The wines from the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja were again the protagonists of the American culinary scene. More than six thousand glasses of Rioja wine were poured at the 17th South Beach Wine & Food festival. One of the most anticipated annual events for wine and food lovers in Miami, it is organised by two of the leading television networks in the United States: Food Network and Cooking Channel.
Katie Button, José Garcés and Norman Van Aken were the chefs at the helm of one of the festival’s most exclusive dinners, an evening at the Three in Wynwood serving more than one hundred people. A carefully thought out selection of dishes allowed the flavours of our cuisine to be enhanced through pairings with a sampling of Riojas.
Michael Symon, one of the most famous chefs on American media and author of numerous cookbooks, was in charge of closing the weekend’s activities by organising his traditional barbecue, a spectacular show for grill and wine lovers he hosted for more than three thousand people.
The funds raised are to the benefit of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, the renowned Florida International University training centre.
The purpose of the action, which is part of the ambitious promotion plan carried out by the Control Board of the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja in the United States, is to show the thousands of young people who attend the festival the diversity and quality of the wines from Rioja. The United States has become a priority market for the Wine Region; sales grew by almost 6% in 2017 and it currently ranks third among Rioja importing countries (accounting for almost 10% of total exports) behind the UK and Germany.
