Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority Takes Travelers Beyond the Beach This Season with Experiential App Featuring Locally-Curated Itineraries

The Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA) is giving travelers and beach-goers the tools they need to effortlessly go beyond the beach and make future plans through immersive technology. The new EXP Miami Beach Tours App, now available on Apple and Google, EXP Miami Beach Tours (EXPMiamiBeach.Tours), serves as an extension of the Experience Miami Beach App, a guide for sunseekers that delivers insider takes on the best ways to experience Miami Beach.   EXP Miami Beach Tours App users can choose from a selection of curated itineraries including video and visual highlights and pins that allow travelers to self-guide their own day, weekend or week on Miami Beach. 

“While our shoreline is world-famous, Miami Beach is home to a variety of experiences, landmarks and installations that represent the history of our city and its global influence. The EXP Miami Beach Tours App takes our visitors on a journey beyond the beach to discover the diversity of our destination,” says Peggy Benua, Chairwoman, Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority. “Our team has worked with local experts to craft itineraries that cater to varying travel styles and interests.  This offering allows visitors to start planning their future visits with ease.”  

The EXP Miami Beach Tours App collectively showcases city expert picks and walks users through Miami Beach’s iconic landmarks and activities including the Art Deco District, a public art collection, Michelin- recognized and awarded restaurants, LGBTQ+ landmarks, historic architecture and design and more.  As an entity dedicated to equipping visitors with new resources and tools to make summer travel plans, the EXP Miami Beach Tours App is a strategic enhancement to the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority’s collection of offerings leveraging user-friendly technology to make planning even easier for future visitors. Travelers can identify the sites and experiences they prefer before they even arrive, leaving more time for them to enjoy the many offerings of Miami Beach. In addition to the EXP Miami Beach Tours App, a new video series highlighting a variety of ways to go beyond the beach will be released weekly on the Experience Miami Beach Instagram handle, featuring the city’s rooftops, restaurants, pools, art installations and hidden gems. 

Those ready to become a Miami Beach insider this summer can download the EXP Miami Beach Tours App and now, sign up for a dedicated newsletter featuring events and special offers at destination hotels and restaurants at https://www.miamibeachvca.com/ and follow the @experiencemiamibeach handles on Instagram and Facebook.

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For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area. 

This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.

Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https://communitynewspapers.com.

If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com or Grant@communitynewspapers.com

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Say Miami, and most people will think of pool parties, salsa dancing and supercars. They wouldn’t be wrong. Anyone who has walked along lively Ocean Drive in South Beach or danced the night away in one of Calle Ocho’s Cuban bars will agree that this city has energy. It has not, however, always been famed for its wine offerings. Yet today, an eclectic mix of independent retailers is determined to change that.

The very best of these translate the city’s unique energy into their wine offerings and atmosphere – through modern luxury, shop floors that turn into dance floors, and much more. With this in mind, we’ve rounded up the eight best places to shop for wine in Miami. They each offer exciting selections and a little Miami fun.

Downtown Miami

Maison Mura (Downtown)

French duo Matthieu Yamoum and Philippe Vasilescu opened Maison Mura in December 2022. Its small driveway is almost always occupied by a different brightly coloured supercar. The store quickly became a magnet for celebrities and the city’s most enthusiastic collectors who visit to pop open fine and rare wines.

Maison Mura has a healthy supply of global icons, but its range is particularly strong in Burgundy and Champagne – Yamoum is from Reims. The selection includes both established household names and emerging young growers, and its knowledgeable team is always on hand to guide you through the shelves.

It has also become a favourite stop for visiting producers. Some weeks, it hosts events on several nights, ranging from informal drop-in tastings to wine dinners in its private board room. It also has a broad selection of luxury spirits.

South of Downtown

Vinoteca (Coconut Grove)

Coconut Grove local Alex McDonnell studied viticulture and enology in Italy. She was so inspired by the country’s wine bars and shops that she decided to open an Italian-style wine boutique back in Miami. Vinoteca, which she runs with her mother, Sandra, is the newest (and most Instagrammable) addition to Miami’s independent wine retail scene.

It has already gained a reputation as a great place to source wine from small producers around the world and often runs tutored in-store tastings led by visiting winemakers or local experts. Although it has an Italian focus, its shelves also house bottles from more unusual origins: Bosnia, Macedonia, and Armenia, to name a few.

Allocation Room (Coconut Grove)

The retail arm of Michelin-star Ariete gives shoppers access to a selection from the same wine director. Adrian Lopez describes his offering as ‘a little bit of everything’, but he’s particularly fond of thin-skinned reds. This is reflected in his range of Pinot Noir and Grenache from small producers around the world. He also offers several Sakes. Shoppers are welcome to enjoy bottles at its modern bar with no extra fee.

Vinya Wine & Market (Key Biscayne)

Vinya Wine & Market, or ‘Wine Island’, as sommelier and partner Allegra Angelo prefers to call it, opened its doors in May 2020. It serves the local community on Key Biscayne – an affluent Miami island – but has also become a destination for mainlanders who will pick up a few bottles or enjoy a glass at the bar after a day at the beach.

Angelo is unafraid to champion under-the-radar countries and regions, and the store’s design, selections and events encourage customers to explore. Every bottle is tagged with a shelf talker explaining its personality – from ‘Patio Pounder’ to ‘Mineral Bomb’. Above a selection from Adelaide Hills, Barossa, and Margaret River reads a sign: ‘Don’t forget Australia!’

