Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival celebrates 10th Anniversary
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Thomas Columbus from FF Coppola pouring at the Trade Tasting |
The Friday trade tasting definitely had a more professional feel compared to the “free for all” of some past years. Attendees and wineries alike seemed to consider it worthwhile. Jeannie Matamoros, Bar Manager at Billy’s Stone Crab in Hollywood, Florida, was there for the third year in a row. “I was so impressed with the assortment I tasted here last year that I now have nine of those wines on my wine list, “she said. Roger Roessler, partner in Roessler Cellars and R2 wine Co. in Sonoma, California, has been participating at SOBE since 2004. “This event offers a lot of opportunities for networking. I was looking to change New York distributors and this event helped to forge a relationship with someone new that I’m very happy with. A lot of time and expense was saved meeting here instead of me having to go to New York searching.”
Jeannie Matamoros, Tanya Batts, and Lauren Ricks waitng for the Groupon photo booth
New to SOBE this year was Groupon, whose sponsorship included naming rights on all the port- a- johns for the event and a photo booth at the trade tasting. “Restaurants are our bread and butter,” Groupon’s Event Manager, Noelle Provencial said. “This was a great way for us to get multiple exposure: consumer, restaurants, and business to business with other hospitality companies.” The photo booth, offering free photos including props was quite an attraction, at times having over 60 people waiting in line. “This was our way of competing with the wineries and restaurants. Attendees got a fun memento to take home that has our logo on it.” The port- a- johns also had their logo along with witty comments. “Everyone saw them. We got a lot of positive feedback. But perhaps one of the biggest benefits for us was to be in front of some of the higher end restaurants and chefs such as Rick Bayless that were participating in the event.”
This year’s Wine Spectator series could have been referred to as “the year of vertical tasting” with high quality wineries and presenters at all of the seminars. Krug, Phelps, Louis Latour, Antinori, Penfold, Roccato, Grgich Hills, and others presented vertical seminars with vintages going back as far as 1985. “This venue is definitely becoming a more serious wine drinker’s event,” stated Eric Hemer, Director of Wine education for Southern Wine and Spirits in Florida. “ We feel we are moving in the right direction. They were very well received with many selling out much faster than anticipated.”
Two of these well established wineries talked about what it takes to maintain world class wine status.
Bill Phelps, President of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, attributes their continued success to a mixture of things. “Not only do we have the benefit of longevity and tenure (Director of winemaking, Damian Parker, has been there for over 30 years), but we are fortunate to have amazing people who love working here. The most important thing
Bruce Sanderson of Wine Spectator and Bill Phelps from Joseph Phelps Vineyards prior to the Phelps Vertical Seminar
we can do to bring in and sustain customers is to make sure that the visitors to the winery have a very upbeat and memorable experience. We look for people to work here who will connect with people of all ages including the '20 somethings'. People who come to the winery not only remember the incredible view but the hospitality they are shown there.”
Technology has played a big part in keeping customers. The winery recently upgraded their web site to make it more user friendly and developed a very specific data base that is geared toward each customer’s specific tastes. “We also monitor very closely what is said about us on sites such as Yelp and react immediately. Short videos shown at the winery on the specific wines are becoming a strong linking tool for us as well as the various seminars we offer such as blending your own wine and discovering wine through aromas.”
Penfolds believes the way to sustain itself in today’s wine market is
to focus on the higher end of their portfolio. “Grange is bullet proof,” said Matt Lane, Penfolds Global Ambassador, “but there is a positive trickledown effect to our other wines. We’ve also become smarter with making our global footprint. For instance, Southeast Asia is a very strong market for us but we are supporting it by coming out with a new wine to be sold exclusively there called Bin 8.” Staying with the higher- end philosophy Lane stated they will soon be releasing a single vineyard Bin 150 Shiraz that will retail for around a hundred dollars.
Festival Founder Lee Brian Shrager believes the event will only continue to thrive. “South Beach Wine & Food Festival has managed to ride the wave of the rise of the celebrity chef and pop food culture, along with people's craving for all things new in the wine and spirits category. I'm confident that the festival will continue to grow and remain important as long as we continue to keep the program fresh, introduce new talent and showcase the newest wine and spirits."
The majority of all the festival activities are now located within walking distance of the beach, giving attendees easy accessibility. All proceeds from the festival benefit the students of Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.