Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits to Serve as Exclusive Wine and Spirits Sponsor of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival®

– Beverage Alcohol Distributor Celebrates 21^st Consecutive Year as Sponsor of the Festival, Supporting the Mission to EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. –

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (“Southern Glazer’s”)—the world's pre-eminent distributor of beverage alcohol—today announced that it is celebrating its 21^st consecutive year as the host and exclusive provider of wine and spirits for the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One (SOBEWFF^®), a national, star-studded, four-day destination event, taking place February 24 – 27, 2022. To date, SOBEWFF^® has raised more than $31.8 million for its beneficiary, the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University (FIU). Southern Glazer’s has collaborated with its world-class suppliers to secure more than 300 top wine and spirits brands for more than 90+ SOBEWFF^® events taking place across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

“We’re so grateful to have spent 21 years supporting the next generation of hospitality leaders. As a Festival, it is our goal to serve as a valuable platform that celebrates the diverse hospitality community that we’re proud to be a part of while simultaneously providing the premier event for wine and food lovers around the world,” said Lee Brian Schrager, Senior Vice President of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility for Southern Glazer’s, and Founder and Director of SOBEWFF^®. “The Festival’s impact and success would not have been possible without the generosity of supplier partners, chefs, mixologists, wine makers, event planners, small businesses, volunteers, and sponsors who come together each year.”

Approximately 1,200 FIU students will volunteer to help produce this year’s Festival, where they will participate alongside event management professionals, world-renowned chefs, winemakers, spirits producers, and restaurateurs. Scholarships, funded by proceeds from SOBEWFF^®, are awarded to FIU students annually. The Lee Brian Schrager Excellence in Leadership Awards—created 11 years ago by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits in honor of Mr. Schrager’s leadership and dedication to the Chaplin School—recognize students who commit a tremendous amount of time to volunteering at the Festival each year.

“The unique, hands-on experience that students gain during SOBEWFF^® supports our educational mission to cultivate the future leaders of hospitality,” said Michael Cheng, Dean, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU. “Students are able to volunteer for roles that range from assisting chefs with dish preparations to facilitating guest registration, all opportunities for invaluable, real-world experience.”

SOBEWFF^® proceeds have also funded the development of various instructional facilities at FIU, such as the School’s Wine Spectator Restaurant Management Laboratory, which houses the Badia Spices Food Production Lab and the Brew Science Lab—all of which strengthen the School’s focus on building students’ advanced management skills and its growing research in food, wine, beer, and spirits.

As part of the entry requirements for SOBEWFF^®, all attendees must complete a digital health screening through SymCheck™. This includes attestation of either: a negative COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours prior to the event OR completed vaccination plus presentation of a cleared SymCheck™ QR Code. For full details on the Festival’s Health & Safety Protocols, please visit sobewff.org/health-safety-protocols.

From craft cocktail showdowns to wine seminars and rosé happy hours, SOBEWFF^® offers a host of wine and cocktail-forward events for every palate. For tickets and a full list of events, visit sobewff.org. Follow Southern Glazer’s on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @sgwinespirits to keep up with all things craft cocktail and wine-related at SOBEWFF^®.

About FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management is a Top 10 hospitality school among U.S. Public Universities and ranked 35th in the world. Nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation and around the globe choose FIU for its outstanding reputation, advantageous campus locations in Miami, expert faculty, rich curriculum and real career opportunities in the international hotel, foodservice, beverage management, travel, tourism, revenue management, entertainment, and mega and large-scale event industries. As the leading diverse hospitality program with over 70% women and students from 74 countries represented, Chaplin School graduates more undergraduate black and Hispanic students than any other school. In August 2006, FIU unveiled the first U.S. school of hospitality and tourism in Tianjin, China. The Marriott Tianjin China Program, ranked #1 in China, is FIU's largest international program, with a capacity for up to 1,000 students. For more information about Florida International University's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, visit http://hospitality.fiu.edu.

About Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is the world’s preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol, and proud to be a multi-generational, family-owned company. The Company has operations in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. In 2021, Southern Glazer’s was selected as a U.S. Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, as well as named by Newsweek as a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace. Southern Glazer’s urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @SGWineSpirits.

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