Although a 750ml bottle of Walnut Crest Merlot costs only six dollars, for one lucky challenger it could be worth a million. The makers of Walnut Crest wines are so confident that their Merlot wine offers a quality that is equal to or greater than other more expensive Merlots, that they are, for the second time in a year, issuing a million dollar taste challenge to consumers.

A lucky new contestant will have the chance to win by identifying the Walnut Crest Merlot in the tasting challenge. "The Walnut Crest Million Dollar Taste Challenge" is a sweepstakes where one Grand Prize Winner will be drawn from the pool of applicants. The winner will travel to New York City with a guest (courtesy of Walnut Crest) to participate in the challenge. If the challenger is able to identify the Walnut Crest Merlot in a blind tasting of 50 different Merlots - 49 of which are more expensive than Walnut Crest (ranging from $1.00 more to $18.00 more), then that person will win one million dollars. If the participant fails to correctly identify the Walnut Crest Merlot in the blind tasting, a prize of $10,000 will still be awarded.

In addition to the Grand Prize challenge, seven First Prizes will be awarded, one in each of the following U.S. regions; Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest, Central, Mid-West and West. The regional First Prize winners will receive the opportunity to win $5,000 by correctly identifying Walnut Crest Merlot in blind tastings of just 25 different Merlot wines. If the regional participant does not identify the Walnut Crest Merlot, he or she will still win a $1,000 consolation prize. Transportation and hotel accommodations to the regional wine challenges will also be provided to the First Prize winners.