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Summer in full swing means one thing: it’s rosé season! The pink colored wine has accelerated in popularity over the past decade as the wine to drink over the summer and for good reason. It’s light, bright, and often comes with a reasonable price tag. Want to make that price tag even more reasonable? Buy your rosé at Costco.
It’s no surprise that America’s leading warehouse club has great prices on wine, but the retailer also has a great selection of wines. According to Delish, Costco had over $2.5 billion dollars in wine sales in 2020. With big sales comes great negotiating power, so Costco is able to get really incredible wines for prices you won’t see elsewhere.
And you don’t always need a membership to shop wine at Costco. A handful of states allow anyone to purchase alcohol at the warehouse. But don’t take our word for it. We chatted with a few wine experts to get their picks on which rosé you should be scoping out this summer at the warehouse.
“If you see a wine you like in Costco, move fast,” recommends sommelier and wine consultant Cassandra Rosen. “What you see today may not be there tomorrow, and due to high turnover, each store can sell out quickly.”
Keep in mind not all warehouses stock the same wines, making it even more imperative to grab something you like when you see it. Here are eight rosés you’ll want to snag if you can find them!
Your first instinct may be to bypass a bottle of wine with the Kirkland Signature label, but don’t. There is a reason Kirkland Signature products have quite the following, even when it comes to alcohol. Costco generally doesn’t put its name on something that isn’t high quality, and those items are often made by well-known and well-respected brands.
This rosé is a winner across the board and the south of France is usually a great area for rosé. Andrew Cullen, editor of the Costco Wine Blog, says, “Indeed we are huge fans of the Kirkland Cotes de Provence Rosé. The most recent 2022 vintage that is in stores now was another in the line of winners, and maybe one of the only things in the world where the price is actually going down.” Past vintages sold for $9.99 but the price is now $7.99 at the warehouse.
According to the Reverse Wine Snob, the wine is a blend of 37% grenache, 29% cinsault, 10% syrah, 7% carignan, 7% tibouren, 6% vermentino, and 4% ugni blanc, meaning it’s made with both red and white wine grapes.
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This rosé has quite a following and likely needs no introduction. “In a way it’s a benchmark for a successful provencal rosé,” says Eduard Seitan, wine director of One Off Hospitality in Chicago. “They’ve been around for a bit and the wines are consistent from year-to-year, with that wine you aren’t taking any chances.” If you can find it in your local store, it’s worth snagging ASAP as some report it’s been harder to find this year. The bottle will likely run you around $19.
For $12.99 at the big box retailer, this pick can’t be beat if you like drier rosés. “It’s very dry, medium plus acidity, with flavors of white flowers, white strawberry and hibiscus,” says Paul Guerzon, beverage manager at Monterey Brasserie in New York City and certified sommelier. “This one you’ll want to serve super cold.”
Since it’s on the lighter side, Guerzon recommends indulging alongside lighter foods like sashimi, raw bar items, or salads with fruit and goat cheese.
If you want some bubbles in your rosé, Cullen recommends scoping out the 825 Cremant de Limoux Brut rosé, “a fantastic choice for a bubbly rosé.” (Cullen is a fan of the still rosé here too, so if you see something from the producer Gerard Bertrand, it’s worth a second look.) The bubbly version has the right amount of effervescence, and “plenty of red fruit, namely strawberry with a bit of raspberry,” according to Cullen. It should cost around $15 in the warehouse.
Celebrity wines may be a dime a dozen these days, but sommelier Samantha Capaldi suggests not sleeping on reality TV personality Kaitlyn Bristowe’s rosé, Spade and Sparrows. “For less than $15, a bottle you can get Provence-style rosé that will be your porch-pounder pick all year long,” she says. “On the palate, this wine starts with flavors of tart strawberry, raspberries, hints of tangerine and finishes bright and clean!” Capaldi says it pairs perfectly with just about anything from your Netflix to salty foods.
If you haven’t experienced whole cluster wine, it’s when winemakers literally take the whole cluster of grapes and ferment as is. It’s something that Willamette Valley Vineyards does often with its Pinot Noir, and its rosé version has made it to Costco this year. Cullen says, “This is super delicious with nice red fruit, crisp, perfect for warm weather enjoyment.” The bottle will run you around $15.
Sara Jiminez, sommelier and founder of Somm in the City, a luxury wine events consultancy, says this is a great pick for a “frosé-worthy wine.” This South African wine is bigger and bolder than some of the other rosés you may try with a blend of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, and merlot grapes.
“The ultimate summer sipper with notes of red berries, black cherries and spice,” she says. It’ll run you between $7 and $9 in the warehouse which makes this bottle a steal.
Rosen says she was pleasantly surprised by this $10.99 bottle, which she calls “an exceptionally well-balanced Prosecco rosé from the Veneto region of Italy made from Glera and Pinot Nero grapes.” She suggests pairing it with fresh fruit, grilled trout in a light citrus herb sauce, or lemon dill chicken salad.
“On the nose you’ll notice notes of green apple, red berries, and strawberry, with pomegranate, citrus and tropical melon flavors on the palate,” she says.
