Iowa wine industry continues to grow with age

Iowa’s fledgling wine industry is apparently growing better with age. Mary Holz-Clause of the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center at Iowa State University says they found wine production went from some 51-thousand gallons in 2001 to nearly 78-thousand gallons in 2004. She says it has been pretty amazing the growth seen, as the state has gone from 13 wineries to 28 licensed wineries. Holz-Clause says the number of wineries is as important as the number of grapes grown here. She says if there’s just one winery, it’s probably not likely to attract many visitors — as it’s usually “the more the merrier” in the wine business. She says grape growers want to have some company. She says wineries aren’t just about drinking wine, they’re also about the “agritourism experience” — allowing people to come out and listen to jazz or attend grape stomping activities. Holtz-Clause says when it comes to Iowa grapes, what’ grown here, and stomped here, stays here.She says most of the wine is probably consumed here, though that’s not something they track. She says Iowa is lucky to be involved with 13 states in a reciprocity agreement that allows them to ship wine among states. She says some of Iowa’s neighbors, like Nebraska, are not part of the agreement. For more information on Iowa’s wineries, surf to:/www.agmrc.org