The Best And Worst Bargain Wines To Buy At Costco

As a wine writer and consultant, wine regularly arrives on my doorstep as press samples or wines from clients I am working with. I am one of those annoying people on social media, posting photos of myself with glasses of gorgeous wines in some of the most sought out wine regions in the world, with captions like, "It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it." Needless to say, when I complain about work, I don't get a ton of sympathy. But, being a wine professional is more grueling than it sounds. Let's just say tasting 50 different California Cabernet Sauvignons back-to-back before 10 a.m. while judging a wine competition is nothing short of exhausting.

I also sometimes miss the simple joy of walking up and down the aisles of a wine store, perusing the latest releases and choosing wines just for me. In addition to the many independent wine shops out there, one of the top spots to do this is Costco. Costco is among the largest wine retailers by volume in the United States, and carries selections from some of the top names in wine. They also partner with world-renown producers for their Kirkland Signature line, which includes some of the best buys you can find. Since I'm clearly a glutton for punishment when it comes to wine, for this round-up, I did the hard work for you and went through them all to create a list of some of the best and worst bargain wines to buy at Costco.

While on the topic of porch-pounders and poolside sippers, Costco's Kirkland Signature Côtes de Provence rosé comes close to hitting the mark in this category, but may lean a little too hard into its simplicity. The current vintage of Kirkland's Côtes de Provence is a blend of mostly Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah, which are classic grapes for making this type of rosé. According to the bottle, it's made by Olivier Sumeire, a seventh generation grape grower and winemaker whose family has been producing wines in Provence since the 13th century.

Where it delivers is on the $7 per bottle price point, which, for this particular region in France, is quite a steal. However, while I normally love the light, quaffable nature of a Côtes de Provence — the ultimate picnic wine — I still expect a bit more oomph than this one offers. It's a pleasant enough sip, but save this one for a quick apéritif instead of your centerpiece wine.

If a butter bomb is your style of Chardonnay, then maybe this Kirkland Signature selection, available in hefty 1.5-liter bottles, will be right up your alley. Over the top with tropical fruit, vanilla, and a sweet, buttered popcorn Jelly Belly note, this is a pretty full-bodied wine that would likely benefit from a backbone of acidity to offset the heavy flavors.

I'm a firm believer that there is a wine for everyone — including this one. According to Park Street, Chardonnay is the most consumed grape variety for table wine in the United States. Any comprehensive guide to Chardonnay will also tell you it's grown all over the world, and is one of the most versatile grapes for wine production, resulting in bright, fruit-driven wines and zippy sparklers like Champagne, to high-acid wines full of minerality, like the wines of Chablis, to voluptuous and round selections, like this Kirkland Signature Chardonnay. This means there are plenty of far more exciting selections of this variety available at Costco that, for a few more bucks, offer a more balanced oak profile with some freshness to liven up the wine. I'd recommend checking some of those out first. Costco's Kirkland Signature Sonoma Coast Chardonnay or Sonoma-Cutrer's Chardonnay are great places to start.

Like Friuli Venezia Giulia, Northern Italy's Alto Adige — where Santa Margherita's Pinot Grigio hails from — is also celebrated for its top-quality Pinot Grigio wines. Santa Margherita is indeed a good wine. But, it's nothing remarkable, and not worth the $18-ish price tag, even at Costco. 

In fact, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio has long been the source of debate among wine professionals for its questionable quality-price ratio. Celebrated husband-wife wine writing duo Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, in a 2009 Wall Street Journal article "10 Ways to Save Money Ordering," advise readers to avoid this wine like the plague. "Never order Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio," they write. "We don't mean to pick on Santa Margherita. We know many people like it and that's fine. But because so many people like it, it is routinely one of the most outrageously priced wines on the list."

Bottom line: As common economics will tell you, sometimes price is not indicative of quality, but instead of high demand. This is the case with Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, which will have you reaching for it assuming it's a better wine than, say, the $5 Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio from Friuli, and ending up disappointed that it's not at least three times better. I assure you it is not. 

Any Chianti Classico Riserva must spend a minimum of 24 months aging before release, three of which must be in bottle. Additionally, the wine must be made from a minimum of 80% Sangiovese grapes from a delineated area in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany in central Italy. So, at $8.99, this wine is a total bargain when you consider where the grapes come from and how much goes into producing it, not to mention how long the winery must wait to recoup any of the costs of making the wine.

Costco's Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva is so easy-drinking, I have contemplated making it my house red and serving it by the carafe on a table decked in red checkered tablecloths, Dean Martin's "That's Amore," playing on the speakers. However, it also carries some weight and structure, with grippy (yet important!) tannins, and some prominent acid, so it's best sipped alongside a meal — ideally of pasta or pizza, grilled meats and vegetables, or that classic Tuscan dish, Pappa al Pomodoro (aka tomato bread soup). Most brand name Chianti Classico Riservas start at around twice this price and go way up from there — so, house wine or not, I would buy this one by the case.

Wines often boast on their labels that the grapes came from "old vines," but what does this really mean? As grape vines age, a few things happen: First, the vines dig deeper and deeper into the soil, building more complex rooting systems as they go. As they continue to penetrate the earth, they pass through different layers of soil and, as a result, absorb many different types of substances in the earth than what they would going through shallow layers of soil. Secondly, old vines produce lower yields of fruit which means all of the soil nutrients and energy of the plant goes into fewer bunches of grapes. The combination of these two factors means greater complexity and concentration of flavors, two things we look for when analyzing quality in wine.

Wines produced from old vines can be intense, serious wines, and often carry a price tag to match, so to see one for under $10 is remarkable. Fans of classic California Zinfandel will love the rich, jammy-but-not-cloying quality of this Sonoma County wine, which is produced from vines averaging 45 years by longtime winemaker Zach Long.

While Kirkland Signature wines are all made by well-known figures in winemaking around the world, it's often somewhat of a secret which wineries and producers were involved in which selections. However, some bottles do include more information about the specific producer, like Kirkland's delicious Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the southern part of France's Rhône Valley.

This wine — a Grenache dominant blend with some Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault — was made by third generation winemaker Guillaume Gonnet, who has owned his family's estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 2006. These wines are typically quite expensive — usually starting in the mid-$30 range and going up from there — and celebrated for their body, complexity, and age-worthiness. This bottling punches way above its weight class at the incredible bargain price of $19.69. It's packed with dark berry fruit, black licorice, and spice, with beautiful texture and a finish for days. Pop a bottle or two at your next dinner party, or lay it down for years to come so you can see it continue to evolve as it ages. Either way, the wine won't disappoint.

J. Lohr is always reliable for great quality wines at reasonable prices. You're likely used to seeing the ubiquitous J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon at your local grocery store, which is many people's go-to when purchasing an easy-going red wine to please a crowd. The Pure Paso Proprietary Red Blend is a few steps up, and worth exploring if you are a fan of ripe, full bodied red wines.

Although "proprietary," the breakdown of the blend is listed on the J. Lohr website, and comprises mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, a powerful duo to begin with. The wine then spends 18 months in American and Hungarian oak, which gives it delicious notes of sweet black licorice, mocha, and caramel layered over the wine's black and red fruit flavors. This is a top-scoring wine from several critics and a fantastic choice for those who love California red blends. The region of Paso Robles often presents great value in this category and, for a mere $22.99 a bottle at Costco (by comparison, my local grocery store had this listed for about $32), J. Lohr's Pure Paso Proprietary Red is no exception. Expect it to give any wine from its much pricier Northern California neighbors a run for its money.