Eight Napa Valley bargains at Costco

Costco's buying weight gives it access to everything from blue-chip Napa Valley estates to little-known labels sourced from coveted vineyards, and some great-value offerings we explore below.

We're all bargain hunters at heart. I might be the worst among you.

Because of my job, most of the 3,500-plus wines I taste each year are sent to me as samples.

So when it comes time to actually put my own money behind my recommendations, I'm keen to achieve three things.

The first is easy: I set my sights on a wine I know will be absolutely delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I can't rest until the bottle is empty.

The second is provenance. Where will this wine I'm buying come from? The winery itself? A retail shop? Online? A restaurant wine list?

Whatever the case, I need to know that the bottle has been properly cared for and protected from heat damage or years spent standing upright.

Finally, the price must match the quality.

I'll pay $100 for a Chardonnay. I'll spend more on Cabernet Sauvignon. I'll turn a blind eye to what I spend on Pinot Noir and Champagne.

But every now and then, I volunteer to battle the crowds for household essentials at my local Costco just so I can peruse the wine selection for a screaming deal of a wine, somewhere south of $50. Ideally, well south.

Inevitably, what happens is I’ll find those sub-$50, or sub-$25 deals, but on more occasions than I’d like to admit, I've walked out positively giddy over what I spent on bottles of Dom Pérignon, Cristal, and Château Pontet-Canet. Just as giddy over the six bottles of $12.99 Napa Sauvignon Blanc I bought.

Sworn to secrecy

Then there are the Napa Valley bargains that I know perhaps a little too much about — particularly the fruit sources.

All too often, when a producer is pouring a wine they believe will eventually land in a Costco bin, they'll quietly hint at the coveted vineyard source behind it, usually protected by a non-disclosure agreement.

My eyes nearly pop out of my head when I hear the price.

"Wait. That fruit, in that bottle, costs under $30? Under $20?"

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone," is often the follow-up from the winemaker, vintner, or broker.

"Well, let me know when it hits the shelves," is usually my curt response.

This happens a lot in Napa Valley. There's simply too much of a good thing.

Great vineyards produce more fruit than the market can always absorb, and that fruit often finds its way into private labels or special bottlings made exclusively for Costco.

After all, Costco currently operates 923 warehouses, including 633 in the United States.

With that kind of nationwide footprint, they can buy at scale, creating ample opportunities for Costco to strike bargains it can pass along to consumers.

That even goes for some of Napa’s iconic labels that end up in the bins—blue-chip estates that even I’ve spotted at my local Costco in Novato, California, including a three-pack of Screaming Eagle, bottles of Opus One, and Shafer.

Or wines crafted by 100-point winemakers such as Thomas Rivers Brown (see the Caterwaul on my list below) and Benoit Touquette (Teeter-Totter).

So here's my suggestion: head to your local Costco and ask for the person who manages the wine inventory.

If you get them on the floor, tell them what styles of wine you typically enjoy and ask them to point you toward one of the best Napa bargains currently in the store.

The bottles on this list are wines I've found in Costco locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

That doesn't mean you'll find every one of them at your local warehouse, and even if you do, they may not be there for long.

For now, see if you can get your hands on these eight bargains at a Costco near you. Happy hunting.

Cristaldi's Eight Napa value picks at Costco

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