Janice Downing of Dublin, Ohio has become the third contestant in the Walnut Crest Taste Challenge to win a free trip to New York City, sip 50 wines, and go home $10,000 richer - but miss the million dollar grand prize for simply identifying Walnut Crest wine in the blind taste test.

The Challenge, this time to identify Walnut Crest Merlot from 49 other pricier wines also made from the Merlot grape variety, upholds the brand's long-standing belief that wine doesn't have to be pricey to taste "expensive." The tasting, held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, featured 49 glasses of Merlot, ranging in price from $6.99 through $24 and one glass of Walnut Crest Merlot, which retails for approximately $6 for a 750ml bottle. If Walnut Crest was identified by Ms. Downing, she would have won the $1 million.

Instead, she did exactly what Oklahoma bicycle salesman Rick Cloud and New York retiree Harvey Smith did in previous Walnut Crest challenges: she mistakenly picked a more expensive wine.

"All of the wines had similar qualities and flavors," said Ms. Downing. "It was difficult to single out Walnut Crest even though it was the least expensive."

Ms. Downing was selected in a random drawing of nearly 130,000 entries to the Walnut Crest Merlot Taste Challenge. The contest was promoted through the brand's website, www.walnutcrest.com, as well as in retail stores, bars and restaurants. Even though Ms. Downing did not identify the Walnut Crest Merlot in the challenge, she was still awarded a $10,000 consolation prize in addition to already receiving an all-expenses paid trip for two to New York.

Ms. Downing, who has no formal wine training, got to know German wines while stationed for the U.S. Army in Germany as a linguist for military intelligence.

Walnut Crest wines rank today as the second largest imported wine brand from Chile and one of the top ten imported wine brands in the United States. The producer, Bodegas y Viñedos Santa Emiliana of Santiago, Chile, uses grapes grown in its own vineyards, 5000 acres in Chile's Maipo, Casablanca and Rapel valleys. The Walnut Crest line features popularly priced 100% varietal wines offering outstanding quality and value.