Welcome to the 2022 edition of our annual holiday season guide to the best Costco wine deals.
This is our largest Costco wine roundup to date, 23 bottles, with about half earning a “highly recommended” grade from either Owen Bargreen, a Level Two sommelier, or myself.
As usual, we’ve made the ranking reader-friendly, grading each bottle “highly recommended,” “recommended” or “not recommended.”
This roundup is a touchy subject for some readers who feel we should not be reviewing a “big-box chain” when Washington boasts more than 1,000 wineries. But know that 90% of the wine reviews that run in The Seattle Times are focused on Washington and Northwest wines.
Here’s our review of this year’s selection below.
11% alcohol, $7.99 Owen: Some cherry, cranberry and salted sourdough bread. It’s a touch sweet but shows a pretty core of red fruit flavors. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: You can find good prosecco under $15, but it’s damn near impossible to find a prosecco rosé this good in this price range. Costco raised their prosecco rosé by $1 this year, but it’s still a steal. Verdict: Highly recommended
12.5% alcohol, $5.49 Owen: This offers little in flavor with wet stone, white grapefruit pit and suggestions of hay and green apple — but drinkable for under six bucks. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Recommended Tan: A tad cloying for me. You can find better grigios at Grocery Outlet in this price range. Verdict: Not recommended
12.5% alcohol, $7.49 Owen: Fresh and vibrant on the palate, this shows unripe pear, green apple Jolly Rancher and jalapeño pepper. I think this offers a bit more than the last vintage in terms of texture. There might not be a New Zealand sav blanc this good for under 10 bucks, so buy a case and enjoy when the weather is less frigid. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: In years past, this has been one of my favorite whites at Costco. Not so this year. It’s missing that bright, lemon-lime Sprite flavor, and instead of the earthy, flinty notes, it’s more apple sour on the finish. But I agree Owen; you can’t find a better bottle in this price range. Verdict: Recommended
13.5% alcohol, 3-liter box for $13.99 Tan: I don’t get why this boxed wine has such a huge following. I’ve seen this wine at many summer picnics and potlucks. Verdict: Not recommended Owen: Note to self: Don’t go to any potluck with Tan. This stuff is downright gross. Comes off saccharine sweet with oak chips. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Not recommended
13.5% alcohol, 1.5-liter bottle for $7.99 Owen: Cloying with nondescript orchard fruit flavors. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: We were both wincing as we sipped this, the worst white in our tasting. We couldn’t spit this out fast enough. Verdict: Not recommended
13.5% alcohol, $6.99 Owen: Sweet and a touch overripe, this chardonnay has a limited mineral backbone with peach, vanilla cream and buttered brioche flavors on the palate. While soft on the mouth, this will appeal to those who enjoy a sweeter chardonnay. Still, a decent value. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Recommended Tan: Overall, the chardonnays have been the biggest disappointment. Last year, Costco surprised us with some excellent chards — from the Kirkland K Vine Evergreen Vineyard to the Kirkland Russian River Valley release. This year, most were duds, with this being the exception. And even this was at best passable with a good price point for a Sonoma County white. Verdict: Recommended
14% alcohol, price $11.99 Owen: Some cola, cranberry and tilled soils on the nose, and the palate is slightly sweet but shows a good degree of minerality. Coming in a touch hot with stewed red fruits. Goes well with barbecue. Pinot noir from this region is expensive, so $11.99 is a deal. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Recommended Tan: We debated about this more than any other bottle. I think Russian River Valley makes the best pinots in the United States, but this doesn’t qualify as a good representation of that terroir. I get some earthy, berry and Coca-Cola notes and a dark-chocolate finish, but it lacks depth. And this goes down much boozier than the listed 14% alcohol. You can find better value pinots at Costco. Verdict: Not recommended
13.5% alcohol, $8.99 Owen: Aged for 24 months in oak and an additional three months in the bottle, this offers leather notes alongside red rose petals on the nose. The palate is soft and inviting, with red fruit flavors and earthy tones. Not the most complex Riserva, but you won’t find one this good from this region for under $10. Drink 2022-27. Verdict: Recommended Tan: I love this chianti, Owen. It’s acidic and dry, with a burst of red fruit, and lots of cloves and clay on the finish. Verdict: Highly recommended
14.5% alcohol, 19.99 Owen: It’s delicious — smooth tannins and soft approach. Red plum, white pepper, dusty soils with red currants on the palate. This is a modern style of Brunello. I would drink this with any world-class Italian fare. Drink 2022-32. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: This was the best red in the tasting for me. Even though it’s one of the most expensive Costco wines, this $20 bottle is one of its best values. This Brunello is why wine lovers shell out $60 to buy a Costco membership. Verdict: Highly recommended
14% alcohol, $7.49 Owen: Made by Patrick Lesec, this wine blends mourvèdre, syrah and grenache, a cornucopia of red fruit flavors, black licorice, cigar box, black olives and garrigue. Pairs well with any poultry dish. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: This was the most talked-about Costco red last year and damn near impossible to hunt down at the time. You can find this on shelves much more easily around Puget Sound now. Costco has only raised the price of this bottle by 50 cents. It has ranked as one of the top Costco reds in our tasting the past three years. Verdict: Highly recommended
15% alcohol, $13.99 Owen: This is the highest scoring wine for me — best wine and best value. This brilliant Gigondas comes from winemaker Guillaume Gonnet and blends 85% Grenache with smaller parts syrah and mourvèdre. Coming from a good vintage in the southern Rhône, this Gigondas shows off red rose petals on the nose with smoked meats, green olive tapenade and hints of white pepper. The palate is smooth with a silky mouthfeel and a seamless texture. Drink 2022-28. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: An improvement from last year’s vintage, this gem is easier to find on shelves since most consumers don’t know about Gigondas wines. This Rhône Valley red pops with dark fruit notes at the start with a lingering vanilla and mineral finish. Such a juicy, savory grenache. I would buy a case of this. Verdict: Highly recommended
14% alcohol, $18.69 Owen: This is an unusual blend for the region, combining 76% merlot with the remainder cabernet sauvignon. It’s soft and approachable, showing good viscosity and weight. Cassis, blackberry cobbler, coffee grounds and wet gravel on the palate. Tannic, this wine needs at least two hours of air if enjoying in its youth, but it is well made. Drink 2022-32. Verdict: Recommended Tan: Yes, well made, but not one of Costco’s best deals. You can find some stellar Bordeaux in this price range. Verdict: Recommended
13% alcohol, a 1.5-liter bottle for $7.99 Owen: Let’s just say that I wouldn’t toast this at my son’s first communion. It’s ridiculously sweet and tastes like oak chips with saccharin-driven black fruits. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: Best used in my “When-life-gives-you-lemons-sangria” recipe Steps: * Add about 5 cups of Costco’s awful bulk cab in pitcher * Add juice of two lemons (or limes or one orange) * Add a chopped up apple * Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon * Add simple syrup or maple syrup and/or a cup of orange juice to sweeten * Optional: fancy it up with a cup of brandy and/or a half cup of Cointreau. Or add a cup or can of Sprite * Refrigerate it overnight Verdict: Not recommended
13% alcohol, 3-liter box for $13.99 Owen: The worst wine in our tasting. Some purple grape flavoring comes across with very sweet black fruits. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: See sangria recipe above. Verdict: Not recommended
14% alcohol, $13.99 Owen: Not the best effort from this single vineyard. It has a soft mouthfeel with layers of blackberry and black currants alongside tobacco leaf. I’m not getting much on the mid-palate. Drink 2022-26. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: This fruit bomb is so sweet that it masks the high alcohol. The alcohol is way higher than the listed 14%. Verdict: Not recommended
14.5% alcohol. $8.99 Owen: This mediocre wine lacks the richness and black fruit flavor of a Columbia Valley cab. Light to medium-bodied, this also is devoid of the “intensity, depth and elegance” denoted on the label. Drink 2022-24. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: Costco’s private label Washington cabs are an abomination this year. Verdict: Not recommended
14% alcohol, $8.99 Owen: Made by winemaker Allison Crowe, this delivers sweet black licorice, black currants and black cherry flavors. Forward and juicy with good acidity. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Recommended Tan: This is the only good cab in our Costco tasting. I’m getting a lot of plums and ripe fruits. You can tell it’s been aged in American oak with the lingering vanilla on the finish. Hard to find a cab this good from the Alexander Valley for under $10. Verdict: Highly recommended
14.5 % alcohol, $10.99 Owen: Wildfires in 2020 seeped into the Napa Valley vineyards and marred a lot of the cabernet sauvignon grapes. It was a challenging year for their winemakers. This wine is mostly cabernet sauvignon (76%) with smaller parts merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. This blend delivers very sweet dark fruit flavors with sweet pipe tobacco and suggestions of grape Big League Chew gum. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Not recommended Tan: This bottle was sold out at several Costcos around Puget Sound, but I found one bottle in San Jose, California. See sangria recipe. Verdict: Not recommended
14% alcohol, $6.99 Owen: This is the same vintage that we tasted last year, and I think it has improved since our December 2021 tasting. Coming from Mendoza and made at the well-known Broquel winery, this 2020 Malbec offers chocolate and tobacco leaf with blackberry pie. Delicious. Drink 2022-25. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: Consistently one of the highest rated reds for us. I’ve had many $20 glasses of malbec at restaurants that were inferior to this $6.99 bottle. Verdict: Highly recommended
20% alcohol, $16.99 Owen: This 10-year-old Tawny Porto is produced by Kobrand house Via Nova de Gaia — very appealing with rum raisin, black currants, toasty oak and caramel notes on the palate. Pair this silky-smooth Tawny with chocolate desserts. Drink 2022-29. Verdict: Highly recommended Tan: This is an outstanding Tawny for under $20. Lot of raisins, dulcet plum and dry fruits, with caramel on the finish. I bet if I served this port to a room of oenophiles, no one would believe it came from a big-box chain. Verdict: Highly recommended
