Winefest Des Moines has the potential to become a signature event that addresses quality-of-life concerns that too often scuttle employers’ ability to recruit professionals from outside the area, the chairman of the Greater Des Moines Partnership said.

Steven Zumbach, the Partnership’s 2003 chairman and vice chairman of the non-profit Winefest board of directors, said the May 16-17 Winefest will diversify Greater Des Moines’ entertainment options with a high-quality event. It also will provide a cash infusion to a local charity, this year the east-side development of the $25.5 million Principal Riverwalk project, a pedestrian walkway spanning the Des Moines River from the Des Moines Botanical Center to Sec Taylor Stadium.

The portion of the Riverwalk located on Des Moines’ East Side was selected for Winefest’s 2003 charitable contribution to highlight that area’s recent revitalization efforts. “The East Gateway project has been under development for a number of years and it’s just beginning to mature, so that people can see what the vision is for the East Side,” Zumbach said. “It’s a great way for the East Side to showcase itself for the community at large, as if it’s throwing a big party and inviting the entire community to come as guests.”

Subtler, though, is the projected positive impact Winefest is expected to have on economic development efforts, he said. It is modeled after a wine festival in Sarasota, Fla., which draws thousands of guests each year and has become one of the premier charity events in the United States.

“Companies locate and grow their businesses where people want to live, and to have a successful community from an economic development standpoint, you need to have a high quality of life,” Zumbach said. “That means you need a wide range of entertainment events for the residents, and the wine festival will add to the richness of our community.”

Zumbach, a partner in the Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn law firm, said attorneys recruited by the practice frequently are as interested in quality-of-life amenities as they are in financial compensation. “We recruit in a national marketplace for young lawyers, and they can go anywhere in the country,” he said. “Quality of life is very important to them, and in some cases, they may trade dollars for quality of life.

“We need a certain richness in cultural and recreational activities to be attractive to those prospects.”

Other executives around Greater Des Moines have shared similar concerns, and the Partnership created the Project Destiny strategic planning initiative to address them. Of the Winefest, Zumbach said, “This is just an example of the type of things that need to be done to make the Greater Des Moines area an attractive place to live.

“This is going to be a signature event for the community – I have no doubt – in years to come,” he said.

The inaugural event opens May 16 with a Wine Discovery and Auction, featuring wine and food tasting and an auction of collectible wines from around the world, private jet time, a week in Provence, France, and exclusive winery travel packages. The event will be held on the State Historical Building’s Grand Terrace, 600 E. Locust St., which will be decorated with a European street café theme.

Wine-tasting seminars will be presented by nationally known vintners and wine aficionados throughout the day on May 17 at the Embassy Club, 801 Grand Ave. Among the seminars is one on Iowa wines presented by William Brown of the Iowa Grape and Wine Development Commission and Ron Marks, president of the Iowa Grape Growers Association and owner of Sommerset Winery at Indianola.

Food and cooking seminars, also on May 17, feature local and nationally known chefs, including Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef, Art Smith, at Meredith Corp.’s headquarters at 1716 Locust St. on May 17. Editors and writers from Meredith’s magazine division and local restaurateurs will lead other seminars.

The festival winds down that evening with private dinners at homes and restaurants. A complete list of events and registration information can be found at www.winefestdesmoines.com.

The event is expected to draw a diverse crowd, including international guests such as a representative of the French consulate, according to Karrie Weinhardt, Winefest Des Moines co-director.

Among the special guests will be Doug Frost of Kansas City, Mo., a wine and spirits writer and lecturer who writes for numerous regional and national publications and one of only three people in the world and two in the United States to achieve both Master of Wine and Master Sommelier certifications. His seminar, “Blind Man’s Bluff,” will provide tips on how to blind-taste wine to identify its origin.

Though he’s one of the world’s foremost wine experts, he claims blind-tasting isn’t a special talent. “I certainly believe anybody could successfully blind-taste and identify any wine,” he said. “It’s not that I have a special palate and they don’t; I just got through the exams.”

Frost said that during his seminars, he will try to dispel some common myths about wine, among them that “wine has to be big and powerful in order to be a great wine.”

“Most wine magazines give praise to those wines, but most people like milder, gentler wines,” he said.

“There’s a myth that there are wines that are best and not the best. Best for whom is the question.

“People should learn to trust their own palates and their own sense of what they like and don’t like,” he said. “I don’t try to browbeat them into liking something they don’t know, or tell them what they should or should not like.”

High-quality wines are available at all prices, Frost said, and he’ll help those attending the seminars learn where they can find the best values. Currently, he said, some of the best values are found among varieties produced in Australia and Spain; most overrated in his opinion are California wines.

“Most of us who are into wine get the biggest kick out of finding a killer wine at a good price,” he said.

He’s also a fan of regional wines, which are enjoying a comeback in Missouri and Iowa. “There’s some good stuff going on,” he said. “People who turn their noses up just because it’s local need to mellow out.”

Frost said the Winefest will help unite Greater Des Moines’ wine enthusiasts. “I’ve spent some time in Des Moines and think it’s a fascinating city, but I felt Des Moines didn’t have a lot of cohesiveness in terms of its wine community,” he said. “It takes events like this to build a stronger sense of a wine community, and I’m very pleased that I’m getting to help out in some way.”