Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay 2009

“Sheez, give the woman a break,” is what I want to say about all the hype over CNBC’s recent interview with Annette Alvarez-Peters, Costco's lead wine buyer. CNBC's Carl Quintanilla, asked Alvarez-Peters if she felt wine perhaps was more special than toilet paper or tin foil. Alvarez-Peters’ conclusion, "People can look at it that way. But at the end of the day, it's a beverage.” This 17 word response has many wine lovers seething and others like me looking inward asking; “How special is wine to me?” On my recent trip to Costco, I spied a bottle of Kirkland Sonoma Chardonnay. Curiosity was piqued and I decided to give the Costco private label brand a try.

Tropical aromas mixed with green apple. Semi-sweet flavors of mango and peach with a creamy mouthfeel and a toasty oak finish. Although it was a tad on the sweet side, I have to admit, I didn’t hate it. For $9.99 I would probably buy this one again but wouldn’t serve at a dinner party. This would be more of an everyday wine to enjoy in the summer heat.

You can pick up a little trivia info in the article linked above. For example, did you know Costco’s Wine Leader sets the prices on wines and those prices help determine the market value of that wine for other retailers? And did you know, Costco is the largest American importer of French wines with some pretty well known labels like Château Mouton Rothshild and Château Pétrus? Not too shabby, huh.

So how do I feel about Alvarez-Peters’ saying wine is no more important than toilet paper? Well I can say both are pretty important to me but on very different levels.

A recent trip to Georgia wineries with my in-laws proved to me how much I want to share wine with others. My husband and I took them to two of the best wineries in the area. Upon arrival at the first winery they did not want to partake in the tastings (after I had been touting this winery for the past 10 days). At the second winery my husband I thought it would be a great way to wind down their visit with a bottle while overlooking the mountains on the back deck. Again, the in-laws did not want to partake.

At that point, I was offended and a tad miffed. Ok, not just a tad, I was pissed and it showed. Wine is a big part of my life, I hate to admit this but it defines me. Now that I have access to these great wineries I want to share them with others. However, on that day I realized sometimes we have to step back and take stock in people we are with and come to the sad conclusion that to some, wine really is just a beverage. Sigh

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