For buyers looking for something more familiar, there is also a healthy range of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne. Its sister store and restaurant, Vinya Table in Coral Gables, has a similarly exciting range of wines.

Happy Wine Calle Ocho (West Miami)

Happy Wine owner JC Restrepo is very serious about the wine. Credit: Happy Wine Calle Ocho

JC and Joanna Restrepo purchased Happy Wine on Eighth Street in 2009. Since then, they’ve turned it into a fun, lively, and unpretentious Miami wine institution. Its enormous range of wines – everything from inexpensive Malbecs to Bordeaux first growths – lines shelves that cover every wall. Boxes are piled high, prices are handwritten on florescent yellow tags and fairy lights hang from the ceiling.

Happy Wine has a particularly strong focus on wines from Spain and South America. For $10 per bottle, you can enjoy your purchase in-store and dine from its growing menu. Think steak, pastas, patatas bravas. Live musicians take to the stage every night (except for Monday). Often, the shop floor transforms into a dance floor. Salsa surrounded by hundreds of wine bottles is one of the city’s most unique – and joyful – Miami wine experiences.

305 Wines (Palmetto Bay)

305 Wines is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Alessandra Esteves and Guilherme de Macedo, who also run Miami’s wine school, Florida Wine Academy. Esteves manages the wine selection, which focuses on traditional styles from premium regions around the world – exactly the wines needed by students. It also offers over 80 different sakes, which might be one of the largest ranges in the southeastern United States. These are selected by Macedo, who is a Master Sake Sommelier.

The store has been so successful that it upsized to a new location in South Miami, a shorter drive to Downtown and Miami Beach, at the beginning of July 024. As part of this move, Esteves plans to increase her range of wines from Spain and South America and has a separate space for offering in-store events.

North of Downtown

Wine by the Bay (MiMo District)

Stefano Campanini of Wine by the Bay. Credit: Campanini

An industrial park isn’t the first place you’d think to look for one of Miami’s best wine shops – especially one called Wine by The Bay – but this is a city full of surprises. It was opened in 2011 by art dealer Stefano Campanini, who wanted to offer his clients something good to drink. Today, the store doubles as an art gallery, making it a unique space to enjoy tastings led by the Italian owner. It has a wide range of mostly Old World classics, with a very good depth of older vintages and a particular focus on Italy.

Vinonueva (Morningside)

Owners of Vinonueva, Ana Corina Baptista and Bernardo Villanueva. Credit: For the Future You Photo Co

Former New York banker Bernardo Villanueva opened Vinonueva in July 2021 with his wife Ana Corina Baptista. Located in peaceful Morningside, it sells mostly European wines, including many of the world’s great classics. The couple also has an eye for spotting rising star producers, making it a destination for curious collectors and many of the city’s wine-loving sommeliers.

More Miami wine shops worth visiting:

Vinya Table (Coral Gables)
Azul Spirits & Wine (South Beach)
Sobremesa (Little River)
Wolfe’s Wine Shoppe (Coral Gables)
Happy Wine in the Grove (Coconut Grove)
Sunset Corners (South Miami)
El Carajo (Coral Way)
Graziano’s (Multiple locations)

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Kel’el Ware is off to a good start with the Miami Heat in NBA Summer League action.

After scoring 12 points in his debut on Saturday, Ware led the Heat on Sunday with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 102-86 win over the Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.

The 7-foot center made 12-of-21 attempts from the field but went 2-for-5 from the free throw line and missed both 3-point attempts. He also added three assists and a block in over 29 minutes.

“This game I really wanted to show my offensive side more,” Ware said postgame. “I feel like the more I get comfortable, it’s going to be way better than it was today.”

Miami’s next summer league game is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET against the Los Angeles Lakers on ESPN2 and ESPN-plus.

Miami drafted Ware with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Indiana, where he played one season under coach Mike Woodson. As a Hoosier, Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

“Kel’el is a three-and-D center,” said Adam Simon, the Miami Heat Vice President of Basketball Operations and Assistant General Manager. “It is not easy to find 7-footers that can play out on the perimeter offensively and also be able to defend with his ability to shot-block and defend the post. For us, that was very appealing. He’s gonna give us versatility on both ends and his skill set fits us. The things he does well are things that coach (Spoelstra) is going to be able to use. I think it’s a great fit — be able to block shots, defend the rim, shoot threes, he’s got a great touch in the post. I think his skill set will be great to play with Bam and as well as when Bam’s off the court.”

Now Ware joins a roster headlined by All-NBA guard Jimmy Butler and All-Star center Bam Adebayo. The Heat went 46-36, finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Ware will wear No. 7 for the Heat.

Ware inked a four-year deal worth $22,512,733 million, with $9,542,760 guaranteed at signing, according to Spotrac. He is set to make $4,655,040 during his rookie season and $4,887,720 during his second season, both guaranteed.

Entering Ware’s third season in 2026-27, Miami has a club option worth $5,120,400. The Heat have another club option before Ware’s fourth season 2027-28, which is worth $7,849,573. The club option deadline is Oct. 31 both years. If Ware stays with the Heat for four seasons, he will become a restricted free agent ahead of the 2028-29 season.