This weekend brings yet another fabulous food and wine event to Tampa Bay — Tampa Theatre's 10th annual Wine Fest. The yearly, movie-themed fundraiser festival filled with food from local independent restaurants and plenty of wines from around the globe is back, bringing three days of food and fun to downtown Tampa's historic and iconic Tampa Theatre. This year's theme is "La Dolce Vino" (a play on the famous Fellini film, La Dolce Vita) and themed dress is encouraged.
Friday's event, on September 23rd, is the wine pairing dinner hosted by Tampa's Mise En Place restaurant, featuring a delectable five course dinner by Chef Marty Blitz and wine pairings by Augustan Wine Imports founder Proal Perry. (Unfortunately, tickets for this event are already sold out, but read on to find out more about the rest of the weekend's festivities.)
Saturday, September 24th, brings the featured tasting of the weekend and a seminar beforehand from 5:30 to 7 p.m., where a select number of guests will be able to partake in an intimate wine education seminar led by Augustan Wine Imports founder Proal Perry before the grand tasting. At the grand tasting, from 8 to 10 p.m., guests will have the chance to sample numerous boutique wines while some of Tampa's best local restaurants will be serving up fare to pair with all of that vino. In addition to the food and drink, guests will have the chance to watch La Dolce Vita during the event, as well as bid on premium silent auction items.
To round off the wine-filled weekend, the Sunday Brunch at the Tampa Theatre, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the 25th, will pair lavish breakfast offerings from local restaurants with mimosas, Fellini Bellinis and a selection of light wines.
