Food, Fun, and Wine with Guillermo Munoz

From Buenos Aires to Iowa: A Journey in Wine

Buenos Aires-born Guillermo Munoz came to his wine career by way of heritage and innate curiosity. Raised in a family steeped in agriculture—his father, uncle, and grandfather are all  agronomists—Guillermo grew up with an understanding and appreciation of terroir.

His father’s career took them from their homeland of Argentina to Geneva, Switzerland to Des Moines, Iowa.

“Family and farming are strong in Iowa,” says Guillermo, “so our family decided to stay.”

In Latin culture, wine is a regular part of meals and gatherings. In their new hometown of Des Moines, the Munoz family continued the tradition of hosting an asado, an Argentinian barbecue, every Saturday for family and friends.

It was at a weekly asado that a Spanish expat friend looked at the limited wine selection on the table and offered to start bringing Spanish and French wines to the gathering. Young Guillermo was familiar with the Argentinian wines they could get in Iowa and was eager to broaden his knowledge.

For the next two and a half years, every weekend they all tasted wines together, grilled, and enjoyed lazy afternoons in and out of the pool. When their friend returned to Spain, his absence left Guillermo with an educational void.

A Passion for Wine Education and Consulting

He began the WSET program, working his way up the levels. Guillermo is currently studying for the fourth and final level, the WSET diploma, which he plans to complete this year.

As he studied wine regions, Guillermo also started studying wine lists at restaurants. At Lucca, a popular restaurant in Des Moines that he frequented, Guillermo saw opportunity to creatively expand the wine list and offered suggestions.

Soon, Guillermo was helping with more restaurants and events, and getting to know local wine distributors. More inquiries for his services were coming in and his side hustle started to feel like a real business. He founded Roots and Vines and hung out his shingle as a wine consultant (while still keeping his day job).

Todd Millang, client and owner of RoCA restaurant, suggested he meet “my buddy Steve.” (You longtime Capital Callers saw that one coming, right?). The two hit it off, and Guillermo started working on events and distribution strategies to promote Capital Call wines in Iowa.

Creating Experiences Through Wine

Guillermo focuses on experience-based events to draw new patrons into the fold. He notes that younger generations aren’t interested in traditional tastings—they don’t want to just sit and sip; they want to do something.

With the goal of “food, wine, and fun,” he is putting together a series of farm-to-table wine dinners in Des Moines, currently planned for May, July, and September. The May dinner, which will be held at Middlebrook Farms, will feature the Capital Call spring release wines. Middlebrook Farms is part of the innovative agrihood in Clive, IA developed by Peoples Company (co-founder Steve Bruere’s day job). It’s right across the street from the Mercantile, where our Iowa patrons can enjoy and purchase their Capital Call wines.

Guillermo is also planning to host a “steak school” with local butchery where guests can learn about the different cuts of meat and how to prepare them—and then talk about what kind of wines to pair with these cuts. The Capital Call Cab with a ribeye, perhaps?

“I love sharing wine and I love telling stories,” Guillermo says. He believes in a collaborative environment where everyone can enjoy what they like together. It doesn’t have to be all the same; what matters is the togetherness. “For me, it’s family and friends,” he says, “not formal.”

He has found that in Iowa people really love a curated wine dinner experience—and often become wine club members—as dinners are not held as commonly as they are in wine country-rich Washington state.

“The West Coast too often overlooks the Midwest,” he says. “You can make a genuine connection with folks here. The Midwest is a prime place to sell West Coast wines. If you have a good product, we have a more than willing audience. People want to learn.”

Guillermo is excited about helping bring the Capital Call brand to more Iowa locations and soon, hopefully, to neighboring Midwest states. “Thinking about the future is fun, especially when working with Steve and the Capital Call team,” he says.