Costco and Wine

[shouzen]

An interesting feature on Costco's wine buyer:
http://eater.com/archives/2012/04/27/...

Thoughts? I'm not a Costco member and have never bought wine there, so I don't know what their selection is like.

[Iowaboy3]

People: Every dollar spent with Costco is a dollar not spent with your local retailer. If you want to maintain variety (FYI, Costco does not. Wine is an LCD commodity to be sold like TV's & washers) in your area support an independent who is seeking out wines that are not stacked at places like Costco and has an interest in you and wants to introduce you to something new and different. Don't put your wine dollars into their pockets. There are 3000 different grape varieties out there. Why limit yourself to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling & White Zinfandel?

[jlbwendt]

My Costco has much more variety than that. I don't buy much wine there, but if they have a good price on a known quantity then I stock up.

And there's only about 1500 vitis vinifera being used today, with about 2000 worldwide.

[scubadoo97]

Agreed. I do pick up a few bottles at Costco but was recently at an ABC liquor and fine wine store in Palm Coast Fl. They had a tasting device that let you taste several selected wines which were on sale. The staff was very knowledgeable and the selection was excellent. Ended up picking up over a case and a half of several wines I had never had before.

[Aspendot]

I LOVE the Kirkland Signature brand Pinot Grigio. It is only $6.99 a bottle. Costco Koolaid....

[Expat1234]

I watched the show, was impressed with their wine buyer, and it gave me confidence in their selection process. I am eager to try the COSTCO private label brand after seeing their decision-making and taste-testing process.

[westsidegal]

tried some of their chardonnay 2 weeks ago.
never again.

[scubadoo97]

My wife didn't like it as well

[wanker]

Seems like a baseless attack piece. Costco is a terrific place to buy wine, and given its buying power,it can obtain some great deals. In fact, my Costco has dedicated "sommeliers" in the wine department who are very helpful in recommending wines.

[wineglas1]

wanker,

they have good every day prices but are not the best in my town by any means. The better wine shops have a much better selection and better prices. What is a "dedicated sommerlier"?

[wanker]

All Costcos are not the same. I shop at one of the top wine selling stores (Carlsbad, CA) and they stock their wine department accordingly. The Carlsbad Costco carries more high end wines ($60 plus) and they have dedicated staff who work in the wine department.
They also have guest wine makers every weekend showcasing their wines.

WIth that said, where Costco really excels is the $10-$15 price point. Costco has openly told wine producers that unless someone has scored their wine at 90 or above, with a retail price of between $10-$15, then they're not interested.

[perk]

I buy a fair amount of wine at Costco. They have some very good bargains (despite their wine buyer, evidently) and some very nice choices. Every once in a while, they get something really spectacular. But someone at a wine store recently told me that he'd seen cases of wine sitting outside in the hot sun at a Costco store....so I'm not sure the conditions are great. Each area tends to have different wines. I'm in L.A., but my friends up in the Central Coast area get very different selections.