The COVID-19 pandemic has upended society in the past three weeks. It’s a massive challenge and meeting it requires a level of communal cooperation not seen since WWII. I hope everyone reading this is safe, healthy and thinking about how their actions affect those around them.
My wife and I are fortunate we are accustomed to working from home. So on the Work front not much is different, aside from the dichotomy between that relative normalcy and the rest of society shutting down. So many people in occupations that require face-to-face contact have lost their livelihoods overnight. We hope the relief packages being passed get them the money and loans they need to hang on.
Social distancing has halted any progress on the Wheels front this month. There was a NCC DIY event planned for last weekend, during which I was going to change the oil in the M3, take a sample for a Blackstone analysis and replace a piece of door trim. It was of course cancelled and no one knows when the DIY events will resume.
That leaves Wine as the topic for this month. Rarely leaving home provides plenty of time to enjoy it. With consumer spending coming to a screeching halt I think a value focused comparison is in order. Our local Costco sells a lot of wine, including a Kirkland brand Champagne my wife Gabriele enjoys.
The bubbly is made by Janisson and Sons in Verzenay, France and is amazingly good at the price point of $20. Here’s a review from the Good Cheap Vino blog which says it compares favorably with Champagnes costing twice as much. I wondered whether other Kirkland wines would deliver a similar QPR – Quality to Price Ratio.
The Reverse Wine Snob ran a positive review of the 2017 Kirkland Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon last month, so we decided to see for ourselves. It is “cellared and bottled” by the company DC Flynt MW and sells for $15. As comparison, we also bought from Costco a bottle of 2015 Markham Cabernet Sauvignon at the competitive price of $30.
The Costco Cabernet opens with a very subtle bouquet. It’s a bright and very approachable wine, with a lightish body, red fruit and soft tannins. Red cherry leads with just a touch of fresh earth on the finish. This wine would offend no one but it’s not typically Napa in style and we didn’t like it as much as Jon Thorsen over at RWS.
The 2015 Markham begins with a big nose of graphite, smoke and leather. Drank right away the components of this wine seem to clash, it needs at least half an hour in the glass or aeration. It’s a typically full bodied Napa Cabernet with lots of cassis fruit and chewy tannins, which get velvety on the palate given a little time. It has a depth and structure that the Costco Cabernet does not, commensurate with its higher price point.
So I’d say the Costco Cabernet does not provide the QPR of the Costco Champagne. Since in our opinion Good Cheap Vino nailed their Champagne review, here’s a list from them of other QPR winners available at Costco. Think about helping other wine retailers in your area get through this slow down if you can – through delivery, curb side pickup or even a virtual happy hour.
We’ll get through this pandemic. Good wine can help pass the time. Stay calm, carry on and cheers.