The SoBeWFF Experience
We had a blast at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (@SoBeWFF)
For foodies and winos, and fun lovers – this is an experience worth taking on – we’ve been to similar events in Nashville and Charleston (places also known for all our favorite indulgences) – this one was a jam-packed week of opportunities on top of it being a big milestone 25 years celebration. Sharing here the things we did and adding what we’d do different if we decide to go again.
We planned it all out and took advantage of RichPairings CapitalOne VentureX card status to secure our tickets in advance – most excellent idea for getting deals and reservations before general sales! Bad on us for not realizing you need to pony up for the CapitalOne Early Access tickets in order to get in the advance entry lines…..sadly found out day one of a big long line event…..we were in the wrong line and not nearly as smart and special as we thought we were – good learning!
We flew into Miami two days prior to take in some local touring and restaurants which we’d definitely recommend – we stayed at the Hotel Victor in the heart of the South Beach area and directly across from the Grand Tasting tents so we would be able to walk to everything. Not as great an idea as we’d hoped. We still had to walk further than expected to the gates and would have preferred one of the larger hotels closer to the main attractions. When determining events/tickets – study the locations! We ended up having to take Ubers more than planned, but for the most part was not an issue to get one and happy not to be driving/parking anywhere in Miami / South Beach!
What we loved most:
Whispering Angel @Versace Mansion, celebrity chef dinners (one with Mark Vetri & Sergio Segal @Cecconi's Miami and one with Stephanie Izard & Jonathon Sawyer @theshebourne Pauline), Wine Spectator Master Class on Barolo and Barbaresco from Pio Cesare, and the Grand Tasting time sampling and sitting in on some amazing Chef demos.
What we would do different:
Hotel choice/location, late night tickets to anything (we were too exhausted to go all day and night – leave the late night parties to the younger crowds – also felt like a local’s annual beach party - nothing wrong with that - just not our vibe), and add more special events with smaller groups.
Bonus restaurants/sightseeing recommendations:
Our two favorite restaurants, that were not part of the festival, but well worth adding to the itinerary were Macchialina Italian Restaurant and LT Steak & Seafood at The Betsy Hotel.
If you have some extra time, highly recommend exploring Miami’s Little Havana area …
… and touring the beautiful Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
For more pics and descriptions, click on all the above links to see the full posts. If you have any difficulties or specific questions, reach out via email. Happy to share our info and impressions.
Biggest questions we got - will you go again? Make this an annual event?? That is TBD for us but if you’ve never been you should definitely go once!!