Kirkland?

[Curtis_Chen]

@AlexO

Anyone ever try the Kirkland Vodka? Ever look at where it’s made and taste is side by side with Grey Goose?

Most people bring up the fact that Kirkland Vodka is produced in the same distillery as Grey Goose. My friend in the business told me that the water sources are different. Grey Goose uses natural spring water in France while Kirkland uses something far more ordinary (I forgot exactly what).

I remember finding Kirkland not nearly as smooth as Grey Goose. As for Kirkland’s pricier vodka that’s imported from France, I remember finding that just slightly better than the less expensive bottling.

Anyone else want to chip in?

[Shannon_Perdue]

A +1 on the 2012 Kirkland Signature Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - I bought one to try and have gone back for 2 more. I served it blind and most of the guesses were Burgundy. Note that no one pegged it for a high-end Burg. As Mark said it has nice acidity on the finish. A good buy under $20 and probably better than many sub $20 Pinots.

[Corey_N]

@Curtis C

@AlexO

Anyone ever try the Kirkland Vodka? Ever look at where it’s made and taste is side by side with Grey Goose?

Most people bring up the fact that Kirkland Vodka is produced in the same distillery as Grey Goose. My friend in the business told me that the water sources are different. Grey Goose uses natural spring water in France while Kirkland uses something far more ordinary (I forgot exactly what).

I remember finding Kirkland not nearly as smooth as Grey Goose. As for Kirkland’s pricier vodka that’s imported from France, I remember finding that just slightly better than the less expensive bottling.

Anyone else want to chip in?

Vodka is supposed to be odorless and tasteless. Unless you’re drinking it straight (and really, you’re basically saying that you don’t like flavor if you do) it doesn’t matter much. I remember watching a tv show where they blinded a bunch of Yuppie vodka drinkers roughly 4/6 said Grey Goose was their go to it finished 5th behind Smirnov.

Obviously, YMMV.

---

Tried the Zinfandel…not a fan.

• 2010 Kirkland Signature Zinfandel Old Vine - USA, California, Sonoma County (5/4/2013)
  Deep magenta with a reticent nose of purple fruits. Surprisingly no heat.

Flavors of black cherry, boysenberry and Band-Aid. Slightly sweet. The palate is surprisingly soft and glycerin like, no doubt owing to the 15.3% ABV. Surprisingly only a hint of the alcohol comes through, and usually I am sensitive to its presence. Short finish. This is a wine that is clearly built for immediate consumption and not one to age. It offers a decent QPR but it is not something that I would seek out again. (83 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[David_B]

@Arv R

@scott c

Kirkland Champagne is legit. It’s made by Manuel Janisson and performs well in blind tastings with big house NVs.

+1

Some of their spirits are good too. I’ve liked the bourbon and silver tequila; wife thinks the rums and vodka are good too. Those are the house ‘well’ liquors, when making something mixed.
.

I bought a bottle of their 18 yr old Speyside Scotch last year, and it was good enough to drink neat. Great deal for $30. Wish I bought a few more bottles…

[Arv_R]

@David B

@Arv R

@scott c

Kirkland Champagne is legit. It’s made by Manuel Janisson and performs well in blind tastings with big house NVs.

+1

Some of their spirits are good too. I’ve liked the bourbon and silver tequila; wife thinks the rums and vodka are good too. Those are the house ‘well’ liquors, when making something mixed.
.

I bought a bottle of their 18 yr old Speyside Scotch last year, and it was good enough to drink neat. Great deal for $30. Wish I bought a few more bottles…

I don’t know why, but spirits in my town are bizarrely cheap, especially if they are from the big branded global players. I saw Bushmills at the market for $13 / 750 ml last week. We don’t really go through all that much , so even a low price didn’t get me motivated to buy any. Maybe once Easter is over there isn’t much gift giving in the US for a while?

[Scott_Butler]

@Arv R

@scott c

t’s made by Manuel Janisson and performs well in blind tastings with big house NVs.

They pushed out some Rioja this year, which I don’t think I’d seen before. It was not so good. Their RRV pinot was ok, not very bright but lots of fruit. I think the chards are ok but it seems there are other interesting ones for not much more.

