South Beach Wine & Food Festival

There comes a point in the timeline of drinking where you grow past the tequila shots, the vodka sodas, and the warm Natural Light beer. When you hit 21 years of age, the legal consumption of alcohol becomes a wild ride and there’s not much you wouldn’t drink. These early college years become a blur of Smirnoff and cheap beer. Eventually – you grow out of that stage and learn to respect and have a preference to what you drink. I asked a room full of college students what the classiest alcoholic beverage is to drink, and nine of ten people said wine.

It’s relaxing after a long day at work, it’s a casual drink when catching up with girlfriends, and most of all it can be a huge conversation starter. The older you get, the more appreciative you become of a good wine. You also become appreciative of what it goes well with. After hearing about the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, I took a personal interest in trying to learn more about wine before exploring it. Naturally, I called my mom to discuss this with. She once bought me a book called “Wine for Dummies,” so I could learn what kind of red goes best with steak, and what kind of white is good at a casual get together. She did give me a few good pointers though!

Many people take up a huge interest in wine and food, which is why wine tastings have become so popular. But if you really want to immerse yourself in the real culture of food and wine, you MUST attend the next South Beach Wine & Food Festival.

Hundreds of people flocked to South Beach this weekend to experience The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. It is a four-day festival that showcases the talents of renowned wine and spirits producers as well as chefs and culinary personalities.

Wine enthusiast Kelsey Robins attended this past weekend with her parents Kevin and Linda Robins and roommate Kristin Schultz.

“My parents came to the festival to celebrate their 30^th wedding anniversary,” said Kelsey. “We went to a walk-around tasting and went to one of the late-night food tastings over the weekend.”

Kelsey said her parents had a blast attending the festival, and that the atmosphere was perfect. “It was an amazing weekend and a perfect environment to celebrate with them!” she said.

Her roommate Kristin also had a great time experiencing the festival. “I personally loved the desserts, I’m a huge chocolate fan,” she said. “It was also really cool to taste different kinds of wines and learn about all about it.”

After a long weekend of intimate dinners, late-night parties, walk-around tastings and wine seminars, it seems the tourists and townies alike had a fabulous weekend. I know I’m personally preparing for round two when it comes back to South Beach next year. Who says being called a “wine-o” or a “white wine zombie mom” is a bad thing? These wine and food junkies certainly don’t think so!