Wine shopping at Costco

[audreyh1]

Costco is the largest retailer of wine in the US and huge internationally*. They’ve had an amazing wine buying team. Without Costco we’d be stuck in the boonies as no other retailer here comes close to their variety and quality plus value, and for us ordering wine is a pain and limited to the coolest months.

We cleaned up at Costco yesterday. They obviously had updated their wine selection ahead of the holidays and we seriously stocked up.

Best find: a French Medoc from Cahors - the original appellation. Just under $10. Picked up several bottles. They had numerous new highly rated Italian wines - we chose several plus a few Bordeaux wines including one white.

The Kirkland brand wines are often outstanding and good value. They work directly with a given regional established winemaker and buy directly passing along the savings. We also stocked up on a very inexpensive Kirkland Chianti Reserve we’d tried a few weeks ago.

This is a great wine review blog to see some of the latest Costco offerings and top picks. https://costcowineblog.com/

* https://www.marketwatchmag.com/warehouse-wonders/

 

[audreyh1]

Picked up one of these yesterday. Hadn’t read the reviews. 2016 Monte Antico Toscana Red Blend https://costcowineblog.com/2016-monte-antico-toscana-red-blend/

 

[MichaelB]

DW’s preferred wine is at least 15% less expensive at Costco than any liquor store. We live in an urban area with lots of wine stores but have been buying wine solely at Costco for years now.

 

[kevink]

Thanks for starting this thread. Costco Wine Blog is indeed an excellent resource, as well as the Reverse Wine Snob site which casts its net a big wider to include wines at Aldi and Trader Joe's.

As the Costco Blog often points out, Costco isn't always cheaper than chains like Total Wine but is invariably at least competitive with them and often does far better - especially on its private label wines. The latter aren't uniformly excellent but are almost always outstanding values. In particular, their Cotes du Rhone Villages for $6.99 a bottle easily competes in quality with wines of the same designation selling for $15+; I figure the three cases or so of the Kirkland version I buy annually along with their Toscano Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Reggiano Parmigiano alone pay for my membership several times over. Kirkland Gigondas, Barolo and Chateauneuf du Pape are worth a special search, the Brunello has been excellent of late as well.

One caution that audreyh1's mention of the Malbec brought to mind is that that particular wine - and many other highly-rated (by Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling and other critics) wines they carry, need several years of cellaring (or several hours of aeration, in a pinch). If you don't have a cellar or care to get into that kind of storage it's well worth it to peruse detailed reviews before buying in quantity. Ditto with wines like Barolo that always need a minimum of 10 years of aging from vintage date, and of course high-end Borgeaux and Brunellos as well.

Here in Arizona if it weren't for Costco we'd have to mail order everything from California as the retail wine scene is dismal. Just grateful they're so good at what they do and have such fabulous teams running their private label programs.

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmmm - thanks for the tip on the Malbec - we have Euro Cave wine refrigerator.

I noticed yesterday that I had a bottle of Nebbiolo that had been in there for maybe 10 years, so maybe I can drink it now.

I see from this article that for the Cahors Malbecs they are generally adding 5 years from vintage, so my 2018 should be ready by 2023. Not too long. https://www.winemag.com/2019/10/23/getting-back-to-malbecs-roots/

This is the wine: 2018 Prieuré de Cénac (Cahors). WE says drink from 2022 https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/les-vignobles-saint-didier-parnac-2018-prieure-de-cenac-cahors/
Ha turns out WE has this same vintage wine listed as $24, but at Costco we paid $9.99!

 

[Koolau]

I've been surprised at how the wine selection and sheer volume has increased over the years at our local Costco. The wine "rack" takes up a whole center aisle. Perhaps Costco's prices are "good" but prices seem to range from around $8 to $20. At a home cooked meal (in our house) that would be half of the cost for the meal. True we tend toward chicken and pot roast instead of steaks and seafood. YMMV

 

[audreyh1]

We don’t drink a whole bottle of wine at one meal. Usually takes 3 meals to finish.

In addition we really enjoy wine, find tons of great options in the $7 to $16 range, and enjoy spending our hard saved money on the experience.

And we do spend quite a bit on food for home - high quality steak and seafood for sure. We almost never eat out.

 

[Palmtree]

I will say that the Kirkland brand Champagne is a screaming deal at only $20.

 

[braumeister]

The only wine DW likes is Riesling and our Costco has never carried any.

Not a problem since I can always use the Class VI store at the nearest military base, but I've always thought it strange.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have a number of nice buys from Costco in my faux wine cellar including two types of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

I also enjoy their boxed Cabernet which I find quite pleasant. It goes well with BBQ links, meatloaf, pizza and other homemade comfort food. OK, report me to the moderators and get kicked off of this thread.

