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 came along 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, sharing that while practicing leading up to the challenge, 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.