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We all know that Costco is the place to go when shopping for wine. If you are seeking high-end name brand wines at a discount price, there is no better place than Costco - at least not yet. They may lack smaller producers and fashionable growers wines, but what they lack in hipster eclecticism, they certainly make up for in cost savings.
All of this considered, that’s why Costco is the king of Cabernet. There are some awesome deals going on right now, and everything is pretty-well open to the public, meaning you don’t need a Costco membership to buy wine from them - you can take advantage of the low costs just by heading to your local store.
There are a few things to cover here in the way of how to make the most of your Costco wine visit. Number one is simply to understand that Costco is the place to get the expensive wines that you want, those without the preliminary markups of importers based on the market value of the wine. Costco is often its own importer, and distributor.
Put simply, this means that they don’t need to pay a chain of useless middlemen as other retail stores may. In fact, a lot of box stores now are able to bypass this useless old model of alcohol distribution, and some wineries (usually those lacking an importer) even will sell small orders direct to consumers - the delightfully lovely Tenuta Barac of Barbaresco is one example.
When purchasing direct from a winery, Costco can pass significant savings on wines with greater margins down to consumers; when it comes to quantity-oriented wineries, like Kim Crawford or Joel Gott, whose margins are already slim on each bottle, the less there is in the way of margin for Costco, and the less significant the discount can be passed onto the consumer. These big-box brands are going to be the ones to buy at another store, if you truly must…
As Laurent Ponsot, winemaker for Burgundy stated in the film Sour Grapes, referencing the auction blocks and distribution of his fine wines, “Today there is no relation between the prices and what is in the bottle. When I sell a bottle at one-hundred euro, I see this bottle when it’s released at one thousand!” Often winemakers with more direct contracts, especially from desirable wineries, actually have a say in the price that appears on the label when the wine is sold, and generally this is a good thing.
If you do have a Costco membership, it’s important to realize that the price advertised is not the price that you’ll pay. Generally speaking, there are various discounts applied on wines at register to help reduce the stock and make way for new vintages. Thankfully, each Costco store employs a stock manager that keeps the selection consistent so the store will carry a selection of relatively the same wines at the same prices season-over-season. You may see an extra ten or fifteen percent off at the register.
Costco is also famous for their case discounts, i,e, buy six wines (the more illustrious wineries often sell in cases of six), or twelve and receive an additional ten percent off of your order. This is another awesome advantage to shopping at Costco. If you buy the right wine, you could literally end up paying seventy or so percent off of retail.
Take this Château Durfort Vivens 2018 - next door at at a major wine retailer, this particular bottle sells for $120.00. This wine is a Second-Growth Bordeaux blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon that is both biodynamic, and sustainable. If you’re unfamiliar with Biodynamicism, please read here. It’s a truly undervalued wine in and of itself as well, with crazy amounts of complexity, and propensity for aging that will make this wine able to sit in a cellar for fifty or so years - all while still being readily enjoyable and of incredible quality now.
Costco is not selling this wine at $120.00, they’re selling it at $64.99, members can walk away with this austere vintage at a mere $53.00 while the 2019’s are making their way onto the shelves. Don’t forget to buy six at this price, and see a case discount of nearly $48.00. Each bottle is loaded with ginger-smooth tannin, beautiful crisp aromas of blackcurrant, stewed ripe blackberry, cigar box, graphite; and even some earthiness of leather, cremini mushroom cooked in herbs and shaved black truffle. This is a significant deal.
That’s not even the half of it. Hold on to your wine-stained teeth. Costco is kind of the king when it comes to expensive Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly their amazing deals on Second-Growth Bordeaux in general. Here’s something to get very excited about. Next door, Château Brane-Cantenac 2018 at a major wine retailer is selling for a whopping $150/bottle. This second-growth can be found right now at Costco for only $74.99, a crazy deal at fifty percent off. Costco members can expect a further discount bringing this wine’s total price to $61.00, an extremely significant discount.
The more well-established and noteworthy Second-Growth, Leoville Las Cases is also present at in excellent deal right now, this wine normally sells at market prices of around $350, but its currently available at Costco for $259.99 - Over 25% off. This is a tremendous deal if you have a special occasion coming up, and would like to give a wonderful gift, or, simply just to keep for yourself and cellar as prices gradually continue to rise on these Second-Growth wines that are showing increasingly good esteem and can make a handsome buy and hold and their values continue to rise. This, of course, is not financial advice by any means, but merely a value recommendation.
If you’re unfamiliar with Bordeaux wine, or its classification system you can click here for some helpful maps and information to lay everything out for you in a very straightforward manner, this come in handy at other stores as well.
Costco, notably also has its own brands of wines, relabeling from producers of reputable consistent quality for its line of Kirkland wines. They also buy wines from smaller quality-oriented producers producing wines from more expensive plots, at quantity levels that allow for Costco to distribute them to its stores en masse, this relationship results in quality wines from expensive areas like Châteauneuf-du-Pape to be sold at prices comparable to the daily-lubrication wines.
Left is an example of a Barolo which Costco carries on a regular bases for only $14.95; Covalli Barolo. This wine sells online for around $25 plus shipping, as it will only ever be available online, which probably would put the total per bottle at $35 or thereabouts. If you got a case of this wine from Costco, the price would be significantly reduced, and more importantly it would still be as affordable as any widely distributed wine of lower quality available at most major retailers, and you’d be drinking a Barolo that has scored really well with users of Vivino.
This particular wine is actually pretty characteristic for a light red with notes of dry cherry, some sour cranberry, a bit of lingering white truffle, and a nice long finish that is incredibly smooth. The wine doesn’t lack complexity, certainly not for a wine at this price point. The tannin is refined and drinkable now, and there is a nice gaminess and stony minerality to it.
But its not just the import wines that see significant price drops, Costco brings the California wines to the table, as well. Cabernet again is the shining star all things considered. Right now, at much lower prices than the bottle of the old standby, you can get Justin Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles at $20 - not the usual $30 or $40 advertised at your typical wine store. This wine is bolder, richer Cabernet from the central coast is an awesome example of finer, more refined wine that can make a good weekly drink for someone, or an excellent dinner-party present.
Far Niente is a very delightful drinking wine, albeit generally expensive. Founded in 1849 by goldpanner John Benson, these delightful Cabernet Sauvignon wines are grown in the centrally located town of Oakville, below the fog line. This wine displays notes of boysenberry and tart blackberry. There're embers of black pepper, some eucalyptus and even a bit of tobacco smoke that fold nicely into this well-balanced Cabernet form this historic estate.
Right now, you can gat ahold of one of these non-estate bottles for around $140, from the year 2018, a historically incredible vintage across nearly the entire wine world. At Costco, this wine can be picked up for a mere $99.99 - out the door it will probably end up running a member somewhere in the ballpark of $80. This is an awesome wine that you should try if it’s available at your local Costco.
If you're interested in learning a little more about the wine world, check out the Learn tab, or our podcast, The Wide World of Wine, both free, easy guides to get you started.
That’s all,
~K
*Prices listed are time-sensitive and subject to change. They may differ based on individual stores, municipalities, and quantities available. This is not a paid article, or sponsored set of recommendations. I am not a representative, or spokesperson for Costco, nor any of the wineries mentioned.