15th Annual Wine & Culinary Celebration

This is a large annual affair that is always well attended and raises a lot of money for the Museum of Science & Discovery.  Great food from top local restaurants, great wine, all donated to a worthy cause: a win-win situation, right?  Well, sort of.   We were a bit reluctant, simply based on the $85 price tag for general admission (VIP tickets were $150 each, so we didn’t feel all that bad) and the torrential rains that literally flooded our area that evening.

We decided to brave the elements and go.  Rain be damned.  If it’s for a good cause, it’s worth a soaking.  Soaking is the operative word, as I’ll explain.  The doors opened at 7:30 p.m. for general admission ticket buyers.  However, for VIP ticket holders, the doors opened at 6 p.m.  I don’t begrudge these VIP’s for getting early access to the event.  That seems fair given the $150 per ticket price tag.  No, my beef is with the event planners that didn’t take into account the fact that people who enjoy wine and like to eat out will go out of their way to make sure they receive their money’s worth.  By that I mean if you were given a full hour and a half to indulge in all the food and wine you can handle before all the teeming masses had a chance to do so, wouldn’t you fill your plate and keep the juice flowing during that 90 minutes?  Hell, I’d probably do the same.

But we were part of the teeming mass of humanity who had to wait to lick the crumbs from the VIP tables and hope to swig on the backwash of all those near empty bottles.  And if we’re paying $85 a ticket to enjoy a sumptuous sampling of food from some of South Florida’s finest eating establishments, plus wine—well, we want in on this little feast.  The Museum of Discovery & Science is a fun and interactive multi-storied place designed for kids and adults alike—but probably one of the worse places for buzzed folk to try out the various interactive science exhibits.  That aside, everyone inside the venue enjoyed the food and wine and were taking it all in.  

The food samples were tasty, and plentiful.  The wine—what very little of it that was left after the VIP access—seemed to be an eclectic mix of reds and whites from around the world.    Out of the numerous tables of wines that had been there were only four or five that still had wine, and they ran out within 30 minutes of us arriving.  There was one table serving wine in particular that irked us both. We walked up to the table to try a Malbec, but the “pleasant” gentleman serving it ignored everyone until his fellow associate motioned for him to pay attention and serve the guests.   We were not happy.   This tended to be the mood of  many of the vendors  by the time we were meandering through the tables.  What had started as a less than memorable affair was quickly deteriorating into a full-blown disappointment.  

Wandering through the scores of people we sadly noticed all of the abandoned wine tables.  Bottles of delightful Cabernets, Merlots, Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios, were now lifeless hulks strewn about with appetizer plates, plastic ware and cups—nary a drop remaining in any one of them.   Many food vendors were also packing up at this point and we missed out on trying several of the offerings.  Luckily we found a young Latin woman serving up a Puerto Rican apertif called Tres Leches.  Ay caramba, it’s muy delicioso!  How best to describe Tres Leches the liqueur?  Think of a McDonald’s vanilla milkshake…but with a kick to your Ray Kroc.  And best of all, this young woman was offering frequent pours from her stock of bottles. 

After almost an hour and a half, we decided enough was enough.  In one way we felt good donating to a good cause, but in another way we felt like it was a bitter disappointment having missed out on many of the offerings (i.e. wine).  Yes, we plebes never stood a chance against those VIP’s (very inebriated people).  As much as we enjoy food and wine shindigs, the Wanderlushes will not make a return appearance at this annual event.

Highlights of the Event:
Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc
Tres Leches Liqueur
Goulash from The Ambry
Lamb Chop from Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar
Meatballs from Solita
Cupcakes from Hey Cupcake
Bruschetta with Tenderloin & Tuna “Cone” from the Coral Ridge Yacht Club
Crab Cakes from Truluck’s