The year was 1985. Ronald Reagan was starting his second term, USA for Africa had released its hit charity song “We Are the World,” and Des Moines Metro Opera was about to embark on a fundraising endeavor never seen before in Iowa. The national wine-drinking craze that began in the 1960s had finally taken root in the Midwest, and Des Moines Metro Opera’s then-Executive Director Douglas Duncan wanted to capitalize on it.
“The average person in Des Moines was just catching on to wine consumption,” recalls Jerilee Mace, the company’s business manager at the time (and Executive Director from 1994 to 2006). “The idea was to host an event where the public would enjoy coming even if opera wasn’t their thing.” With the input of Michael LaValle, executive chef at the Metropolitan Club housed in downtown Des Moines’ Capital Square building, Duncan’s plans gained a food element. And on a Friday evening in April, hundreds of “connoisseurs, gourmands, bon vivants and other lovers of fine wine and great food” descended on the atrium of Capital Square for the inaugural Wine and Food Showcase.
Wines from recognizable names like Beringer, Bollini, Clos du Bois, Louis Latour and Simi were paired with local food purveyors such as the Des Moines Marriott, Embassy Club, Waterfront Seafood Market, La Val Catering, El Patio and Maytag Dairy Farms, Viva La Pasta, Poulaine Chocolate and the Playboy Club of Des Moines. The Showcase raised over $10,000 for DMMO and was considered a success. “Far more successful than DMMO had thought it would be,” Mace adds. “But it was a novel idea and people were intrigued. So DMMO kept doing it.”
Wine events were soon the rage all over Des Moines, and as a result the Showcase went on a hiatus in 1989. “DMMO has always tried to be on the cutting edge with its events,” Mace says. “The question, of course, is what do you replace it with to still generate income.” The answer was an auction. In 1995 when the Showcase reappeared in what would become its permanent home, the downtown Marriott Hotel, it was a biennial event, alternating years with DMMO’s new idea—the Objects of Desire gala and auction. However, auctions would eventually become the new rage, and a new generation of wine drinkers and “foodies” were making the Showcase relevant again. It returned to annual status in 2009 after high demand and, as another sign of changing trends, would eventually add the “Beer” to its name in 2019.
See the full lineup of vendors and get tickets to the Wine, Food & Beer Showcase >
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