Award winners apparently go hand in hand. No consumer has been able to distinguish the $5.99 Walnut Crest Merlot from a pool of 49 more expensive wines in the past three challenges the wine maker has hosted. And then along came Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden.
The wine company teamed with the nine-year-old nonprofit Dream Foundation for a Celebrity Million-Dollar Wine Challenge last Thursday at the W Hotel in New York City. Harden guessed right and scored $1 million for the charitable organization that grants wishes to terminally ill adults ages 18 to 65. The wine prices ranged from $1 more than Walnut Crest Merlot to up to four times more.
Walnut Crest is the No. 2 Chilean wine in the U.S. and is consistently rated a “Best Buy” by wine critics. Three people correctly identified Walnut Crest’s Cabernet in 13 mini-challenges at the event, each raising an additional $25 for the Dream Foundation.
“I am not a wine connoisseur, I am a fledging student,” Harden said, commenting that her husband had to correct her usage of “after bite” for “finish.” Harden, who serves a celebrity spokesperson for the Dream Foundation, won a 2000 Oscar for her performance in Pollock. Dan Aykroyd and Joe Pantoliano (The Sopranos) joined her at the event, which was attended by approximately 150 people.
After correctly identifying Walnut Crest, Harden remarked how similar it tasted to the more expensive brands.
“She said it was a difficult thing to do and she couldn’t have said anything better for us,” said Marc Simon, brand director at Banfi Vinters in Old Brookville, NY, which imports Walnut Crest.
“I was stunned,” said Thomas Rollerson, founder of The Dream Foundation. “We do a lot of events with a lot of celebrities, but never have we made anything like $1 million at once.”
Even the $50,000 consolation prize would have been much appreciated, Rollerson said. “As someone who spends every day groveling for dollars, it’s nice to know that the pile of requests on my desk from desperate families can be answered.”
The idea for a celebrity tie-in was conceived when marketers at Walnut Crest began talking to its promotion agency, The A Team, about bringing the challenge to the next level, Simon said. The A Team contacted The Donahue Group, a Los Angeles p.r. agency, which brought the Dream Foundation to the table.
Meanwhile, the fourth Walnut Crest Million Dollar Taste Challenge for consumers wraps up May 15. The winner will conduct his or her tasting at the Epcot Wine & Food Festival in Florida in October. Entries can be found at walnutcrest.com or at wine retailers.