The turnover at my costco in the wine dept is pretty high, so its hard to be sure what will be there at any time, especially beyond their own house stuff.

Hmm, a few of us winos recently tried the Reserve Rioja that is currently out and thought it was surprisingly good. We did agree that it falls apart in about 3-4 hours, so open it up and drink it.

Reading about their sparkling, I may have to try it.

[Arv_R]

It was certainly gulpable, but it didn’t particularly feel like Rioja to me.

I’ve never been there, but people tell me that the Redwood City Costco is like the Shangri-La of Costco wine depts. Perhaps someday I will make a pilgrammage there. And see if their hotdogs are also indeed better.

[Chris_Seiber]

Let me ask - to those of you who buy and enjoy the Kirkland wines, do you think they are superior to any other wines in their categories you could get without excessive difficulty? Is the Willamette Valley Pinot better than any other Willamette Valley pinot you could find for around the same price? Same question for the Rioja, CdP, Columbia Valley red, etc.

I’m curious whether the reason for the purchase is (a) these wines outperform everything else you can find, (b) the wines are good values, and while there are better options out there, you grab them for the convenience while you’re shopping at Costco rather than having to seek out better wines, (c) you consider it a plus that they are Kirkland wines and kind of dig the idea of buying/drinking Kirkland wines, or (d) some combination or other reason.

Not an attack or a criticism at all, but I’m interested in understanding what the appeal is, especially among wine enthusiast types like y’all.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I myself would buy a similarly-priced wine from a conventional wine brand - often located in a neighboring bin at Costco - than a Kirkland brand. There is probably a bit of label snobbery in that (I’ll admit I’d rather serve my guests a bottle of Mondavi cab than Kirkland cab), but I also like that you know what kind of wine you’re buying when you buy reputable producers (e.g. if I’m buying Kirkland Columbia Valley Red or Oakville cab or Sonoma Zinfandel, I have no clue what kind of wine that is going to be, either this time or vintage to vintage, but if I buy Columbia Crest or Mondavi or Bogle for the same price, I know what I’m getting), and I just feel as though there is plenty of good wine at these same price points to where I don’t really need to gamble on what the Kirkland wine is going to turn out to be.

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Arv R

It was certainly gulpable, but it didn’t particularly feel like Rioja to me.

I’ve never been there, but people tell me that the Redwood City Costco is like the Shangri-La of Costco wine depts. Perhaps someday I will make a pilgrammage there. And see if their hotdogs are also indeed better.

They have had Screaming Eagle.

[jdietz]

@Curtis C

@AlexO

Anyone ever try the Kirkland Vodka? Ever look at where it’s made and taste is side by side with Grey Goose?

Most people bring up the fact that Kirkland Vodka is produced in the same distillery as Grey Goose. My friend in the business told me that the water sources are different. Grey Goose uses natural spring water in France while Kirkland uses something far more ordinary (I forgot exactly what).

I remember finding Kirkland not nearly as smooth as Grey Goose. As for Kirkland’s pricier vodka that’s imported from France, I remember finding that just slightly better than the less expensive bottling.

Anyone else want to chip in?

Can the girlfriend tell the difference between Kirkland Vodka and Grey Goose?

[David_B]

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Arv R

It was certainly gulpable, but it didn’t particularly feel like Rioja to me.

I’ve never been there, but people tell me that the Redwood City Costco is like the Shangri-La of Costco wine depts. Perhaps someday I will make a pilgrammage there. And see if their hotdogs are also indeed better.

They have had Screaming Eagle.

They had a bottle of DRC when I was there about 6 months ago.

[Arv_R]

@Chris Seiber

Let me ask - to those of you who buy and enjoy the Kirkland wines, do you think they are superior to any other wines in their categories you could get without excessive difficulty? Is the Willamette Valley Pinot better than any other Willamette Valley pinot you could find for around the same price? Same question for the Rioja, CdP, Columbia Valley red, etc.

