Sutter Home's Build a Better Burger® Contest 2010("Contest")

ELIGIBILITY

No wine or other purchase necessary to enter.
The Contest is open to U.S. residents, except for residents of California and Utah, aged twenty-one (21) years or older. Employees or members of Sutter Home Winery, Inc., California Avocado Commission, Colavita U.S.A., National Cattlemen's Beef Association, ACH Food Companies, BIC USA, H.J. Heinz, Johnsonville Foods LLC, McIlhenney Company, and Saputo Cheese (the "Sponsors"), members of the judging panels, members of any state alcohol beverage commission, and employees' or members' immediate families, or their agents, their affiliated or subsidiaries, their advertising agencies, licensed alcohol beverage retailers and wholesalers or any other alcohol beverage licensee, and any other company involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the promotion, are not eligible. Immediate families include spouses, parents, children, or any other household members. Contest is governed by the laws of the United States and void where prohibited by law. All federal, state and local rules and regulations apply.
Past winners of the Grand Prize, prior to 2004, may enter the Beef category. Past winners of the $50,000 Grand Prize (Beef Burgers), first awarded in 2004, are not eligible to enter the Contest. Past winners of the Best Alternative Burger are not eligible to enter the Alternative category, but may enter the Beef category. Professional chefs (an individual who derives more than 75% of his/her income employed in the culinary arts as a chef) are ineligible to enter.

GUIDELINES

The Contest is looking for America's best local burgers, those that are representative of where the contestant lives or grew up. Recipes should highlight the foods, products, or cooking traditions of a community, state, or region of the nation. Each recipe must include a brief introduction that tells why this is a great local American burger.
All burgers must be composed of grilled patties served on buns or other bread products (such as biscuits, focaccia, or tortillas). Burgers may include any combination of condiments (such as ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard), spreads (such as tapenade and pesto), sauces (such as barbecue or hot sauce), cheeses, and toppings (such as bacon, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce). Every component of the burger must be placed between the bun or bread pieces, or served open-faced on a bread product. Side dishes and garnishes to plates or the tops of buns are not allowed. Unadorned wooden skewers may be used to hold burgers in place for presentation.
Each submitted recipe must be original and include the name of the recipe, readily available ingredients (found in most well-stocked supermarkets), standard U.S. measurements, and be written to make six (6) burgers or six (6) servings if making a single giant burger or multiple small burgers or "sliders". Each ingredient, including the bread product and all other elements, must be listed, preferably in order of use, followed by complete, step-by-step cooking instructions, including cooking times for preparation. All cooked elements of the recipe must be prepared on a standard outdoor grill. The heat level and cooking time should be written for the type of grill you use at home. Finalists will be required to use a gas grill during the cook-off. The Sutter Home Culinary Center professionals will discuss any necessary differences or adjustments from charcoal to gas grills with the Finalists. Recipes that contain any directions that call for the use of conventional ovens, microwave ovens, or other cooking appliances will be disqualified. The use of small food preparation appliances, such as food processors or blenders, is acceptable. All recipes must be completely preparable within two hours.
The recipe must not have knowingly been previously published or have won another award, and the right to submit it must not be restricted in any way. Submission of a recipe is a warranty that the contestant owns all copyrights and other intellectual property rights to the recipe and constitutes an assignment of these rights to Sutter Home Winery. Sponsors and their employees, officers, and agents, and members of the Preliminary and Cook-Off Judging Panels, will not be held liable for any copyright infringements or any prior exclusivity rights to any recipe submitted.
It is permissible for a contestant to re-submit their own original recipe previously submitted to Build a Better Burger Contests in previous years if the recipe was not chosen as a Finalist.

ENTRY RULES

You can enter either online OR by mail between April 15, 2008 and August 18, 2008. Tennessee residents can enter only by mail. Early and late entries will not be considered. Each recipe must be submitted by an individual, not by a couple or a team. There is no limit on the number of recipes you may submit.
To enter online, log on to www.sutterhome.com and look for the Contest entry icon. Fill in the entry form, including your original recipe, and follow the on screen directions to submit. Online entries must be submitted between Noon PDT on April 15, 2008 and Noon PDT on August 18, 2008.
To enter by U.S. postal mail, type your name, complete address, and telephone number at the top of an 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of paper (smaller-sized paper or cards will be disqualified). On the same page, type the category that you are entering: "Beef Burger" or "Alternative Burger," followed by your recipe in accordance with the Contest Guidelines (see above). If necessary, use a second or third page of the same dimensions and staple the pages together (unstapled or paper-clipped recipes will be disqualified). Mail to: BUILD A BETTER BURGER CONTEST 2008, P.O. Box 844, St. Helena, CA 94574. All mail entries must be received via the U.S. Postal Service. Faxes, Federal Express, UPS or any other form of delivery will not qualify as a valid entry. All entries must be postmarked no earlier than April 15, 2008 and be received at the mailing address above by August 18, 2008.
In case of a dispute as to the identity of the entrant, the entry will be accepted or rejected at the absolute discretion of Sutter Home Winery.

