The 16th Annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) is back, Feb. 22-26, 2017, to the delight of gastronomes and wine connoisseurs. With more than 90 events over five days, the fest includes a stellar lineup of powerhouse chefs, cocktail soirées, seminars and demos, plus other tasty events. To celebrate its sweet 16, SOBEWFF is kicking its programming up a few notches with vibrant experiences. Here's what you can expect in 2017.
What’s New
With so many new exciting events to attend, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival promises to be the hottest ticket in town. For 2017, the new shopping destination, Brickell City Centre, joins the festivities as the venue for After Dark. On Feb. 23, they will play host to a walk-around tasting of dishes prepared by Pubbelly Sushi and Tacology, hosted by “Iron Chef” Michael Symon and his wife, Liz.
Friday night (Feb. 24), indulge in Salty, Sweet & Savory Treats: A Late-Night Party at the Shelborne Miami Beach hotel. Bar Lab, The Salty Donut and The Sarsaparilla Club are pairing fried chicken and doughnuts with cool cocktails. For one special evening, the same night, enjoy a dinner hosted by two acclaimed Italian chefs, Massimo Bottura of Italy’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant Osteria Francescana and Giada De Laurentiis at the luxurious Faena Hotel Miami Beach.
Taste Fort Lauderdale Series
The Fort Lauderdale extension of the festival kicks off Feb. 22 with Seaside Eats by Chef Anne Burrell, Food Network host of “Worst Cooks in America,” at the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens featuring 15 lauded Broward chefs.
Feb. 24 at 10 pm, the first-ever after-party of the series, DRINK Fort Lauderdale: Cocktail Time Machine Experience, debuts at FATVillage Arts District.
Catch the new sit-down dinner, North Carolina Sisterhood, hosted by James Beard Award-winning chefs Andrea Reusing and Ashley Christensen and rising star Vivian Howard, Feb. 25 at Burlock Coast in the swanky Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale.
The series wraps up on Feb. 26 with a SOBEWFF classic, Bloody Mary Brunch, with actor/chef David Burtka and Neil Patrick Harris.
Miami Beach Signature Events
Festival fans flock each year to the sands of Miami Beach for the golden opportunity to sip and savor fine wine and gourmet food. This year, the Bacardi Beach Party on Saturday (Feb. 25) becomes the latest addition to the Miami Beach Signature Events lineup. From 9 pm to midnight, join other wine connoisseurs for drinks, bites and live music. During the weekend, don't miss the opportunity to taste your way through the Grand Tasting Village featuring 50 local restaurants representing Miami’s diverse culinary neighborhoods, wines and spirits from Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits and culinary demonstrations.
Other signature events include Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray and Andrew Zimmern’s Lucky Chopsticks: An Asian Night Market.
Getting Around
With over 60,000 descending upon Miami Beach and Greater Miami and Fort Lauderdale to take part in the annual SOBEWFF, there’s bound to be traffic tie-ups all over town. Here are a few tips to make navigating the festival more efficient.
Whether you arrive at Miami International Airport or Fort Lauderdale International Airport, there are a variety of transportation options to get around once on Miami Beach.
Find nine pay-on-foot garages from 23rd Street to South Pointe and more than 30 surface lots along South Beach. Download the city's free Miami Beach App (ParkMe) to check out the closest city parking to your destination with turn-by-turn directions to that facility including real-time occupancy and parking rates.
There's also solar-powered bike rentals with Citi Bike available to use 24 hours a day and ride sharing services: Uber and Lyft.
In Miami, the SOBEWFF will provide Goya Foods' Grand Tasting Village ticket holders free park-and-rides from Downtown Miami. Details will be released closer to the festival date, visit the website for more information.