Oenophiles of Greater Des Moines, prepare to raise your glasses.  

For two days in May, the inaugural Des Moines WineFest will give festival-goers the chance to mingle with world-class vintners and cooks, from locations ranging from California’s Napa Valley to New York City. Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef, Art Smith, will be on hand, as will master sommelier Doug Frost.  

The festival, the brainchild of Connie Wimer, publisher of this newspaper and the owner of Business Publications Corp., is the first of its kind for Des Moines. Details of the festival, scheduled to take place on May 16 and 17, are beginning to emerge.   

The festival will begin Friday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. with an event titled “Wine Discovery.” That night, about 70 vintners will present more than 350 wines for tasting to up to 1,000 people.   

The event, which is expected to cost about $50, will be held on the terraces of the State of Iowa Historical Building in downtown Des Moines. It will be set up to resemble a series of street cafes in a European city.

  “This is going to be a great event for the community,” Wimer said.  

An auction will be held that night, with proceeds going to an as-yet-undetermined charity, Wimer said. Potential auction items include a trip on a private jet, courtesy of Berkshire Hathaway’s Netjets Inc., a trip to a professional sporting event in Kansas City and a trip to France.  

On Saturday, the festival will scatter throughout Des Moines as participants take part in a series of educational events, including a day shadowing a chef from one of Des Moines’ most upscale restaurants, such as Splash and Bistro 43, and breadmaking lessons from South Union Bread Co.  

The Saturday classes will last between two and eight hours and are expected to cost $20 to $100 each.  

There will be cheesemaking seminars from Northern Prairie Chevre and chocolate-making classes from Chocolaterie Stam, as well as courses on beer making, coffee appreciation and food writing, and an introduction to Iowa’s growing wine industry. Summerset Winery owner Ron Mark will be offering tours of his winery, which is located in Indianola.

Fritz Maytag, scion of the founding family of the Newton-based Maytag Corp. and owner of Anchor Steam Brewing Co. in San Francisco, will give lectures on what it takes to make great wine. Maytag, who also runs York Creek Vineyards in Napa Valley, will also offer tastes of wines by the barrel.

WineFest participants will be able to take classes on entertaining from editors of Meredith Corp.’s Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies’ Home Journal magazines and from other Meredith editorial staff. The company will also open its test kitchens and offer cooking classes for those participating in its seminar.

Saturday night, as many as eight private dinners will take place at homes throughout Greater Des Moines.

Several WineFest supporters have donated various services. The Belin law firm has handled the festival’s legal work, including issues related to insurance and the festival’s charity status.

Auditing work has been donated by Roth & Co. The Integer Group will provide marketing services and graphic design, while lighting and architecture issues will be taken care of by RDG.