I’m curious whether the reason for the purchase is (a) these wines outperform everything else you can find, (b) the wines are good values, and while there are better options out there, you grab them for the convenience while you’re shopping at Costco rather than having to seek out better wines, (c) you consider it a plus that they are Kirkland wines and kind of dig the idea of buying/drinking Kirkland wines, or (d) some combination or other reason.

Not an attack or a criticism at all, but I’m interested in understanding what the appeal is, especially among wine enthusiast types like y’all.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I myself would buy a similarly-priced wine from a conventional wine brand - often located in a neighboring bin at Costco - than a Kirkland brand. There is probably a bit of label snobbery in that (I’ll admit I’d rather serve my guests a bottle of Mondavi cab than Kirkland cab), but I also like that you know what kind of wine you’re buying when you buy reputable producers (e.g. if I’m buying Kirkland Columbia Valley Red or Oakville cab or Sonoma Zinfandel, I have no clue what kind of wine that is going to be, either this time or vintage to vintage, but if I buy Columbia Crest or Mondavi or Bogle for the same price, I know what I’m getting), and I just feel as though there is plenty of good wine at these same price points to where I don’t really need to gamble on what the Kirkland wine is going to turn out to be.

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.

You left out (e) Kirkland wines are the perfect pairing for Kirkland foods!

The terroir of Kirkland marries well with their muffins, nuts, and creamy spreads. And wet wipes.

[Shannon_Perdue]

Is the Willamette Valley Pinot better than any other Willamette Valley pinot you could find for around the same price?

Yes, most Pinots worth drinking run over $20. Down here in Tejas OR and WA wines are pretty expensive. Except at Costco where they bring them in at reasonable price points.

I remembered another one - 2012 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Series Stags Leap District ~$20. A good Napa Cab that really outperformed the price point. Again I bought one to try and went back in for more. The winos in town started hitting it and it sold out quickly.

[david_dickerson]

@Bill Tex Landreth

Cracked a 2012 Oakville Cab just now. Will report back.

How was it Bill

[GeoffEwart]

@Curtis C

@AlexO

Anyone ever try the Kirkland Vodka? Ever look at where it’s made and taste is side by side with Grey Goose?

Most people bring up the fact that Kirkland Vodka is produced in the same distillery as Grey Goose. My friend in the business told me that the water sources are different. Grey Goose uses natural spring water in France while Kirkland uses something far more ordinary (I forgot exactly what).

I remember finding Kirkland not nearly as smooth as Grey Goose. As for Kirkland’s pricier vodka that’s imported from France, I remember finding that just slightly better than the less expensive bottling.

Anyone else want to chip in?

When I was working for one of the large spirits companies the word that we got was that it comes out of the still as the same product but then is proofed with regular RO water rather than Grey Goose’s spring water. Still a very clean, high quality vodka - if I remember I’ll run a GC on it and see how it looks, I remember doing one a few years ago but can’t recall the results

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@david dickerson

@Bill Tex Landreth

Cracked a 2012 Oakville Cab just now. Will report back.

How was it Bill

Passable for $20. But, as others have stated up thread, better values exist in the marketplace at the price point +/- a couple bucks. I bought because I love Oakville fruit. Would not buy again.

[dteng]

@Arv R

It was certainly gulpable, but it didn’t particularly feel like Rioja to me.

I’ve never been there, but people tell me that the Redwood City Costco is like the Shangri-La of Costco wine depts. Perhaps someday I will make a pilgrammage there. And see if their hotdogs are also indeed better.

yeah they have an ok selection…(this was today)

[Curtis_Chen]

@jdietz

Can the girlfriend tell the difference between Kirkland Vodka and Grey Goose?

She’s very teachable in that she’ll go with whatever I say.

[Curtis_Chen]

@dteng

yeah they have an ok selection…(this was today)

Well, listen up guys. You can get a bottle of DRC for $1500 or you can get 75 bottles of $20 wine! I think the answer is obvious.

Neither.

[jdietz]

@Curtis C

@jdietz

Can the girlfriend tell the difference between Kirkland Vodka and Grey Goose?

She’s very teachable in that she’ll go with whatever I say.

Finally.