Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
, June 04, 2008 23:36
Believe it or not, Iowa currently has 51 wineries. Many of them will be appearing at this weekend's Winefest in Des Moines, along with many out-of-state wineries. The complete list of participating wineries is on the Winefest website (many local microbreweries will also be appearing, as will an Iowa whiskey distillery). Friday night's more casual Sips in the City will pair the wines with fine cheeses and breads, including the world-famous blue cheese of Iowa's Maytag Dairy (Michael Stern, in his Roadfood.com review, calls the cheese "spicy and deep flavored, and as luxurious as cream"). Maid-Rite (last we checked, neither bread nor cheese) will also be there, presumably serving their Iowa specialty, loose meat sandwiches.
Saturday night's dressy event will be more elegant (and pricier), and will feature more substantial foods from many local restaurants (and Maytag Dairy cheese, too). For more info, check out the festival website or this Des Moines Register article.
