SOBEWFF honors Danny Meyer and Chuck Wagner

Danny Meyer and Chuck Wagner were honored at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s February 22 tribute dinner at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The evening brought restaurant hospitality and winemaking together, with Jonathan Tisch serving as master of ceremonies.

Meyer’s association with Union Square Hospitality Group gave the occasion a focus extending beyond any individual dish. Restaurants are also systems of service, atmosphere and expectations, and recognizing a restaurateur makes those less visible parts of the experience worth discussing. Wagner’s role at Caymus Vineyards supplied the wine counterpart.

The tribute occupied a different register from the festival’s larger public tastings. It offered a formal occasion to consider how reputations are built over years of work. For Miami Beach, hosting that conversation reinforces the city’s position as a gathering place for the hospitality industry, while the surrounding festival keeps the discussion open to a much wider audience of food enthusiasts.