Costco wine, decoded by a sommelier. Three $9 Kirkland bottles, a legal oath sworn to the Italian government, and one friend smuggling wine through a post office in Edinburgh — all to crack the code printed on the back of a Kirkland label. This is the best cheap wine tasting you’ll see this year, because one of these Costco bottles turns out to be a $30 wine hiding in witness protection.
What I found on one of those bottles rewrites how you should shop for cheap wine at Costco forever. There’s a fingerprint on the back. Lot 983. And once you know how to read it, a $9 Kirkland bottle can turn out to be a $30 wine in witness protection — made by an estate whose real name would cost you triple in any restaurant.
The rule this video gives you works on every Costco wine shelf in America. Producer on the label → consider it. No producer → look harder. The answer might be right there on the back.
🔴 Want to decode ANY wine label in any country — before you pull the cork? Register for the Wine Sense Method course: https://course.thegrandcruaffair.com/
👉 If you have a Costco membership, check the back label of every Kirkland bottle tonight. Tell me in the comments what you find.
This is Part 1 of a 3-part Costco wine series. Subscribe so you don’t miss:
🥂 Part 2 — The $19 Kirkland Champagne from a Grand Cru village that shouldn’t exist
🍾 Part 3 — The Kirkland bottles that didn’t make the top sellers list but absolutely should have
⏱ Timestamps
00:00 — The $700 shipping quote for $9 Costco wine
00:39 — How I got Costco wine into Italy (and swore a legal oath)
01:33 — What Kirkland actually is: the Costco wine model explained
02:19 — Bottle #1: Kirkland Pinot Grigio
03:26 — Bottle #2: Kirkland Chianti Riserva — the code that cracks everything
04:05 — Lot 983: decoding the government serial number
04:38 — The real $25 bottle vs the $9 Costco version
05:02 — Why a legendary estate hides behind the Kirkland label
05:35 — Tasting the Kirkland Chianti Riserva
06:00 — Side-by-side: Kirkland vs the original wine
06:37 — Bottle #3: Kirkland Chablis 2023
07:32 — Tasting the Chablis
08:04 — The rule: producer on the label, or look harder
08:44 — Your homework: check your Costco back labels
09:03 — Coming in Part 2 & Part 3
#CostcoWine #KirklandSignature #BestCheapWine #WineTasting #Sommelier #Chianti #Chablis #WineReview #CostcoDeals #anyagaribaldi
9 Comments
Great idea Anya! Great spot with the brolio
Interesting. I was aware Kirkland Bourbon is made by Bartons, and Scotches through the jobber company Alexander Murray in California, but nothing about the wines
This is a great video! Love that "wine detective work" along with the history lessons and industry truths. The way you write and organize the videos mixed with the homework you do is fantastic! It's more of a science video, with culture and class threaded all throughout 😃🌹🍷
700 shipping for Kirkland wine 😂😂😂😂😂, they have some good selections in my local Cosco, picked up a Palmer and Haut Batailley 🎉🎉🎉 cheers Anya…..Great video, we appreciate the effort 👌 💪
Great video! I love the detective work!
Looking forward to parts 2 and 3. Just returned to Europe after visiting my old stomp Scottsdale AZ. Scottsdale's Costco is their number 1 wine store, and it didn't disappoint. The best selection of wine for amazing prices. If you are nearby, run to load up. Would love to have Anya visit for a full tasting extravaganza!
excellent video…the entire retail industry works the same way.
They get rid of excess production stock by white lable selling.
This is how the cover thier expenses and protect their brand name.
Excellent video indeed!
My experience with Kirkland wines is that they generally taste like what they are supposed to taste like, just not the best version of it. The Kirkland Oregon Pinot Noir is actually quite good.
I’ve found their sparkling wines, such as prosecco and Champagne to be pretty bad, but it’s actually easy to find a decent cheap sparkler.
Never had Costco wine BUT we used to get "2 Buck Chuck" at Trader Joe's, that would have sent you right into Italian. On another note, I consider myself a staunch heterosexual and may I say your wardrobe, both in the course and Youtube can be summed up in one word = DIVINE. What is happening to me, I have to go work on the motorcycle. BTW, being you don't like Pinot Grigio, after taking the first part of your wine course I think it would go great with a sfogliatella the high acidity would be offset by the sweetness of the pastry and still remain light and fresh.