 

[Aerides]

OK, report me to the moderators and get kicked off of this thread.

Listen I am waiting for the beringer pinot noir case sale to come back to get 12 bottles for $48. Who amongst us...

 

[audreyh1]

I have a number of nice buys from Costco in my faux wine cellar including two types of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

I also enjoy their boxed Cabernet which I find quite pleasant. It goes well with BBQ links, meatloaf, pizza and other homemade comfort food. OK, report me to the moderators and get kicked off of this thread.

Even the French buy and enjoy boxed wine, so you are in good company.

 

[audreyh1]

The only wine DW likes is Riesling and our Costco has never carried any.

Not a problem since I can always use the Class VI store at the nearest military base, but I've always thought it strange.

You are right, I have never seen it at Costco.

 

[MC Rider]

Aldi has a decent wine selection? Have only been in those a few time, but they seemed to have minimal selection of foods, and mostly off name brands.


Trader Joes is pretty good here, but Total Wino has the hugest! selection of wine, beer, and liquor I can recall seeing.


Don't have a membership to Costco. I am more interested in craft beer than wine.

 

[wannabefire]

I will say that the Kirkland brand Champagne is a screaming deal at only $20.

The Kirkland brand Prosecco is also quite good! It rivals Le Marca at very big discount!

 

[Sunset]

I.... OK, report me to the moderators and get kicked off of this thread.

I just bought a case of Clos du Bois a chardonnay for $48 for 12 at Binny's. So I felt in good company.

Then I look up Clos du Bois at Total Wine, and see it's $8/btl , so I just "saved" $48

I do like when folks recommend wines, as I have poor taste buds and will want to try some of these Costco recommendations !!

 

[audreyh1]

You just gotta drink what you like!

 

[GoBears]

I am in the mood for Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving so I picked up a 3 bottle assortment at Costco today. Nothing over $25, so I won’t be too disappointed if I get something I end up not liking.

The Costco Wine Blog is great, but unfortunately many of the wines they review are not carried by our local NorCal Costco. So, I often have to rely on the ratings posted in the store. Oh well, the variety will do me good.

 

[Freedom56]

If you really enjoy wines, visit the Costco in Novato CA just north of San Francisco and west of Napa Valley. The selection is unbelievable and among the largest in the country. They have some pretty good discounts on popular wines like BV Rutherford cabernet. Costco is also opening a warehouse in Napa in 2023.

 

[audreyh1]

The Costco Wine Blog is great, but unfortunately many of the wines they review are not carried by our local NorCal Costco. So, I often have to rely on the ratings posted in the store. Oh well, the variety will do me good.

Yeah it really varies, but occasionally I see something that was listed.

We are pretty familiar with European wine regions and try new wines based on that. Very rarely disappointed.

As we’ve traveled Europe we’ve had a chance to more extensively explore regional wines and it’s amazing how often we see wines from the areas we recently travelled at Costco soon after we return home.

 

[donheff]

Costco is my go to destination for wine and bourbon.

 

[audreyh1]

I read that Kirkland bourbon is good stuff. I’m not a bourbon drinker myself preferring cognac. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemic...s-kirkland-signature-bourbon/?sh=17de66cd3807

 

[oiseux]

This makes me want to try some more of the Kirkland brand lines -- I have had mixed success with the line. Costco however is a consistent source for me -- the Northern California selection does vary by store, with the ones near the more affluent areas getting some nicer choices at the high end and more local lines. I always check in because the values rotate in and out -- there are often some repeats year to year that I try to remember and pick up. I've been to Costcos in other states and the choice always varies, especially in the local content.

One value tip -- they usually bundle a gift set for 2020-2021 from France. Since I don't like to gift something I haven't tasted, I often buy this value pack and then shove it in the cellar for a few years. Sometimes the bottles will show up as individual selections. I see the Costocowineblog didn't like this year's selection quite as much, we will have to see how it matures. I also do what they do, which is pick up their rotating selection of Cote de Provence rose.

We have Total Wines but also some excellent distributors and specialty stores within easy reach -- and the pricing is often good but sometimes just so-so (especially when you can join the club of a winery you really like).

 

[COcheesehead]

The Kirkland Gigondas for $14.99 is a screaming deal.

 

[audreyh1]

Somehow we are blessed with the amazing selection at our store even though it is a smaller wine area compared to some other places like Atlanta that have twice the space devoted to wines. It’s at least half European wines. Whatever - the wine selection matches our preferences very well.