The Best Costco Wines For A Backyard Barbecue

Costco is a one-stop shop if you are hosting a group for a backyard barbecue. There are few places better than Costco for stocking up on family-size packages of ribs, brisket, ribeye steaks, and chicken wings, along with an enticing selection of wine. While beer and bourbon make great barbecue accompaniments, a glass of wine pairs better than you might expect. Wine's natural acidity and tannins cut through the fattiness of your favorite barbecued meats, whether you're cooking low-and-slow or flame-grilled fast.

Due to its buying power, Costco offers members one of the most diverse wine selections in the country, featuring wines from producers nationwide and interesting international options. You can even find some exceptionally rare wines available at Costco. It does this while passing savings on to its customers, often selling the wines below the suggested retail price. 

To determine the best wines at Costco to enjoy with your next backyard barbecue, we put together a list of classic BBQ dishes, along with various unique options and sides, and then searched Costco's shelves to find the best wines to pair with them. In doing so, I used my knowledge and training as a Certified Sommelier and devoted Costco shopper. I spent over 20 years traveling the back roads of Texas searching for some of the best barbecue in the country, and have been pairing wine and food for clients for just as long. All of the wines are currently available at various Costco locations across the country.

For a well-marbled, grade A cut of meat, such as a bone-in ribeye steak or a perfectly grilled porterhouse, you will want a premium wine with ample yet balanced tannin to match the meat's richness, such as a cabernet sauvignon. One of the best you can find at select Costco locations is Nickel & Nickel John C. Sullenger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery is known for crafting site-specific, single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines that tell the story of the land, drawn from quality vineyards throughout Napa Valley.

Named after one of Napa Valley's early settlers, the winery's John C. Sullenger Vineyard lies just behind the Nickel & Nickel estate in Oakville. The sustainably farmed vineyard is prime real estate for growing terroir-driven Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. The area's mineral-rich, sedimentary, alluvial soils, with good drainage and nutrient levels, produce high-quality fruit. The full-bodied wine is concentrated and complex, showing rich layers of black cherry, blackberry, dusty leather, espresso, and pencil lead. Its bold, well-structured character pairs well with the rich flavors of the flame-kissed meat.

For many barbecue fans, there is nothing better than the smoky burnt ends and barbecue bark of a well-seasoned Texas-style barbecued brisket. The smoky bark, often enhanced by a simple dry rub of salt, pepper, and seasonings such as paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar, forms the flavorful outer crust on a low-and-slow brisket, locking the juices into the meat. The thought alone makes my heart flutter and my mouth water. To pair with it, you'll want a wine that complements the melt-in-your-mouth character of the brisket, such as a Rhône Valley red. 

Available at select Costco locations, Famille Perrin's Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a savory wine with smoky, spicy, earthy notes and a meaty character that pairs well with barbecue classics. From one of the finest producers in the Rhône Valley's Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a historic region renowned for its remarkable, refined blends, the mouth-watering wine has power and age-worthy complexity, with a tannic backbone that balances the bold flavors of the meat.

Lamb and Merlot pair particularly well. The fruity, herbaceous palate of merlot, with a full-bodied, smooth, balanced tannin profile, mellows the natural gaminess of the lamb while cutting through the fatty richness. While Costco offers an assortment of merlot wines from a range of producers, Duckhorn Vineyards stands out for its quality, provenance, and 50-year history. 

The Napa Valley producer has crafted quality wines from the region for over five decades, with merlot being a top priority since its start. The winery believed in the effortless elegance and balance of the variety, even when few others were making single-variety merlot, particularly in Napa. From fruit grown throughout Napa Valley, including warm Calistoga and cool Carneros, Duckhorn's Napa Valley Merlot opens with classic notes of red berries, red cherries, wildflowers, and woody herbs. 

These flavors are complemented by cedar, baking spice, and dark chocolate, resulting from aging the wine for 15 months in 100% French oak. With savory toastiness from French oak barrel aging and a lengthy, elegant finish, Duckhorn's merlot pairs well with smoked lamb breast or lamb shoulder.

The saying, "if it grows together, it goes together," was never more true than when sipping a Pinot Noir wine from Oregon's Willamette Valley while eating grilled salmon, preferably a King salmon from the nearby Columbia River. The two are a match made in culinary heaven. The acidity and freshness of the Pinot Noir balance the richness of the fatty fish. Select Costco locations offer one of Oregon's best, Lingua Franca Avni Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. 

Also known as Chinook, King salmon is a variety of salmon that is exceptionally fatty. Its unctuous richness pairs well with the wine's natural acidity, which is enhanced by the vineyard's proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Cooling breezes off the water roll through Willamette's Eola-Amity Hills area, one of the main sources of Avni's fruit. These breezes keep temperatures mild, allowing for a long growing season in which fruit ripens fully and remains fresh. The wine balances red cherries, red berries, ripe figs, and wild rose notes with herbaceous notes of woody herbs, truffle, and wet leaves, delivering a fruity savoriness that works well with grilled salmon topped with fig mustard.

