious foods prepared by celebrity chefs from the Food Network, tropical libations from the top spirits companies and stellar wines from all over the world is must-do for any self-proclaimed foodie, but a tiring one, to say the least. This annual event, which brings the likes of gourmet moguls from Anthony Bordain and Paula Deen to Bobby Flay and Giada DeLaurentiis, is a "Culinary Spring Break" that leaves you feeling like you were just on a real one...every so slightly burnt out. But I'm not complaining: South Beach is truly the highlight of my career, the festival I dreamed of attending when I first discovered food and wine, flipping through glossy advertisements in my epicurean magazines. And now, I'm living to tell about it...

For our team, the week begins on Tuesday, when we make the cross-country trek from San Francisco to Miami. After our day of travel, we check into The Raleigh on Collins Avenue, just a 15-minute walk from the festival tents on the sand, order a bottle of rose (we're still on Pacific time) and their signature chips and guacamole and a tin of frites. After enjoying our late night snack on the patio, it's time for our team to retreat to our rooms, and drift off to sleep.

The first morning, we decide to meet at a reasonable 12 noon. The down time is nice as the rest of the week will be consumed by festival activities--morning through night. I take the time to run along the beach, a luxury most of us don't get everyday, and take in the sights and sounds of colorful South Beach. On my way back, I see police escorts leading catering trucks on the sand toward the enormous, gleaming white Grand Tasting tents off in the in distance. The energy is already picking up for SOBE 2011!

DECANT! Yes You Can

How and Why to Decant a Bottle of Wine

Two years ago, The Editor bought me a beautiful decanter with a rippled glass design that looks like an optical illusion as the the wine swirls from the bottle and hits the glass. It's a pretty nifty piece, and as my grandmother told me when she bestowed a lovely heirloom ring upon me in recent years, "It's the kind of gift you give someone when they're ready to be responsible." That ring and I have been through a lot together, but the wine decanter and I, not so much. Despite my near daily glass of the red stuff, I tucked the decanter away in a cupboard, and saved it for "special occasions." I thought of it as something to break out over dining room tables with fancy linens and custom stemware, not the 12' x 12' walls of our "quaint" one bedroom apartment. Or that I had to wait for a $100 bottle of wine or an '82 Bordeaux for the timing to be just right.

Then came the heckles from The Editor.

You don't like my gift. 
You say you like wine, but you never use the decanter I got you.
I spent a lot of time looking for that decanter.
That thing just sits up there...collecting dust.


He was right. Though I had a serious affinity with wine, I wasn't one for "wine gadgets"...extras, that took away from my experience, or simply held them up. Charms and expensive tool kits weren't my bag. I liked a good ol' sniff test, a strong swirl and swig--down the hatch, instant gratification. But, my wines weren't always instantly gratifying...even the $15 "drink it now" types. Heavy Cabernets were filling my tongue with bitter tannins while bodacious Zinfandels were overwhelming my mouth with fruit and spice. They needed air, they needed room, they needed--to breathe!

And that, my friends, is where decanting comes into play. Not only did I feel guilty about the thoughtful gift The Editor bought me, but my taste buds were crying out for help. I had all but given up on Zinfandel and I was getting tired of chewing on Aussie Shiraz sediment. Does decanting wine make it taste better, softer and more elegant? Yes, yes and yes. For more reasons why to decant, read on...