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Costco sells a LOT of red wine under $15. But which ones are actually drinkable? I did the only reasonable thing: bought EVERY SINGLE ONE and blind-tasted them in a bracket tournament. Some of these wines made me question my life choices. One got so offensive I literally put it in timeout. But plot twist — a few of these cheap bottles are legitimately GOOD??
Let’s find out if any bottle under $15 can actually earn the crown. Spoiler: one does, and it might already be in your cart.
WINES IN THIS VIDEO:
All under $15, all available at Costco right now. Full list with prices in the video chapters.
I’m Dustin, and I’ve tasted thousands of wines—my mission is to make wine accessible and fun for everyone by cutting through the snobbery and complication with honest, helpful reviews for non-wine people.
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Watch my other videos here!
🍷 Sommelier Ranked Every Costco Wine (Ultimate Costco Wine Tier List) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkfkgLQJnMg
🍷 I Rank Every Red Italian Wine at Trader Joe’s (There Were 23!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-npw_9SPo&t=480s
🍷 I Took On 21 Bottles of Trader Joe’s Pinot Noir in One Sitting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKhsSc4lx4s&t=203s
🍷 How I wish ORDERING WINE was explained to me as a beginner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxtx0vux4I&t=22s
🍷 Sommelier Ranked $400 of Trader Joe’s Bordeaux Wine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKaousRwylg
🍷 I Tested Costco vs. Trader Joe’s Cabernet Sauvignon: Which One Is Best? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qvuj5zlhWE&t=5s
🍷 Is a $300 Champagne Really Worth It? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i4s-ZD1mdk&t=782s
TIMESTAMP
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:35 Round 1
00:00:37 Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Columbia Valley | $9.99 vs. Beaujolais – Villages 2020 Louis Jadot | $9.49
00:03:56 Bogle Vineyards Phantom | $8.97 vs. Lucia Victoria Reserva Rioja (Tempranillo) | $10.99
00:09:17 Kirkland Signature Vacqueyras | $11.49 vs. Kirkland Signature 2023 Malbec | $6.99
00:13:05 Kaiken Indomito Malbec 2019 | $12.99 vs. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 | $9.99
00:17:14 Menage a Trois Red Blend 2022 | $6.89 vs. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (Columbia Valley) | $7.49
00:20:06 Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 California | $4.97 vs. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Washington State | $14.99
00:24:00 Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi | $11.99 vs. Columbia Winery Merlot 2021 | $12.99
00:28:16 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Sonoma County California | $6.99 vs. Octopoda Cabernet Franc 2023 | $8.97
—————–
00:32:59 Round 2
00:33:06 Beaujolais – Villages 2020 Louis Jadot | $9.49 vs. Bogle Vineyards Phantom | $8.97
00:36:39 Kaiken Indomito Malbec 2019 | $12.99 vs. Kirkland Signature Vacqueyras | $11.49
00:39:11 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (Columbia Valley) | $7.49 vs. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Washington State | $14.99
00:41:21 Columbia Winery Merlot 2021 vs. Octopoda Cabernet Franc 2023 | $8.97
——————
00:44:30 Round 3
00:44:52 Beaujolais – Villages 2020 Louis Jadot | $9.49 vs. Kirkland Signature Vacqueyras | $11.49
00:47:39 Columbia Winery Merlot 2021 | $12.99 vs. Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Washington State | $14.99
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00:49:24 FINAL ROUND
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30 Comments
The 2021 Columbia Merlot was probably a distributor special – Columbia Winery (and Hogue Cellars) was sold by Gallo to Ackley last year; Columbia was a VERY slow selling product, and we all know how hard selling Merlot is….
Thanks for another great, informative video. I’ve watched your other ones as well and enjoy the exuberant irreverence, but I also enjoy the calmer tone of this one! Gotta go buy me some Kirkland Vacqueyras!
Question, why you don’t do the match by grape? Or at least with some similarities
Unfortunately, the lack of depth of field change when you lean forward and back makes this video unwatchable. Also it looks like you have a filter on the camera that is softening the image too much. I enjoy your content but you can find a way to have crisp focus throughout the shot.
Now i am nitpicking. There are no Bordeaux grapes in the Phantom. Zin and Petit sirah Come on Dustin get your facts straight. Keep some notes
Vacqueyras is predominately Grenache ! Come on .
We need to boost your channel
We always enjoy your videos, Dustin. The Kirkland Vacqueyras is one of my favorites as well.
