2008 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Attracts Record Crowds, Raises $1.7 Million for Florida Int'l University

2008 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Attracts Record Crowds, Raises $1.7 Million for Florida Int'l University

MIAMI, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- This year's seventh annual Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, February 21-24, 2008, broke all records, attracting close to 40,000 participants and raising $1.7 million for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University. "This was our biggest year yet," said Festival Founder and Director Lee Brian Schrager who also serves as Director of Special Events and Media Relations at Southern Wine & Spirits, which hosts the festival, a one- of-a-kind, extravagant four-day celebration of stellar wine, food and culinary celebrity set against the backdrop of glamorous South Beach.

The 2008 festival was a banner year, drawing dozens of national media to Miami, including Food Network and two major network morning shows. Legendary chefs and culinary personalities such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Mario Batali, Nobu Matsushisa, Giada De Laurentiis, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, Jamie Oliver, Paula Deen, Tyler Florence and Bobby Flay, along with South Florida star chefs Michelle Bernstein and Michael Schwartz, among others entertained guests with cooking demonstrations, extravagant dinners, and one- of-a-kind gourmet food tastings. This year also signified a substantial increase in sponsorship with major new sponsors such as Allen Brothers, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The New York Times and South Beach Diet joining returning sponsors such as Food Network, Food & Wine magazine, American Express, Bank of America, Delta and many others. Since the festival launched in 2001, it has raised an impressive over $7 million for the school.

Signature events, including the Amstel Light Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray, Moet & Chandon BubbleQ (this year hosted by Giada De Laurentiis), Wine Spectator's Best of the Best and the Publix Grand Tasting Village featuring the American Express Grand Tasting, continued to be huge draws. Fun and Fit as a Family, a new two-day mini-fest at Jungle Island addressing the vital topic of childhood obesity and nutrition education and fitness, drew 9,000 children and parents. "We're extremely excited about the reaction to Fun and Fit," commented Schrager. "We plan on bringing it back in 2009 and eventually developing it into a year-round program for South Florida families and visitors."

The wine seminar program at this year's Festival was more impressive than ever with more than 20 seminars held throughout the weekend. Seminars were geared towards novices and aficionados alike with sophisticated vertical tastings of Pomerol wines, Dominus Estate, Opus One and Chateau Lascombes as well as an entertaining Riedel Glass Tasting seminar and wine and food pairings led by master specialists Andrea Robinson, Josh Wesson and Anthony Giglio.

Mark your calendars: dates for the 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival are set for Thursday, February 19 through Sunday, February 22. Programming is in the works, with Emeril Lagasse already selected as the 2009 Tribute Dinner honoree. http://www.sobewineandfoodfest.com/ .

Hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and Florida International University (FIU), the festival benefits the Teaching Restaurant and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center, both located at FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Fun & Fit as a Family receives significant support from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and is funded in part by Health Foundation of South Florida and The Children's Trust, a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine magazine 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 Florida International University visit http://www.fiu.edu/ , for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management visit http://www.hospitality.fiu.edu/ and for more information about Southern Wine & Spirits visit http://www.southernwine.com/ .

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: South Beach Wine & Food Festival

CONTACT: National, Robin Insley of Robin Insley Associates,
+1-212-849-8256, Robin@robininsleyassociates.com; or Florida, Larry Carrino of
Brustman Carrino Public Relations, +1-305-573-0658,
Larry@brustmancarrinopr.com; or FIU Media Contact, Lisa Palley of Florida
Int'l University, +1-305-642-3132, Lpalley@bellsouth.net

Web site: http://www.sobewineandfoodfest.com/
http://www.fiu.edu/
http://www.hospitality.fiu.edu/
http://www.southernwine.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment