Costco Wine: Great juice at a great price

Everyone living in San Diego is very familiar with Costco and I've long been intending to share my thoughts about the bountiful bargains to be found at your local Costco wine section. This being only my second post in what I hope will become familiar advice to the many old and new oenophiles alike about the best place in our wonderful city to purchase wine.

There you are considering purchasing wine at Costco, where it does seem a bit out of place with multi-packs of toilet paper and piles of discount clothing, you may be thinking is this really a good place to purchase a bottle vino? But folks I am telling you that my local Costco does have some of the best deals around and most likely the Costco near you does as well. I know some of you are saying what you're a Costco wine shopper? Yes, in this economy you need save every dollar you can and they have some very good wines for little prices.

So do you love a great Washington State Cabernet? Well here's an example of one of my finds. I found this gem at Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 which comes unfiltered! ( I would recommend decanting) It is very good and has a very soft mouth feel which comes from the Merlot blended in at 9% and the 27 months in the barrel. I purchased this little number from Costco the other day for $19.99 and I thought it was a fair price for the caliber of wine in the bottle and of course taking a look around the web I saved $10 -$12 per bottle. BTW, at this price it's a QPR (quality price ratio) winner! For you folks who love to BYOB, this wine is very versatile and in my opinion very food friendly, which makes pairing very easy and affordable.

If you love a good Malbec you are undoubtedly aware of the huge value coming out Argentina, here is another example of a Malbec brought to via Costco Wine. The Bodega Norton Malbec Reserve 2006 this wine demonstrates everything which is wonderful about the Argentinian Malbec, the ability to offer a wine with so much finesse for so few dollars! I know once WS and RP get a hold of this wine their reviews could mirror my own closely. I would guess they would give it a 91 and I would say I must agree, because the QPR is through the roof! Folks seriously I picked this up at Costco for a mere $12.89 each. Again huge savings compared to other competitors.

Benefits: One of the benefits is that if you didn't like the wine cork it and take it back and they will give you a full refund no questions asked. Try that at your local wine store and see what kind of response you may get. I'm not saying they are the only retailer offering that kind of customer service, but they certainly have a perspective on the return process.

Another benefit is that the signage is very easy to read. Prices are clearly visible and some wines have tasting notes and major wine review publishers scores attached to the tasting notes for the current or sometimes past vintages.

One of my favorite aspects about the Costco wine scene is that imports play a large role in the Costco wine department. Because of the importance placed on offering a balance of domestic and imported wines. There are tremendous values, along with traditional well known appellations which are very appealing. Costco also offers a number of good deals on line as well.

Drawbacks: For me one of the big draw backs of shopping for wine there during the summer months is a heated warehouse, which is no friend to wine. During the summer months I tend to not purchase wine from Costco, because of that factor. Of course they are not my only source for finding great deals on vino.

One of the hassles of shopping there is of course the parking on weekends is very difficult and shopping in the store during this time frame can be a bit daunting and if you want to get these great deals on wine, you're going to have to pony-up a membership fee.

Costco also tends to have a pretty limited selection, and each store has it's own variety of vino, meaning you may find a particular wine in one location and none in the other. An issue that I have noticed is about inventory, either Costco has a very large inventory of the wine they do stock or just don't turn over their inventory too often, because I tend to see the very same labels every month.

Conclusions: Costco has some very good juice at great prices, which often will beat the market average. Buy a membership if you don't already have one and shop during off peak times and during the cooler months to avoid having your wine spoiled by the high heat. Remember Costco has an unwritten rule, he who hesitates goes home empty handed. Meaning if you see a wine which you know or suspect is a a screaming deal, buy all you can afford or go without. Until next time cheers everyone!