Your work is very much appreciated. Keep it up! Thank you.
We love the winner too. We had it two months ago. So sad it sold out so quickly
That was fun. Great entertainment and I’m glad Vacqueyras won as I am a huge fan of southern Rhône GSM. Thanks for the video
This was awesome! THANK YOU. Very helpful and a lot of fun. Kirkland, Bogle, and other value wines, seeing how they stack up was great. I always appreciate how comprehensive you are. Thanks for another one.
We bought the Lucia Victoria Reserva Rioja last week and I thought it was outstanding. The nose was beautiful, and if you can just give it five minutes in the glass it will open up. And it didn't lose anything on day 2. We bought the Kirkland Signature Vacqueyras as well but have not opened it yet, but I have never been disappointed by it in years past. My favorite Kirkland wine is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It's just under $20.
Have you guys ever noticed on many cheap, factory wines, the leading flavor is vanilla? My guess is that many times that comes from the use of oak chips in an attempt to add something to a wine that doesn't otherwise have much going on.
Great and informative video but I think you said California was the biggest state in the country. That is not correct Texas is bigger than California and Alaska swallows both of them.
This is such a great video and so much fun to watch! It's so enlightening that you can actually get good quality wines for under $15, which is a fraction of the cost of overly manufactured, terrible wines like Meomi and Prisoner. I hope this helps people navigate the wine aisle at Costco and if people realize you can drink fine wine that's also affordable, maybe the wine industry has a chance!
That Vacqueyras is a great wine. It's produced by Guillaume Gonnet and with their label retails for $26 so it's a steal for $11.49 at Costco. I believe Gonnet also produces Kirkland branded Gigondas and CDP. Great video BTW.
to anyone watching this, the Louis Jadot chardonnay that is like $12.99 is amazing too. Blows many $30 whites out of the water.
This was great, thanks for sharing this. I'll be getting a few you had on this for sure. Thanks!
The Kirkland CdP at $18.99is even better.
I have a question: I'm a total wine idiot, so I don't know how to describe wines. But I had a red wine at Heinz Cellars in Anderson Valley that blew me away. When I see it as Costco, I walk by, because I can't spend that much on wine. What sort of wine would be comparable to it? It was rich, like it wanted to take over my entire soul. No bitterness, no tannic astringency. Just lush. I've tasted an $80 Pinot Noir, also from Anderson Valley, that was on the same level. What should I be looking for if I want to find a similar wine, or do I have to plan on spending $80?
Sorry to note, the wine label at 39:57 is not correct. (There may be others but this one jumped at me since you are talking about Cabernets and then it says Malbec). The devil is in the details they say… Oops, posted too soon: but this time you re-used the label for the other wine at 43:04 (it should be the Cabernet Franc not the Malbec).
It’s not “Boojolais” it’s “bowjolais”. Comparing Gamay with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend is weird. Tempranillo is the backbone of Rioja wines but in my opinion, if you can get them, Penedes wines are much better. But they are more expensive…..I could go on, but anyway thanks for the video
Dustin your poor attention to setting up the production of the video is regrettable. The paired-to-compare wine bottles are always positioned to be out of focus. Further, it is insufficient to briefly name the wine in each bottle then talk for minutes then declare the bottle position of the winner without again naming the wines! It is only on the finale pairing that the wine names & types or presented on superimposed text. However, this video is a good example of a failure to educate/inform an audience.
BOOjolais? HilARious.
Great video. Helpful. Also, good job responding to the armchair critics.
Very annoying.
I'm an advanced Sommelier. I've tasted hundreds of value wines to find just a couple to my liking. Menage a Trois red blend & Silk sell for $7.77 at Vons and Albertsons. Sterling from Sonoma makes a really nice Pinot Noir and Cab for $7.95. Toasted Head from Lake County is a really nice cab at $7.95. And Kendall Jackson Chardonnay from Sonoma sells for around $12 and compares with $30 Chardonnays. This is all according to Robert's personal taste buds. But you might try them, you might agree… Salute
I just picked up a $14.99 bottle of Kirkland 2023 PAUILLAC! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it. Now does it taste like something from that AOC, not necessarily (As You have mentioned it doesn’t quite have the concentration but it’s only 13.5% ABV, which I liked) if you put this up to a $14 bottle of Bordeaux superior it is 100% worth the $14.99 price point
14 Hands Merlot is must try for the price range. I think it hold its against the $10-16 wines presented.