Presented by FOOD & WINE, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is produced by Florida International University and Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida. All proceeds from the festival benefit FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Company. In 2002, the majority of festival activities moved to the South Beach, giving the more than 50,000 attendees walkable access to events.  

Spanning 4 days – February 23-26, 2012, the South Beach Wine Festival is a celebrity chef celebration with appearances by Chefs Anne Burrell, Anthony Bourdain, Duff Goldman, Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri, Masaharu Morimoto, Rachael Ray, and the list goes on.  Among the highlights of the four-day food and wine festival are wine tastings, gourmet dinners, seminars, cooking demonstrations, tributes and the Food Network Awards Show.

Tickets sell out quickly, and prices range from $20 for Sunday’s Florida Blue’s Fun and Fit as a Family to $350 for Friday evening’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach Presents Wine Spectator's Best of the Best Sponsored by Bank of America. A Festival Weekend Pass goes at $1280, and includes Festival Director Lee Schrager’s favorite events.

The majority of the festival venues are centered right on Miami's famous South Beach. White circus tents extend across the beach for blocks for the main event — the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village. The tent entrance is at 13^th Street and Ocean drive and other venues are scattered along South Beach, including events hosted at high end hotels: the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, the Hilton Bentley Beach, the Betsy Hotel, and the Delano.

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicks off with Moet Hennessy’s The Q presented by Allen Brothers and bringing together the nation’s best BBQ chefs creating their signature dishes on grills and smokers. The Q is hosted by Emeril and Fieri.

What: South Beach Wine & Food Festival
Where: Various locations on South Beach (Miami Beach)
When: February 23 – 26, 2012
URL: http://2012.sobefest.com/

Recommended Hotel: The Betsy Hotel South Beach