Zinfandel pairs extremely well with many barbecue dishes, including your favorite cuts of pork. It is one of the best wines to pair with spare ribs, works nicely with double-cut pork chops, and is heavenly with one of the mandatory barbecue staples, smoked pulled pork. Made from fatty pork butt or pork shoulder, the slow cooking melts the fat and collagen into the meat, creating a highly flavorful, savory meat that begs to be piled high between two thick slices of Texas toast and paired with a full-flavored, jammy, peppery zinfandel. 

Costco carries a range of zinfandel wines that vary in quality and price. For my money, I will always opt for a bottle of Zin from Frank Family Vineyards. The wine delivers the expected black fruit-forward flavors; however, the palate is smooth, rich, and dry, without the over-oaked, cloying character sometimes found in Zinfandel wines. Made from sustainably farmed, estate fruit grown in Napa Valley, the plush wine layers blackberry pie, blueberry, and black cherry with warm baking spice and subtle hints of cracked pepper.

Another wine that works exceptionally well with flame-grilled salmon is rosé. Costco carries dozens of options displaying a variety of styles, since a winemaker can use any red grape variety to produce rosé. However, a Provence-style rosé blending varieties such as grenache, syrah, cinsault, and vermentino works particularly well with seafood.  

Select locations offer Domaine Leos Cuvée Augusta Côtes de Provence Rosé. The bone-dry rosé wine blends aromatic, red-fruit-forward grenache with floral vermentino and naturally fresh cinsault. Made from organically grown fruit, the wine's well-rounded, crisp, and fruity palate has enough weight and structure to pair with the richness of the fish. The juicy, balanced, fruit-forward profile also helps balance a Cajun-grilled salmon's smoky, peppery spice.

Burgers on the grill are a backyard barbecue staple. With smoky aromas you can smell from a mile away, flame-grilled burgers have a juicy, savory flavor that pairs well with the complexity and tannic structure of Cabernet Sauvignon. The fat content of a burger keeps the meat juicy, and the wine's tannins help balance the fat. 

Juggernaut Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon, from hillside vineyards in California, is a concentrated, structured wine with bold black fruit, black licorice, vanilla, and toasted oak flavors. The textured wine coats the mouth and sticks to the ribs, delivering the tannin and acidity necessary to pair with a hamburger. Available at select Costco locations in magnum-sized wine bottles, perfect when hosting a barbecue crowd.

Chardonnay and chicken are a natural pairing. The freshness and creamy toastiness of oak-aged chardonnay complement the richness and smoky char of grilled chicken thighs. At the same time, the wine's natural acidity will cut through the fattiness of the dark meat chicken. For over 50 years, Oregon's Adelsheim Vineyards has showcased cool-climate chardonnay and pinot noir wines from vineyards dotted throughout the Willamette Valley. 

Available at select Costco locations in the Southwest, Adelsheim's Willamette Valley Chardonnay has a perfect balance of energy and vibrancy with richness and weight, all while showcasing a beautiful purity of the fruit. Made from sustainably farmed vineyards in the northern part of the region, the wine layers orchard fruits, toasty baking spice, wild herbs, and citrus. The well-rounded flavor profile pairs exceptionally well with Mediterranean grilled chicken thighs marinated in fresh herbs and citrus. 

Transport your weekend cookout to the islands with a menu featuring whole grilled fish, such as branzino, paired with a vibrant, energetic white wine. Tasting like sunshine in a glass, Umani Ronchi Vellodoro Pecorino is a lively, fresh, highly aromatic white wine from Italy's Abruzzo region. With an energetic palate showing zesty acidity, the wine melds ripe golden citrus, white flowers, marzipan, and soft herbal notes with crushed-stone minerality. 

The low-yielding pecorino had nearly disappeared in Italy because producers began to favor higher-yielding varieties. However, Umani Ronchi revived its grape plantings to showcase native Adriatic varieties. Today, lucky Costco shoppers can find the wine at select locations.

A cookout is incomplete without some type of sausage, whether it's sweet or spicy Italian sausage, bratwurst, chicken sausage, or one of Costco's favorite food court items: a good old-fashioned hot dog. No matter what type of sausage you enjoy, Costco has you covered, along with an ideal pairing for the fatty, meaty links. You will need a wine with balanced tannin and acidity to cut through the sausage's richness, such as Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG. 

Available at select Costco locations, the Italian red wine from Tuscany's Montepulciano area is crafted from the local clone of sangiovese known as prugnolo gentile. Made from estate-grown fruit that Avignonesi farms organically and biodynamically, it is a full-bodied, savory wine that melds red fruits of cherries and berries, violets, wild herbs, and notes of black tea. With smooth yet firm tannin and fresh acidity, the wine pairs exceptionally well with spiced Italian sausages.

