The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley, Charbay Distillery and Glace Luxury Ice Applaud Winners of Third Annual Wine Country Cocktail Competition

    NAPA, CA, August 28, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Top wine country mixologists and leaders of the spirits and bartending communities gathered on August 6th for the third annual Wine Country Cocktail Competition held at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel and Spa. Proceeds from the event benefited the Napa Valley Education Foundation and drew a large crowd of consumers, trade, media and key talent as the wine country mixology community competed for the most creative and balanced cocktail using base products from The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley, Charbay Distillery, Glace Luxury Ice and a secret ingredient "Iron Chef" style.

"It's so exciting to see the maturation of mixology here in Napa," said Tracy Hayward, President and Founder of The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley. "We celebrate these great bar stars and the top-level talent this event draws to compete each year."

Top wine country restaurants and bars that competed included: Spoon Bar, Jolie, Bouchon, Morimoto, and John Ash. The sixteen competitors were provided the entire Charbay Vodka portfolio, Glace Luxury Ice, and a subset of The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley's 40 flavors, including their new flavors Beverage Artistry Thyme & Citrus Sour and Thai Basil and Black Pepper.

The "Iron Chef" style competition included an assortment of seasonal berries (secret ingredient), fresh fruit, garnishes, herbs, edible flowers, mixers, bitters and assorted glassware made up the shared competitor pantry- cocktails included The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley, Charbay and a berry in their cocktail, which was served over Glace Ice.

Prizes were awarded to contestants and cocktails for presentation, flavor and creativity and were judged by Camper English (Alcademics), Ziggy "the Wine Gal" Eschliman, Brian Kropf (Mutineer Magazine), Pierce Carson (Napa Valley Register) and Jason Withrow (Bar Manager at Yountville's Redd & Redd Wood). The first place prize of $150 and sponsor product was awarded to Michael Jack Pazdon of Goose & Gander, in St. Helena, for his creation that featured Charbay Clear Vodka and The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley pear puree.

2012 is the second consecutive year Pazdon has taken the top spot. A second place prize of $125 was awarded to Kelly Dallas of Solbar at Solage Resort, Calistoga, for his creation that combined Charbay's Pomegranate Vodka, The Perfect Puree's pear puree and a delicate rosemary infused simple syrup. Cappy Sorentino of Spoon Bar, Healdsburg, rounded out the winners, coming in third place with a fall inspired roasted red pepper cocktail. All three recipes are featured on the menu at Spoon Bar for August and September.

About Charbay Distillery
Charbay Winery & Distillery was founded in 1983 by Miles & Susan Karakasevic. Miles is a 12th generation Master Distiller/Winemaker from Yugoslavia. The family is known for their fresh fruit vodkas, rums, whiskeys, tequila and black walnut liqueur. The ports & wines are available at their Spring Mountain Winery & Distillery Still House, open to the public. Their son, Marko, became a Master Distiller after a long, colorful apprenticeship with his father. It's all about capturing and sharing the perfumes of the fruits, vegetables & roots that they lovingly ferment and distill. For more information and recipes, please visit www.charbay.com.

About The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley
The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley is the US leading manufacturer of frozen fruit purees, concentrates and zests with their Culinary Traditions line. Their Beverage Artistry line is mixology made easy. With unique blends and high impact flavors, beverage professionals can now easily create the perfect cocktail or mocktail, regardless of season or locality, to suit the most discerning palette. The line's ready to use flavors offer a convenient and cost effective solution for bar professionals that compliments and elevates existing beverage programs while saving on time and resources. Flavors include Yuzu Luxe Sour, El Corazon and Passion Colada. For more information and recipes, please visit: www.perfectpuree.com.

About Glace Luxury Ice:
Glace Luxury Ice: is the world's leading premium drink-ice brand. Unlike traditional ice products, which vary in taste from place to place, their individually carved ice pieces feature a zero-taste profile, which allows the consumer to universally replicate the on-the-rocks experience. Their Mariko Spheres & G-Cubed pieces provide minimum dilution and maximum cooling, greatly enhancing enjoyment at the point of consumption. Glace Luxury Ice provides consumers with a top-shelf choice for ice that matches their premium spirit selection. For more information, please visit: www.glace-ice.com

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