Southern Wine & Spirits announced today that Tampa Bay's premier wine and food event, The Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival, will be held May 14 – 15 for the fourth year on the powder-white sand at the Don Cesar Beach Resort on beautiful St. Pete Beach. The weekend will be comprised of several events including the VIP pre-event party, grand tasting and young professionals' party to name a few. Tickets to the Festival will be available for purchase mid-February. More details will be announced as the date draws nearer.

The Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival is known not only for the amazing vintners and chefs it brings together. It is also known for its themes. Last year, the event “went green” and back to our biblical roots with an environmentally-friendly, Garden of Eden theme complete with Adam, Eve and a serpent to tempt event-goers.

“It's always a challenge to out-do ourselves each year, but we welcome that challenge and have some wonderful ideas that will blow everyone away again this year. Festival goers should just be prepared to be delighted, intrigued and enticed, and to enjoy all the wondrous things the Festival has to offer,” says Tonya Valdez, director of the Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival.

And, what does the Festival have to offer? Valdez says, “a fun-filled, palate-pleasing, two-day weekend destination event that showcases the talents of renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities to educate, entice, enlighten and entertain festival goers.”

This year, the Festival changes it tack to support to Heartbeat International and its global mission to provide heart health services and treatments to the needy, as well as a very dear cause to Southern Wine & Spirits, the culinary arts, through the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association's scholarship program.

“We are proud to be supporting Heartbeat International. From a health standpoint, I can't think of a better Tampa Bay-based non-profit to support than one that treats and seeks cures for heart ailments. We are also thrilled to announce that portions of the proceeds from the Festival will go to support scholarships for culinary arts students through the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. We'd love to someday see a chef we've helped make an appearance at the Festival. Nothing would please me more,” says Valdez.

For more information, please visit www.unleashyourpalate.com.