Although meat is typically at the forefront of most barbecues, grilled vegetables also have a place, particularly when flamed in the Francis Mallman style. The Argentinian chef and restaurateur live-fires vegetables in a way that will elevate your barbecue to an unimaginably delicious level. Mallman hangs vegetables, such as peppers, onions, and summer squash, from hooks over a live fire while burying winter squash, potatoes, and root vegetables in the embers.  

You can pair one of the many Malbec wines Costco carries with smoky vegetables, such as a Catena or Kaiken, as the wine's fruitiness will balance the intense smokiness. However, a crisp, steely, smoky sauvignon blanc from Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire Valley of France will lift the palate, enhancing the vegetables' flavors while melding with their smokiness, such as Domaine J. de Villebois Pouilly-Fumé. 

The region is known for having flint rocks in its soils. The flint imparts a subtle but distinct smoky undertone, like a just-struck matchstick, to the fruit from the region. A sauvignon blanc specialist, Villebois ferments the sustainably farmed fruit in stainless steel, without the use of oak, to ensure a straightforward, refreshing character and purity of fruit in its wine. Its Pouilly-Fumé has structure and complexity, with layers of crisp green apple, ripe pear, and golden citrus, with a mineral-rich, chalky, smoky undertone. The variety is revered in the Loire Valley, especially when it shows the smoky character of Pouilly-Fumé.

With a refreshing character and palate-cleansing carbonation similar to a beer, sparkling wine is right at home at a cookout. With its vibrant effervescence, sparkling wine pairs well with fatty, heavily sauced barbecued beef, chicken, and pork. But the ideal pairings don't stop there with sparkling wine. With a dry but fruity, peaches-and-cream palate, J Vineyards & Winery Brut Rosé shines when paired with a barbecue-worthy salad of grilled peach, cucumber, and tomato topped with crispy prosciutto. 

Grilling the fruit caramelizes the sugars, intensifying the sweetness and pairing with the stone fruit and red berry flavors in the wine. The fresh salad's cucumber and tomato, along with the sparkling wine's natural acidity, lift and lighten the palate. It is something necessary when dining on meat-heavy barbecue. The fatty, crispy ham topping adds richness to the dish, which the effervescent wine helps balance. Widely available at Costco, the wine is from Sonoma's Russian River Valley. J Vineyards & Winery crafts the wine using the traditional method, similar to Champagne production, lending notes of shortbread and blanched almond, along with a beautiful texture.

If you're throwing some garlic shrimp kebabs on the grill, you'll want a crisp yet well-rounded wine to pair with them, such as a California Sauvignon Blanc. Napa Valley's Gamble Estate Sauvignon Blanc offers the ideal amount of crisp, lively freshness and a fruity palate. Notes of ripe peach, golden citrus, and lemongrass linger throughout the wine, with a lean, clean, mineral-driven note of crushed stone. Available at select Costco locations, the luscious wine's juicy freshness will enhance the savory, citrusy, sweet flavors of the garlic-grilled shrimp.

From the Yountville area on the valley floor, located in the center of Napa Valley, vineyards enjoy sunshine-filled days and cool evenings throughout the growing season, ensuring fully ripened flavor with crisp acidity. The wine is fermented and aged in French oak barrels for six months on the spent yeast strains known as lees. The aging technique enhances the texture and structure while lending a hint of creaminess and a rich mouthfeel to the palate. 

An afternoon barbecue wouldn't be complete without the traditional sides. Costco offers plenty of prepared foods to make your cookout easier, such as potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw, along with refreshing wines to pair. This includes several store-branded Kirkland Signature wine options. Because these sides are typically rich and unctuous, the pairing should offer plenty of freshness and a juicy, fruit-forward palate to balance the heaviness of mayonnaise-laden dishes, such as Kirkland Signature California Pinot Grigio. It is one of the best Kirkland Signature wines at Costco and is widely available at many warehouse locations. 

The dry yet fruity wine delivers a soft, straightforward palate, with layers of ripe apple, pear, and melon, with a soft herbal note on the finish. Although the wine is not overly complex, it is very drinkable and refreshing, especially when standing over a hot grill. Available in a 3-liter bag-in-box format, Kirkland Signature's Pinot Grigio boxed wine is perfect for entertaining a large group of friends who are ready to indulge in a barbecue feast.

To put together this list of wine recommendations available at Costco, I drew upon my training, knowledge, and experience as a Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine, and Spanish Wine Scholar, and on over 20 years spent traveling Texas searching for some of America's best barbecue. I have sampled each of the noted selections, many with the suggested pairings, to ensure the wine's profile complements classic barbecue dishes and unique creations. 

The main factor to consider when pairing any wine with food is whether the flavors will complement each other. Barbecued food adds another factor to consider. Pairing wine with barbecue requires a wine that can handle the smokiness that barbecue brings to meats and vegetables. While price was not a factor in selecting these recommendations, Costco's ability to buy products in bulk and pass the savings on to its members makes shopping for wine at the warehouse an economical option.