Miami Spice always takes the pressure off dining out in our city just a little bit. It’s a great opportunity to try a new spot you’ve had your eyes on without paying a month’s rent for a one-time meal experience. Choose the restaurant, pick the prix-fixe menu, and enjoy the rare pleasure of knowing what the food will cost before the check arrives.
But then comes the wine list, and suddenly a predictable night out can feel like another big splurge.
A $50 or $65 dinner can lose its glow quickly if the bottle costs more than the meal, but that does not mean wine should be an afterthought. In fact, the best Miami Spice experiences are often the ones where the beverage program feels as much considered as the menu itself.
(Amara at Paraiso)
Try a new bottle of wine with your Miami Spice meal at Amara!
This Spice season, some Miami restaurants are making that part easier with wine specials, sake flights, dessert wine add-ons, and thoughtful pairings that turn a dining deal into a fuller experience. A smart meal can also include a $10 glass of Provence rosé, a half-priced bottle, a dessert wine that makes the final course extra special, or a sake flight that teaches you something while you eat.
THINKING ABOUT WINE ON A MIAMI SPICE BUDGET
The first rule for drinking well during Miami Spice is to consider what the restaurant is offering alongside its specials. If a restaurant has a curated bottle or glass special, start there. Those selections are usually chosen to work with the menu.
If you are choosing a bottle for the table when everyone is ordering different dishes, Amanda Fraga, beverage director for The Genuine Hospitality Group, advises, “A lighter-style red is usually my go-to, especially one I can serve chilled since it's so hot in Miami! When I'm ordering a bottle for a table where everyone is having something different, I want something light with good acid structure.“
(LPM Miami)
For Miami Spice, LPM Miami Restaurant & Bar will offer Figuière’s Méditerranée wines from Provence for $10 a glass.
MIAMI SPICE WINE SPECIALS FOR AUGUST
At LPM Restaurant & Bar in Brickell, the Miami Spice wine special keeps things coastal and refreshing. The restaurant will offer Figuière’s Méditerranée wines from Provence in white, rosé, and red for $10 a glass. It is a simple offer, but one with a strong sense of place. Figuière is in La Londe-les-Maures between Marseille and Nice, with vineyards just a few hundred meters from the Mediterranean Sea. According to head sommelier Sarkis Arutiunov, the coastal climate and schist soils help define the wines’ freshness and character. As Magali Combard of Figuière puts it, “schist and the sea make our style.”
For diners looking for a true bottle deal, Rose Cafe & Restaurant in Sunny Isles Beach is giving Miami Spice guests another reason to dine and drink midweek. The Italian-Mediterranean restaurant, known for its fresh, seed-oil-free menu by executive chef Gianluca Calisi and owner Alexandra Milton, is offering “Wine Down at Rose,” with 50% off select bottles of wine Monday through Thursday. Featured labels include Villa Sparina, Livio Felluga, and more. The offer is available during lunch on Monday and Tuesday, and during both lunch and dinner on Wednesday and Thursday.
At Amara at Paraiso, the wine list is just as special as the menu. Edgewater’s waterside dining restaurant by James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Schwartz is offering a three-course Miami Spice lunch Monday through Saturday and a three-course daily dinner. During dinner, wine lovers can enhance the evening with a $55 bottle of red or white selected by beverage director Amanda Fraga. The selections will rotate depending on the menu, but one example is The Genuine Hospitality personal blend in collaboration with Au Bon Climat, Château Linus, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Santa Barbara.
(LPM Miami)
Make it a special meal with Miami Spice and wine at LPM in Brickell.
Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink offers a different kind of pairing moment: dessert wine. The Design District pioneer is offering a weekday three-course lunch and dinner daily, with a menu that changes frequently, based on the restaurant’s seasonal and ingredient-driven philosophy. During Miami Spice, diners can add a dessert wine curated by Fraga for an additional $10. That might mean a delectable pour alongside a final course such as chocolate flan with rum bananas and whipped crema.
At Tullio Ristorante Italiano in Coral Gables, the pairing approach becomes more personal. Owner Lucio Zanon describes his philosophy on wine. “For me, wine is about telling a story,” he says. “Each selection is inspired by my vineyard travels through Italy and chosen to complement our chef’s Miami Spice menu, creating an experience that reflects the traditions, flavors, and craftsmanship of the regions we love.”
Tullio’s Italian summer menu is full of dishes that pair well with wines of regional character. Here, it's less about discounting the glass and more about using wine as a passport for an incredible, authentic Italian dining experience.
(Belly Fish)
Pair your favorite Belly Fish Miami Spice dishes with a $15 SOTO Sake Flight.
And then there is Belly Fish in Coral Gables, which expands the pairing conversation in a casual way. The sushi and Nikkei-inspired restaurant is offering a $15 SOTO Sake Flight as an add-on to its daily Miami Spice lunch and dinner menus. The flight includes three 2.5-ounce pours: SOTO Junmai, SOTO Junmai Ginjo, and SOTO Junmai Daiginjo. This is one of the more educational beverage specials of the season, and a great way to expand your palate, especially if you are curious about sake.
Happy Miami Spice Season!
Jacqueline Coleman is a wine and travel writer and 4th-generation Miamian. She is the Vino voice for Biscayne Times, Miami ambassador for Star Wine List, and founder of BYOBMiami.com. You can find out more about her at historyandwine.com.
Jacqueline Coleman