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!




The next two days are filled with trips to (the affectionately dubbed) "The Sand" for festival staff meetings, final approvals on our builds and planning meetings at The Raleigh for the additional events and dinners we will be a part of. This year, our Italian brand, Ruffino, sponsored the Welcome Center--a 100-foot long, "red carpet" entrance to the festival where attendees corral to pick up their passes, Waterford tasting glasses and goodie bags. Over 15,000 people will enter the tent, branded with the new Ruffino ad campaign--La Dolce Vita ("the good life"). The last 20 feet of space will feature ten hired staff, outfitted to bring to the ad campaign to life, pouring Pinot Grigio and Chianti to the masses, complete with Vespas flanking the wall behind them. We also have a 40 square foot space inside one of the two Grand Tasting tents, featuring 11 wines from our portfolio that have scored 90+ points from major wine publications. We have a busy weekend ahead!

But first--we must train our staff! We hired one of Miami - New York City's best and brightest model/catering agencies, Shiraz Events, to staff our event. Ten of Miami's hottest young men and women were on hand to smile, pour and embody the Ruffino brand image with enthusiastic Italian-American flare.

Training the Ruffino staff on proper pouring at the Welcome Center

Of course, it isn't all work and no play. On Thursday night, the eve of 2011 South Beach Wine & Food kick-off, we enjoyed an incredible meal at Scarpetta's at the historic Fountainbleau. After a quick vodka gimlet from the bar, I was ready to sit down for an amazing Italian meal. Sitting next to my twin palate co-worker was prime, as we often share plates to get a nice sampling of dishes. We started off with the Arugula Salad and Creamy Polenta with truffled mushrooms. The salad was a generous heap of subtly bitter greens, accented by sharp, salty pecorino cheese while the polenta lived up to its description--creamy, truffle-y goodness. We paired our starters with a crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. From there, it was truly difficult to navigate the menu. I narrowed my choices down to four, and consulted the server from there. My colleague selected the signature Spaghetti--delicously simple, yet packed with fresh tomato and basil flavor and delectably perfected homemade pasta. I opted for the European Turbot with more mushrooms, hazelnuts and brown butter sauce. The turbot was delicate with a slight oily texture and richness from the nutty brown butter sauce. Aside from the food, the highlight was definitely Gail Simmons of Top Chef Just Desserts stopping by our table to chat with our Vice President!


The next morning (Friday), it was rise-and-shine for an early start at the Welcome Center. The weather was beautiful, maintaining a solid 80 degrees and sunny throughout the weekend. Last year, we poured through 80 cases of wine throughout the weekend, and a huge part of that was the prep station in the "back-of-house" to keep the front line efficient. Opening, chilling and tasting through over 20 cases of Pinot Grigio and Chianti at 8 am is not my ideal morning, but it beats the office, so I put my morning coffee on hold so as not to tarnish my taste buds. Once we were up and running, I had a chance to walk through the Grand Tasting Village and take a look at what was going on inside!

Colorful Cruzan offering tropical rum libations

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas was a hit with its rooftop bar

Catena Zapata's oceanfront tent space

Husband - Wife duo Debbie Mazar & Gabriele Corcos demo for the crowd

Day two of the festival began with another early start and late ending. After the Grand Tasting finished at 5 pm, we changed into our evening attire for "The Best Thing I Ever Ate at the Beach" event back on "The Sand". Nine of our wineries sponsored the event, each paired next to a celebrity chef or food spokesperson. Faces like Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef), Dana Cowin (Food & Wine magazine Editor-in-Chief) and Bethenny Frankel (Skinny Girl fame) graced the crowd, while bulbs flashed and tanned patrons waited in loooong lines for a bite of food and photo op with the celebrity spokespeople.

Day three (Sunday) was met with anticipation and exhaustion. Our staff had rocked the weekend, greeting festival-goers with more "Ciaos!" "Grazies!" and "Bellisimos!" than a true Italian says in one year. With our swollen feet, hoarse throats and purple-stained hands, we had successfully completed yet another year in South Beach. Now enough wine for one week--it's back to The Raleigh for a housemade Mojito!