While ethanol distilled from corn is one the states top agricultural products, two other types of alcohol produced here are being promoted on a new website. The Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board has launched a website to promote the wines and beer produced here. LuAn Reinders of the Iowa Department of Economic Development says there are 18 wineries and two beer brewers in the state. She says you can order wine or beer to be shipped to your home. You can also see a map that shows you how to get to the wineries and brewers. You can find the website at www.iowawineandbeer.com. Reinders says the wine industry is picking up as there’s a return to grape growing. At one time Iowa was the sixth largest producer of grapes, around the early 1900’s, and there’s been a recent resurgence in the number of grapes grown. Reinders says the two beer breweries have held on as others disappeared. In the 1800’s there were 375 breweries, as she says almost every bar made their own beer. She says the breweries on the list are the ones where you can buy beer to go and don’t include the microbreweries. Reinders says the brewers of the wine and beer pay a tax that’s used to promote the industry, much like corn and soybean growers.
