Caterer and Hotelkeeper – 17061

Florida food and wine

The Biltmore Hotel, near Miami, Florida, is hosting an international wine festival and a three-day charity wine event on 11-13 April, to "elevate wine's role, while giving something back to the community". As well as doing its bit for US cuisine - invited chefs include Norman Van Aken of Norman's restaurant in Coral Gables and Sacramento's Biba Caggiano - the hotel's Cellar Club is sponsoring the festival.

Events include a tasting involving more than 50 international wineries, a Champagne and Sparkling Wine Brunch with a silent charity auction, and a Cigars & Cordials drawing room with a cigar roller in attendance, open throughout the weekend. Tel: 00 1 305 445-1926.

Blending potential

Want to be a professional winemaker for a day? The Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire will let you into its cellar through January to March, with a funnel and a test tube so you can blend your own wine. Aimed at both novice and expert, the half-day events include a vineyard tour and an introduction to the art of winemaking. The blending bit is conducted under the watchful eye of the Three Choirs winemaker. For groups of eight to 20 people, it costs £8.95 per person and can be reserved on: 01531 890223.

Small is beautiful

According to the latest trend report from the USA's National Restaurant Association, Americans are drinking more wine and beer in restaurants, and micro-breweries can take a lot of the credit. Its statistics report a 3% rise in local breweries since 1994, after a pretty stagnant consumption of alcoholic beverages by volume in US restaurants in the past 15 years. One important motor behind this development, the report says, is the expansion of locally or "micro-brewed" beers across the USA. Micro-breweries, for the uninitiated, are small installations serving small regions, localities or even single restaurants - the beer is perceived as "fresh, with a good image, as premium beer".

For more information, call the National Restaurant Association in Washington DC on: 00 1 202 331-5900.