Summer might mean that the snowbirds head back up north, but it’s also the start of Miami Spice: two months of culinary delight. Starting August 1 through September 30, you can dine at the Magic City’s top restaurants for $23 per person for lunch and $39 per person for dinner. The South Florida Sage got to experience a taste of Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill’s Miami Spice menu for this year, as well as a preview of their Barrel Club.

A Barrel Club membership, which costs $499 for one year, includes your own wine cabinet, a personalized wine menu, quarterly member events with complimentary wine tasting, four bottles of wine annually (on a quarterly), and VIP access to the annual Big Easy tasting event. When you break down the cost, it doesn’t seem like a shabby deal.

Big Easy brings South African cuisine to the Brickell City Centre. Inspired by golf icon Ernie Els’ world travels, the food here is not typical of a wine bar, but this makes Big Easy all the more desirable to flock to for a late evening dinner and drinks.

I recently developed a liking for peri peri sauce, so I was excited to try the peri-peri “African chili” chicken. The meat had a unique spicy taste that is pleasantly different most sriracha- or cayenne-flavored dishes.

The boerie bite featured farmhouse sausage and tomato chutney; other options had an onion jam and “cowboy candy,” or candied jalapenos. This was a cool spin on a slider, and the sweetness of the chutney complimented the tender sausage in a brioche bun.

Els also has his own wines, which we had the opportunity to sample. Although I normally don’t drink red wine, the Proprietor’s Blend was indeed a great blend of several types, making it more accessible to picky wine drinkers.

As someone who prefers pinot grigio, the Chenin Blanc was a little acidic for my taste, but it had a robust flavor that went well with more peri-peri sauce-covered chicken skewers.

The tender steak with a chimichurri sauce ended up being a delicious ending to a rich and dense meal.

If you’re looking to do something a little different for dinner this Miami Spice season, Big Easy can offer you a glass of wine with some eclectic and worldly cuisine to boot.

Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill is open from Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. – 12 a.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

 Olivia Feldman is a contributor for The South Florida Sage. Her favorite foods are anything that involves pasta and her mom’s cooking. When she’s not eating and drinking her way through South Florida, you can find her going to concerts, planning her next travel destination, and hosting her biweekly music show, “Back in Our Minds,” on Jolt Radio. You also can find her on Instagram and Twitter at @oliviafelds

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Disclosure: I received a complimentary tasting at Big Easy. All opinions are my own. All images appearing in this post photographed by Olivia Feldman.