Sip of Wine and Nibble of Cheese

The Miami Museum of Science hosted Around the World Food and Wine Festival on Saturday, September 24, 2011.

Wine quickly began to flow into small plastic cups, as guests arrived, at 7:30 p.m. The event was scheduled to end at 10 p.m. but most of the food sampling ran out within one hour.

I displayed my entry ticket from my Android, entered the room to the event and remained pleased that I wasn't asked for my I.D. The excitement for a calm evening with a mature audience to speak of philosophy and share our opinions of the wine tastings started to boil up. Who was I going to talk to first? It was only 8:30 and the guests seemed annoyed, fed up and antsy for more food and wine.

Reporter for the FIU Beacon Newspaper, Jill Boucher attended the event and said, “The night had the potential to be a great experience but fell flat. Tasters were not given the chance to converse with the vendors, nor did the vendors have the chance to speak of the wines available, which isn't typical for such an event. The whole event was shoved into a small room in the museum, leaving people standing on top of each other. It seemed like the organizers were severely unprepared as food and wines were running low by 9 pm.”

Although the event wasn't as entertaining as I thought, the DJ played music that everyone could listen to comfortably.

A proper plan was not strategized to execute the event. Sample tables were not designated, which left crowds of guests confused to wander the room. Workers seemed overwhelmed with impatient and rude guests. Empty wine bottles cluttered the room by 9 p.m. In search of one last drop, guests continued to flock to the tasting tables. Overall, the event lacked organization.

Media and publicity was present at the festival, but did not linger after filming. Interviews were cut short by the overwhelming number of guests trying to filter through the room.

Sponsors of top Miami restaurants, Elwoods Gastro Pub, Los Ranchos Steakhouse, LouLou le Petit Bistro and Pardo’s Chicken, offered a small taste from their menu. In order to please the majority, a variety of dishes gave guests freedom to experiment with flavors discovered in the wine.

The main sponsor, Republic National Distributing Company, supplied the wine. Tasters chose from a selection of imported wines from Argentina, France, Italy and Chile. The festival benefited Pillars of Love, a non-profit organization specifically to supply shelter, food and education for orphaned children involved in natural disasters.

I discovered the event while browsing the daily deals through Groupon and Living Social applications on my Android. The Living Social application for iphone and Android were made available for purchase through the Coral Gables/ South Miami city section only two days prior to the event. Application users can keep a credit card on file, which activates the motivation for many impulsive buyers. The promotional offer of 51% savings cut general admission to $39 and VIP to $59 per ticket. Living Social sold 137 tickets. Guests had the option to bring a printed ticket or display the their phone voucher to enter the event.

A sip of wine and nibble of cheese was not helping me forget how much I paid for the entry ticket.