Wente Vineyards and Phillips Seafood Partner for “East Meets West” Crab Challenge

Wente Vineyards partners with Phillips Seafood in engaging, consumer facing program in 2012

Livermore, CA – For a second year, Wente Vineyards and Phillips Seafood have partnered in a cross-promotional program in the retail grocery channel.  Once again offering savings on Phillips products, this year the wine and seafood companies teamed up for their inaugural “East meets West Crab Challenge” to include custom wine and crab meat pairing recipes, retail coupons off the purchase of Phillips Seafood* and an online Sweepstakes*. Competing in the program were Wente Vineyards chef Owen Nattrass and Phillips Seafood chef Todd Weisz.  Both chefs were challenged to make two different dishes using Phillips Crab Meat paired with Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay and Wente Vineyards Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon.   Consumers could download these unique recipes online and enter to win a trip for two* to Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley, California.

One lucky winner, Mr. Delano Jennings from Yakima, WA, will be visiting Wente Vineyards June 8-10, 2012 for a two-night stay at the Cottage at Wente Vineyards. Additionally, Mr. Jennings and guest will enjoy a customized food and wine pairing dinner at The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards, and several private wine tours and tastings.

Custom recipes developed by Wente Vineyards' Chef Owen Nattrass included Green Garden Gazpacho with Crab, Almonds and Avocado and Pan Roasted Sea Bass with Duck Fat Fingerlings, Red Wine Crab Butter, Trumpet Mushrooms and Cabernet Jus.

Phillips’ Chef Todd Weisz newly created dishes included Lemon Caper Crab Cake and Crab Farfalle Puttanesca.

Recipes:

Green Garden Gazpacho with Crab, Almonds and Avocado
Paired with: Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay
(Serves 4)

Pan Roasted Sea Bass with Duck Fat Fingerlings, Red Wine Crab Butter, Trumpet Mushrooms and Cabernet Jus
Paired with: Wente Vineyards Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
(Serves 4)

Lemon Caper Crabcakes
Paired with: Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay
Yield: 4 crabcakes

Crab Farfalle Puttanesca
Paired with: Wente Vineyards Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
Yield: 4 portions

*For complete recipes contact Charles Communications Associates at: press@charlescomm.com*

About Wente Vineyards
Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards is the oldest continuously-operated, family-owned winery in the country; owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. The winery draws from nearly 3,000 acres of Estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations to create an outstanding portfolio of fine wines. Wente Vineyards is distributed in all 50 states and in over 70 countries worldwide.  In 2010, Wente Vineyards was among the first wineries to receive the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing designation, and one of the only wineries to certify every aspect of its business. In 2011, Wente Family Estates was named American Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast and a top 30 wine company by Wine Business Monthly. 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Wente family bringing Chardonnay cuttings to California. Today, the Wente clone of Chardonnay is the most widely planted in California.

Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations. The property features wine tasting, world-class concerts, award-winning fine dining and championship golf. For more information, visit www.wentevineyards.com.

About Phillips Foods
Phillips Seafood Restaurants and Phillips Foods, Inc. is a family-owned business founded in 1956 with headquarters in Baltimore.  They are best known for their famous Maryland style crab cakes and seafood dishes bringing genuine Maryland style favorites to life served at more than 20 Phillips Seafood Restaurants throughout the Eastern time zone.  In addition, Phillips is recognized as the leading importer and distributor of crab meat and other crab products in the U.S.

The company has additional lines of the highest quality seafood items for both retail and foodservice customers as well as company owned restaurants.  Owning and operating crab plants and seafood restaurants for over 90 years has placed Phillips in a unique niche in the food world.  Phillips Foods is making seafood a bigger part of life by producing and distributing the most delicious seafood products on the market today.  To find out more information about Phillips, call 1.888.234.CRAB or visit www.phillipsfoods.com

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