Foodie Calendar Hots Up For South Beach Wine And Festival in Florida

If you are a foodie and are taking a holiday in Florida you might like to take in the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

Taking place 23 - 26 February 2012, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival will be celebrating its 11th anniversary. The event has grown to be the hottest and most glamorous event in the gastronomic calendar.

Taking place right on the beach, visitors can join celebrity chefs and personalities for a star-studded jam-packed weekend of tastings, dinners, culinary seminars and parties - the ultimate gourmet beach bash with events to please every palate.

The four-day destination event showcases the talents of the world's most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities and last year attracted over 55,000 visitors. The event draws many A-list guests and the world's most acclaimed chefs and Brits including Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, and Tom Parker Bowles have all attended in previous years. Movie star, Antonia Banderas will be presenting his Spanish winery.

In addition to tastings and demonstrations, highlights will include:

Swine & Wine - for the pork obsessed. More than a dozen chefs and dignitaries will put their best pork forward for a roast of unparalleled proportions at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Live music, exquisite sides and desserts will accent this "swiney" soirée.

Dining in the Dark - the latest dining sensation revolves around not seeing what you're eating. Dining in the Dark with David Burke heightens your sense of smell, touch and taste to determine the cuisine. Guests are led into the dimly lit ballroom of the Gansevoort Hotel and once everyone is seated, the lights go out and don't come back up till the end of this four-course feast.

With the assistance of Southern Wine & Spirits of America Master Sommelier Eric Hemer, Chefs David Burke, Kieran Masek and Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti will work together to challenge the palate and test the senses of what people think they know about food and wine. Burke, known for his northeast eateries Townhouse, Fishtail and Fromagerie, will conclude the evening by turning the lights on, introducing each chef and discussing their dish and wine pairings. If you've never dined in the dark, this is the perfect opportunity to try it in style.

Trucks on the Beach - the festivals official closing party. Miami's top food trucks will be there with Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern celebrating the street food scene under the iconic white tent behind the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Zimmern will help guests navigate the terrain of bizarre and not-so-bizarre truck foods, whimsical wines and classic cocktails as we put to bed the 11th year of the Festival.

Amstel Light Burger Bash - popular event with the world's top chefs competing to prepare the ultimate gourmet burger. Michael Symon's burger with fried salami, provolone, shasha hot sauce and pickled onion claimed the People's Choice award, making the Food Network star and B Spot owner the two-time champ to beat. Who will the People vote for this year? The only way to find out is to attend one of the hottest and most sought after tickets.

Farm to Table Brunch - South Florida's trendsetter Michael Schwartz has wrangled some of the top chefs in the country known for their commitment to sustainable dining - Tim Cushman (o ya restaurant, Boston, MA), Tony Maws (Craigie on Main, Cambridge, MA) and Andrea Reusing (Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC) - for an inspiring brunch at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden.

Tribute Dinner hosted by Anthony Bourdain - the Festival's annual Tribute Dinner at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel honours esteemed chef Charlie Trotter and renowned winemaker Piero Antinori in high style. With Anthony Bourdain, author of No Reservations, serving as the master of ceremonies and a "who's who" of chefs preparing the dinner, including the Loews Miami Beach's own Frederic Delaire, Wylie Dufresne, Michelle Gayer, Emeril Lagasse, Nathan Myhrvold, Patrick O'Connell, and Norman Van Aken, the evening is sure to be nothing short of unforgettable.

For further festival information www.sobefest.com

For further information on Greater Miami www.MiamiandBeaches.com

Save £400 On Jilly Goolden Wine Appreciation Cruise

Learn the art of food and wine pairing, how to taste and choose fine wines and discover the history of wine growing on a 7 night luxury cruise in the company of British wine critic, journalist and television personality Jilly Goolden who will be on board for the duration of the cruise.

Luxury river cruise operator AmaWaterways is offering UK guests a saving of £400pp off a luxury river cruise on board the luxurious AmaDolce, embarking in Vilshofen on 14th November 2011 and cruising to Budapest.

Jilly Goolden, known for her eccentric descriptions of wine that have included pear drops, liquorice and even rubber, presented BBC’s `Food & Drink’ show for 18 years. She went on to write a series of books on wine and food, and to appear in a number of TV shows, including the fifth series of `I’m a Celebrity – Get me out of here’.

Ms. Goolden will be joining guests on AmaWaterways’ picturesque `Romantic Danube’ river cruise past rolling hillsides, vineyards and medieval castles, through Austria’s captivating Wachau Valley with highlights that include visits to Vienna and Budapest. While on board, she will present her knowledge of local wines, accompany guests on a wine-themed shore excursion and mingle freely with passengers during meals and in the ship’s public areas.

All presentations, wine tastings and excursions are complimentary to guests and are included in the 7 night cruise price, starting from £1195 per person, which also includes return UK flights, transfers, all meals, free-flowing wine with dinner, free wi-fi and free use of on-board bicycles.

The cruise is one of a series of wine themed cruises offered by AmaWaterways in October and November 2011, timed to coincide with the harvest. The cruises will showcase Europe’s wine regions on the Rhine, Mosel and Danube, and in addition to Jilly Goolden, will feature hosts such as Anthony Dias Blue, one of the U.S.’s most influential wine, food and lifestyle personalities, and representatives from the Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma, and winemakers from the St. Francis Winery and Vineyards in Santa Rosa and Trinchero Napa Valley.  

Itineraries include complimentary onboard lectures, wine tastings and excursions to historic vineyards and cellars.  Passengers will also enjoy special wine-themed excursions, such as a Medieval Wine Fest in the Mosel town of Zell; a traditional “Heuriger” tasting of new wine in the villages of Grinzing and Neustift on the outskirts of Vienna; a tour and tasting at the historic Bergweiler Winery in Bernkastel; an introduction to Alsatian wines at the “Wunsch et Mann” winery in Wettolsheim and an unforgettable candlelit evening and wine tasting at the Hofkeller, or cellar of the famous Residenz in Wurzburg.  Each of the distinctive wine-themed activities is complimentary and open to all passengers.  

Jilly Goolden will be sailing on board the 148-passenger M/S AmaDolce, which debuted in 2009 and is one of six luxury river cruisers that the award winning AmaWaterways operates on Europe’s waterways, to be joined by a seventh ship, the AmaCerto in 2012. The company also offers cruises on Russia’s waterways and on the Mekong. 

Contact AmaWaterways on freephone 0808 223 5009, www.amawaterways.co.uk