For the first time, Wine Enthusiast Companies—the lifestyle organization that publishes Wine Enthusiast magazine—brought its Toast of the Town event series to Miami to let locals sample 500 select wines from around the globe. Previous tastings took place in such cities as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, with national sponsorships from brands like The Wall Street Journal, Saratoga Spring Water, and Spiegelau Glassware. In Miami, the event, held September 23 at the Moore Building, drew 800 attendees, and Eggwhites Special Event Catering handled design and some aspects of production.
"As this was our first year in Miami ... things went very smoothly," said Jacqueline Strum, manager of communications for Wine Enthusiast Companies. "The historic Moore Building was a fabulous venue and extremely easy to set up. The flow of traffic was ideal and the setup went quickly and with little to no issues whatsoever."
Guests with V.I.P. tickets were admitted early and had the opportunity to taste some reserve wines. The three-hour grand tasting followed, with 48 tables from different wineries and live music from local jazz band Augie Haas Quartet. The organizers intentionally placed wine near food that matched it to ensure proper pairings.
"The Wine Enthusiast magazine tasting panel takes extra care and effort, using their expertise to pair each dish with complementary wines at adjacent tables," said Strum.
Almost 30 area restaurants provided the edibles, including scallops wrapped in bigeye tuna and topped with minced crabmeat and massago from Saia Sushi and short rib sliders with kimchi Japanese mayonnaise from Steak 954. For dessert, Misha's Cupcakes offered a wide assortment of cupcakes with flavors that included guava cream cheese, banana cream pudding, and cookie dough.
