February 2 (Des Moines, IA) – The average American will spend $196 on Valentine’s Day this year, according to the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker. But one lucky person will be able to wine and dine their sweetheart for free thanks to the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board and Dine Iowa. Now through noon on February 14, people can register at www.traveliowa.com to win a $50 gift certificate to their favorite Iowa winery, a $50 gift certificate to their favorite Dine Iowa restaurant and an iPad2 pre-loaded with the Iowa Wine and Beer and Dine Iowa apps. 

“Valentine’s Day presents a great opportunity to showcase Iowa’s wine and dining industries. Each is booming here and each creates jobs and enhances the state’s economy,” said Colleen Murphy of the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board, an initiative of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “The Iowa Wine & Dine promotion will give one lucky a winner a chance to surprise his or her sweetheart with a gift certificate good at one of more than 80 Iowa wineries and 400 Iowa restaurants, any of which promise to provide a memorable, uniquely Iowa experience.”

The winner will be announced on the Iowa Tourism Office’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/IowaTourism) at 2:14 p.m. on February 14. The Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board was created in 1986 to promote the state’s wine and beer making industries. Wine-related tourism generates nearly $30 million in expenditures across the state. To date, Iowa boasts 81 wineries and 25 breweries. Find more information at www.iowawineandbeer.com.