Southern Wine & Spirits of America and the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Join America’s Efforts to Help Haiti

A Portion of Event Proceeds to Go to The Clinton Foundation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund and Partners in Health

MIAMI BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an effort to assist in the ongoing relief efforts for Haiti, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. and the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine are pleased to announce that the Festival will donate 100% of the gross advance ticket sales from the South Beach Diet presents Fun and Fit as a Family event to the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

The Festival and Southern Wine & Spirits of America have also created an additional dinner event to benefit Haiti, which will take place on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010. World renowned chef Daniel Boulud and Food Network’s Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto will join South Florida favorite Kris Wessel (Red Light Little River, Miami) at Tap Tap on Miami Beach to create a one-of-a-kind menu for a limited number of guests. Already sold out, proceeds from this dinner will benefit Partners in Health.

“Social responsibility plays an integral role at Southern Wine & Spirits of America and at the Festival itself. We are lucky to have grown so much in the community and feel like we have a responsibility to give back by educating families on healthy lifestyles. With that said, we also have a duty to help our neighboring country, Haiti and the victims of the earthquake,” said Lee Schrager, Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. and Founder and Director of the Festival.

Taking Place February 27th and February 28th at Jungle Island, South Beach Diet Presents Fun and Fit as a Family featuring Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen brings together some of the biggest celebrities in the culinary world - Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, and Rocco DiSpirito to name a few – to educate children and parents how to live healthier lifestyles. In addition to donating the proceeds from advance ticket sales, there will also be a donation center at the event where families can bring canned goods and clothes to donate to Haiti.

Advance tickets for South Beach Diet presents Fun and Fit as a Family are $20 and can be purchased at www.funandfitasafamily.com. Advance ticket sales end at 3pm on Friday, February 26th, 2010. Ticket prices at the door will be at Jungle Island’s standard general admission prices, available at www.jungleisland.com.

About the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival

All proceeds from the Festival (excluding Fun and Fit as a Family) benefit the Florida International University (FIU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center located on the Biscayne Bay campus. FIU students also assist festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world’s greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers.

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine is produced by Florida International University and Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit www.sobewineandfoodfest.com or call 877-762-3933. For more information about Florida International University visit www.fiu.edu, for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management visit www.hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Wine & Spirits visit www.southernwine.com.