SELECTION OF FINALISTS

Ten (10) winners, five (5) from each category, will be selected by the Preliminary Judging Panel as Cook-Off Finalists ("Finalists"), two each from the following five regions:
Region 1: CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT

Region 2: AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA

Region 3: IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, ND, OH, SD, WI, WV

Region 4: AR, CO, KS, LA, MS, NE, OK, TX

Region 5: AK, AZ, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, WA, WY
Finalists will be notified by September 2, 2008 and will be eligible to compete in the National Cook-Off finals in Napa Valley, California, on Saturday, September 27, 2008. Limit of one Finalist per household. Each Finalist will have seven (7) days from the time of his/her notification of eligibility to agree to compete in the final Cook-Off. If Sutter Home Winery does not receive notification within seven (7) days, the Finalist will be disqualified and entitled to neither compensation nor prize, and another Finalist will be chosen. Each Finalist will receive instructions as to date, location, and availability of supplies for the Cook-Off. Additional rules governing the Cook-Off finals will be made available to the Finalists.
3. Sponsors will provide round-trip coach airfare for each Finalist and a guest (guest must be twenty-one years of age or older) from the gateway city nearest the Finalist's home to a major airport near Napa Valley, accommodations for three nights (double occupancy), reimbursement for car rental expense to and from the airport and Napa Valley (up to $285) and $250 in American Express Gift Checks for meals and miscellaneous expenses (excluding any alcohol beverage purchases). The value of the trip will be determined by the Finalist's geographic location, but is approximately $2,050. Total value of trips: approximately $20,500.

JUDGING

1. The following guidelines will be used in both preliminary and final rounds:
- Creativity
- Taste
- Visual appeal
- Ease of preparation
2. Recipes that do not follow Contest rules will be disqualified. Qualified recipes in each category will be reviewed by an independent panel of food and wine professionals, including Sutter Home Winery Culinary Director and Executive Chef Jeffrey Starr and Head Judge /Honorary Chairman James McNair ("Preliminary Judging Panel"), who will select the top ten (10) recipe entries (five [5] from each category) to determine the ten (10) Finalists. At the Cook-Off the Finalists will prepare their recipes and the burgers will be tasted by an independent panel comprised of culinary professionals ("Cook-Off Judging Panel") to determine the winners. In both the preliminary judging and the Cook-Off, the decisions of the judges are final and binding.

PRIZES

1. The Cook-Off Judging Panel will select:
1. A Grand Prize Winner for the Best Beef Burger, who will receive a cash prize of $50,000 (fifty thousand dollars).
2. A Best Alternative Burger Winner, who will receive a cash prize of $10,000 (ten thousand dollars).
3. A First Runner-Up for both Best Beef and Best Alternative Burgers, who will each receive a cash prize of $500 (five hundred dollars).
4. A Second Runner-Up for both Best Beef and Best Alternative Burgers, who will each receive a cash prize of $250 (two hundred fifty dollars).
Total Cook-Off prize awards: $61,500 (sixty one thousand five hundred dollars).
2. No substitution or transfer of prizes is permitted. All taxes are the sole responsibility of the Prize Winners and Finalists.

CONDITIONS

Entrants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules. All entries become the property of Sutter Home Winery and will not be returned. Finalists will be required to execute documents of eligibility, release from liability, and transfer of their winning recipes. By entering the Contest, all participants consent to the commercial use of their names, pictures, likenesses, and recipes (with rights to edit or adapt those recipes) without further compensation. By entering, participants release and hold harmless Sponsors, their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents, the Preliminary Judging Panel and the Cook-Off Judging Panel from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest or any prize won. Sponsors and their agents are not responsible for unauthorized human intervention, phone, technical, network, electronic, computer, hardware or software failures, malfunctions or disconnects of any kind, or misdirected, illegible, incomplete, stolen, garbled, fragmented or delayed internet/e-mail computer transmissions or network/ISP/website internet accessibility; or for inaccurate, incorrect or incomplete capture of entry information.