Tarantas Wines Announces Winners of the Taste of Spain Recipe Contest

CAUDETE DE LA FUENTES, Spain - May 27, 2016 - PRLog -- Tarantas Wines is pleased to announce the winners of the Taste of Spain Recipe Contest.

The Grand Prize Winner is Kelly Shanafelt of Boulder, CO with her winning recipe in the Side Dish, Soup or Salad category, Crunchy Asian Wild Rice Salad. Ms. Shanafelt receives a five-day, four-night trip for two to Spain, including a private tour of the Tarantas winery with a special lunch, and a stay in the charming village of Requena, as well as a two-night stay in Valencia with food and historical tours of the cosmopolitan city.

Four First Prize winners each receive a $100 Grocery Store Gift Card:

Dessert
Ashley Mincey, Bradenton, Florida
Salted Chocolate Torta with Tempranillo Macerated Cherry Reduction

Tapas/Small Plates
Rebecka Evans
Danville, CA
Savory Bacon Crackers with Tarantas Monastrell Blueberry-Fig Jam and Creamy Goat Cheese

Wine-Based Craft Cocktail
Adam Murphy
Palatine, IL
Rosy Jack Cocktail

Main Dish
Dave Taube
Eugene, OR
Gambas al Ajillo on a Bed of Israeli Couscous and Roasted Butternut Squash

Five culinary professionals selected and judged the top recipes in each category,based on creativity, flavor profile and appropriateness of Tarantas wine pairing. Judges included:

1)    Nuria Farregut of Barcelona blogs about food, travel and photography on her site www.spanishrecipesbynuria. She loves creating recipes that are fresh, healthy and seasonal.

2)    Food service industry consultant Steven Petusevsky served as the National Director for Culinary Food Development for Whole Foods and is the author of the 2002 Whole Foods Market Cookbook.

3)    Derek Sarno is the co-founder and chef behind www.wickedhealthyfood.com. He and his brother Chad are on a mission to encourage people to "stay on the wicked healthy path."

4)    Caroline Edwards is a recipe developer and blogger who founded www.chocolateandcarrots.com as a way to create and share healthier recipes, especially desserts!

5)    Elana Lepkowski's www.stirandstrain.com was a finalist for Saveur Magazine's Best Blog Awards in 2014 and 2015. Her writing, recipes and photography can regularly be seen on Serious Eats and NPR's Dinner Party Download.

An additional tie-breaking judge was enlisted to declare the Grand Prize winner:

Linda Andreotti poseidoncooks.com - Linda Andreotti is the star cook of Poseidon Cooks! "Ten Favorite Menus, Ten Favorite Anchorages." Linda's kitchen is aboard the boat and home she shares with her husband.

About Tarantas Wines
The Tarantas brand name and label was inspired by the free-flowing, open art form of Flamenco song and dance of the same name, celebrated in Southeast Spain. "Pure wines capturing the essence of Spain in every glass," Tarantas Wines are made with 100% certified organic grapes. The wines are produced by Bodegas Iranzo, based in the old-world village of Requena, only a stone's throw from the historic and metropolitan city of Valencia. The winery produces some of Spain's Oldest Estate Bottled Wines, with the first recorded written evidence of the vineyard Cañada Honda Estate owned by the Iranzo Perez-Duque family dating back to 1335 as granted by King Pedro I of Castilla.

Tarantas wines are available at retailers nationwide including Whole Foods Market and online at www.organicwineexchange.com  and www.ecovinewine.com. Additional details about Tarantas Wines can be found at www.tarantaswines.com.