Attending grand events like the South Beach Wine and Food Festival require some thought and planning before you hit the road. The fact that there are so many off-location seminars, tastings and cooking demonstrations make it very necessary for you to gather all the literature and carefully plot your course of action before you get on site. Try to stay as close to the event as is possible because the daytime activities and night-time activities almost merge sometimes.

Most nights there is a choice of between two and to four major activities for patrons, mind you, you needed to have bought tickets for these events weeks in advance.

Evenings at the SoBe is when fun and sophistication are taken to the next level, and Friday night was no exception with the Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ, hosted by chef and culinary personality Tom Colicchio & Friends and the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hosted Wine Spectator’s “Best of the Best” sponsored by Bank of America, which I attended. The fabulous hotel recently reopened after being closed for a US$1-billion refurbishing and trust me it did not disappoint.

This famed hotel where James Bond and Goldfinger sat by the pool for an intense game of gin rummy was also the site for other noted films like The Bellboy, The Bodyguard, and Scarface. In the 1950s and 60s the ‘bleau was the celebrity hotspot in Miami hosting the likes of Elvis, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, and the celebrated Rat Pack.

The Best Chefs

The concept of the ‘Best of the Best’ is simple. The best chefs from America’s best restaurants paired up with some of the best wines in the world all in one room. Cutting- edge cuisine was prepared and presented by the country’s top chefs including Andrea Curto-Randazzo & Frank Randazzo (Talula, Miami Beach, FL), Daniel Eardley (Chestnut, Brooklyn, NY), Angelo Elia (Casa D’Angelo, Fort Lauderdale, FL), Marco Ferraro (Wish, South Beach, FL), Tyler Florence (Empire Plush Room, San Francisco, CA), Clark Frasier & Mark Gaier (Arrow’s Restaurant, Ogunquit, ME), Neal Fraser (Grace Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA), Cindy Hutson (Ortanique on the Mile, Coral Gables, FL), Sean Mohammed (Tuscan Steak, South Beach, FL), Rick Moonen (Rick Moonen’s rm seafood, Las Vegas, NV), Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto, New York, NY), Michel Nischan (Dressing Room, Westport, CT), Sean O’Connell (Vida, Fontainebleau Miami Beach, FL), François Payard (Payard Bistro, New York, NY), Allen Susser (Chef Allen’s, Aventura, FL), Michael Symon (Lola, Cleveland, OH), Rick Tramonto (Tru, Vernon Hills, IL), Jonathan Waxman (barbuto, New York, NY), Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s Restaurants, Honolulu, HI). One of my favourite dishes was the Blue Mountain Coffee & Cocoa Mesquite Encrusted Pork Tenderloin with Vintage Chedder Polenta by Cindy Hutson, Ortanique on the Mile.

World-Class Wines

All the wines poured for this special night are wines that are rated by Wine Spectator at 90 points and more. The 100-point scoring system developed by famed wine critic Robert M Parker, Jr was adopted by Wine Spectator Magazine and is broken down as follows: 95-100 classic: a great wine; 90-94 outstanding: a wine of superior character and style; 85-89 very good: a wine with special qualities; 80-84 good: a solid, well-made wine; 75-79 mediocre: a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws; 50-74 Not recommended.

As you might imagine, there is a fair amount of controversy around this and all scoring systems in general. So classic outstanding wines were being poured by Argyle Winery, Au Bon Climat, Beaulieu Vineyard, Bertani, Campo Viejo, Castello di Fonterutoli, Champagne Gosset, Champagne Mumm, Champagne Nicolas Feuillate, Champagne Perrier-Jouët, Charles Krug Winery, Château Coufran, Château de la Gardine, Château D’Esclans, Château Lascombes, Col Solare, Diamond Creek Vineyards, Far Niente, Felsina, Flora Springs Winery & Vineyard, Freixenet, Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards, Grgich Hills, Grupo Pesquera, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Louis Latour, Marques de Riscal, Nickel & Nickel, Paul Jaboulet Aine, Provenance Vineyards, Red Car, Rubicon Estate, Rudd Winery, Schrader Cellars, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Torres, Vine Cliff Winery and Wagner Family Wines.

While all the wines were fantastic, some of my favourites were The Red Car Syrahs, The 2004 Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir, Alenza Gran Reserva 2001 Ribera del Duero, 2004 and 2005 Château Lascombes and I cannot forget Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon and Joseph Phelps Insignia that had me coming back for more. Did I mention the David Yurman Lounge inside the ballroom? In my opinion, at US$350 this is one of the best values at the festival considering that a lot of these wines are over US$100 per bottle.

Grand Tasting Village

On Saturday we decided to focus on the grand tasting village and wine-tasting tent. The crowds were unreal and you had to make a lot of rapid choices related to which of the lifestyle seminars hosted by one of Food Network’s personalities you would sit in versus going to view a cooking demonstration by the likes of Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray or The Neelys. More food and more wine was the order of the day.

With nearly a mile long of tents and more tents, you need to be well prepared with very comfortable shoes and a lot of time on your hands.

Cheers! Now go forth and try a few new wines. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com . DeVine Wine Services is operated by Chris and Kerri-Anne Reckord and its mission is to improve wine appreciation through wine education and events. Both are members of the Society of Wine Educators and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.