Does Wine Taste Better on Vacation? A 'Vintern' Will Be Paid to Find Out

Mike Pomranz
·2 min read
algarve-portugal-VINTERN0822
algarve-portugal-VINTERN0822

Jacek_Sopotnicki / Getty Images

It's an age-old question: Did that wine taste amazing because you drank it on a scenic terrace overlooking a Mediterranean beach, or was it truly the greatest wine ever made? The British wine retailer Majestic is hoping to find out — and they're going to pay someone £200 (about $240) a day to handle the job.

Majestic announced on their website that they are seeking a "Vintern" to see if wine really does taste better on vacation. Their plan to find the answer — and also to promote their latest Wine Club by Majestic selections — is to send that lucky Vintern to the Iberian Peninsula for three days, including flights, accommodations, and the previously mentioned daily stipend of about $240 spending cash. There, the Vintern will be given a case of Wine Club wines, produced in Spain and Portugal, so they can drink them in the areas where they were made. When that jaunt is over, the Vintern will be given the exact same case of wine to try back home to see if they can taste any differences.

"No previous tasting experience required – just an open mind, a passport, and a love of beautiful bottles," the wine company writes. "As well as tasting the bottles and enjoying some summer holiday sun, the chosen budding wine taster will also be treated to a visit to some of our Wine Club's beautiful wineries and vineyards."

"Too good to be true?" Majestic asks. The deal may be even better than it sounds: Despite being billed as a taste testing job, the application and rules don't appear to specify that any actual work is required. Not a bad gig at all.

Interested parties should fill out the application on Majestic's website — which is only open to UK residents, unfortunately — and let the company know what their favorite wine is to drink on vacation, along with 200 words on "why you think you deserve the role as well as your opinion on the matter of whether wine tastes better abroad" before midnight August 19. The winner will be contacted by August 22, and the wine trip will take place in September.