Carnival Sponsors Miami Wine & Food Festival!

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I received this press release from Carnival and thought it would be of
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LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
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New Year, New Home, New Name: The Miami Wine & Food Festival Comes To
The InterContinental Miami Hotel

Carnival Cruise Lines is one of the primary sponsors of the Miami Wine
& Food Festival (formerly known as The Biltmore Great South Florida
Wine Festival), which consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top 10
wine events.

Now in its ninth year, the festival boasts some of the nation’s top
chefs, most prestigious wineries and winemakers, as well as the most
impressive auction lots of any South Florida wine event. Now, having
expanded in size and scope, the two-day festival (Friday, April 30 and
Saturday, May 1) has moved from The Biltmore Hotel, its home of
several years, to the InterContinental Miami hotel. “The move marks
the event’s continued evolution,” said executive director Lyn Farmer,
a James Beard Award-winning wine and food writer. “We’re very excited
about our new home and look forward to a record-breaking year.”

“Carnival is proud to sponsor the Miami Wine & Food Festival, which in
its relatively short history has become one of the most popular
culinary events in South Florida,” said Bob Dickinson, Carnival Cruise
Lines president and CEO, who also serves as the event’s co-chair.
“The Miami Wine & Food Festival provides participants a unique
opportunity to sample offerings from the nation’s top chefs and
wineries while raising money for two worthwhile community service
organizations,” he added.

Benefiting United Way of Miami-Dade and Baptist Health South Florida
Foundation, last year’s festival raised more than $1.3 million with
$800,000 going to the charities – making it the highest netting
charity wine event in South Florida. Boasting a lineup of celebrity
and emerging chefs, this year’s festival will feature an array of
culinary and wine events including wine tastings, seminars, live and
silent auctions offering glamorous travel packages as well as the
highest quality wine lots found at any South Florida wine festival.

The event kicks off on Friday, April 30 with a special interactive
dinner for 500 priced at $250 per person. Seated at kitchen stations
and aided by students from Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute, guests
will chop, sauté and cook along with three of the nation’s hottest
culinary talents. Chef instructors include chefs Didier Virot (Aix in
New York City), Douglas Rodriguez (OLA New York and OLA Miami), and
Michelle Bernstein (Azul at the Mandarin Oriental Miami). This dinner
gives foodies and gourmets a great opportunity to see three top toques
in action, sharing their techniques and demonstrating the skills that
have made their reputations. The meal will be accompanied by an
exclusive wine tasting featuring more than 40 selections from some of
the world’s most exclusive properties, including Arcadia, La Spinetta,
Silverado, Caymus, Selene, Dalle Valle, Penfolds, Vine Cliff and
Zind-Humbrecht. The evening will also feature a small live and silent
auction. Master sommeliers and wine professionals will be on hand to
give guests insight into the art of pairing wine and food.

Saturday night marks the event’s capstone with a formal four-course
dinner for 600 in the InterContinental’s classically appointed
ballroom. Priced at $500 per person, $5,000 per table of ten, the
glamorous event will feature three star chefs, each preparing an
individual course, excluding dessert, which will be prepared by the
InterContinental’s chef, Alexander Feher.

Celebrity chefs slated to participate include David Bouley of the
celebrated Bouley in New York, Tim Andriola, owner/chef of Timô, the
hot new bistro in Sunny Isles, Florida and Willis Loughhead, the
celebrated talent at the helm of Bizcaya Grill at The Ritz-Carlton,
Coconut Grove. A third, nationally renowned chef will round out the
Saturday night team. Presiding over the dinner will be Fritz Hatton
and Ursula Hermacinski, two of the US’s premier wine auctioneers.
They will serve as auctioneers during the evening’s live auction,
offering lots of rare, hard to find wines and exotic travel packages.

In addition to Carnival Cruise Lines, sponsors for this year’s event
include Champagne Laurent-Perrier, Burdines and its vendors (Anolon,
Circulon, Cuisinart, Henckels, Hotel Collection and Tools of the
Trade), Nestle, OleoMed, Parkwest Galleries, Publix Super Markets,
Inc., Sue and Doug Gallagher, and The Wine News.

Tickets for all events must be purchased in advance and may be ordered
online at www.miamiwinefestival.com or via telephone: (786) 596-WINE.