The other day we went into our dashboard to post a new wine review, and a number jumped out at us. We had just posted the 1000th wine review for this site. Then I filtered by date and realized we were in our 10th year of running this site too.
It makes sense since we post 2X a week (only missed a few) for ten years = just over 1000 reviews.
So first off, thank you for following this site, and being a part of building this awesome community.
It seems like every Instagram account you follow or blog you read can sometimes get a little nasty in the comments area. In running this for 10 years, that hasn’t been the case here at all.
We’ve really zeroed in on a common focus – to find great bottles of wine, at great prices. And Costco is one of the best places to do that.
A little history for those who are interested.
10+ years ago, we had built and launched a number of websites and they all fizzled out over time. There were some real doozies in the mix too. It was a fun hobby though.
We started one called CommentX, which was really an early podcast and we were shut down by the NBA after posting that we were going to stream commentary on a basketball game.
There was also BrutallyHonestPersonals.com, which actually helped a friend find a wife (long story). That site didn’t last long but it did generate some mainstream media coverage (Esquire I think).
But the main one was a site called BlogRoom.com, which you’ll notice nowadays just redirects you back here. But that site used to be a blogging platform with a bunch of random stories on it. Good ideas in theory (at least we felt), but terrible execution. It never took off as we hoped.
One day we went to shut it down, just like all the other failed sites, and we noticed that one story had popped, and there was a hockey stick looking spike in traffic.
It was a story about buying wine at Costco. The gist was that Costco was the best place to buy wine because you were already spending $300-$400 so you could sneak a few bottles in the cart and your significant other wouldn’t notice how much they cost.
On a whim we built this site, and who knew it’d still be going strong ten years later.
In digging around the data, I pulled a few more interesting stats.
We’ve reviewed 186 Kirkland wines over the years.
308 bottles have earned a spot on our Top Picks list.
The top 3 categories of reviews are:
1. French
2. Cabernet Sauvignon
3. Italian
Our most popular post of all time is the 2022 Costco Wine Advent Calendar. The advent calendars are always super popular with readers each year.
The second most popular post of all time is the Highest Rated Costco Wines of 2022, a fun annual list we make every year.
Our favorite post is the Definitive Guide to Costco’s Kirkland Wines. It is also the one that took us the longest to assemble (and it needs an update here soon). That one is in the top 10 most trafficked.
Some stats on readers:
75% of you view the site on your mobile phone, mostly iOS.
Our traffic is primarily from the US and Canada, with the top cities being LA, Chicago, Atlanta and New York (in that order).
We’re pretty evenly divided 50/50 between male and female visitors, and our biggest age group is 25-34. 35-44 after that.
We could go on and on, but those are some quick highlights.
More than anything, thanks for following our site over the years. It’s been fun, we’ve learned a lot and we look forward to continuing to find more awesome Costco wines to share with you.
Cheers
Andrew, Editor
Julia says
Congratulations! Love the Costco Wine Blog and look forward to the reviews each week!
Fred says
Thank YOU! I love reading your reviews and I get excited when I read about a rare find in the Costco wine aisle. Only downside, and it has nothing to do with you, when I rush to my local Costco the wine you just reviewed isn't there half the time! I wish Costco carried the same inventory nationwide... Keep up the great work and thank you again!
John R Hill says
@Fred, I live in Oregon and experience that as well. Being a Costco evangelist and stockholder since 1984, through travelling I have discovered that many markets, particularly in prime wine markets, have a Costco (for lack of a better term) "wine superstore" with a wine department 25-50% larger than a typical Costco. Some good examples are San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California, Hillsboro, Oregon in the Willamette Valley and Woodinville, Washington which is the Puget Sound region's portal for the remarkable Washington State wines.
A phone call to your local Costco and hitting "1" will immediately get you to the administrative staff where a courteous and knowledgeable associate will confirm if they do carry that item number/SKU which Andrew includes with every wine he features.
To Andrew, congrats on the hitting the 10/1000 milestone and keeping our house well stocked with excellent, well-priced wine.
John
Editor says
Great info John, and thanks for following the site. Cheers.
Fred says
@John R Hill, thanks for the tips! I live back and forth between Detroit MI and Columbus OH (not a prime wine region, alas). But I will get in touch my local Costco wine staff and ask them if there is a 'super store' in my region as well!
John Ratynski says
Congratulations!
I don't remember when I first started following your blog, but it will be close to 10 years. I share your passion for wine, especially good Bordeaux. Saint Julien and Margaux being my favorites. I buy more than I drink! I own around 700 bottles and most of them purchased at Costco.
My recent buys were a case of 2019 Chateau Gloria at $34.99. It's fantastic now will only get better. Same vintage at Total Wine is 64.99!
Cheers!
Keep up a great work!
Aaron in Charleston, SC says
Awesome work Andrew! Discovered your blog a few years ago and look forward to receiving the emails each week when you've reviewed a new wine. Love the value Kirkland wines bring to the table. In particular our favorites have been Kirkland Napa and Sonoma Cabs (especially Oakville and Rutherford) as well as the many red blends. Thanks for what you do for the Costco wine community and please keep going!
Steve Lagerfeld says
Hats off to you all the work (and sipping) that goes into this site! The writing is concise and useful but also has personality, and the ratings are on target. I only wish I could find more of the wines you review in my local Costco.
Tom says
Thanks for all you do.
Cathie says
Congratulations!
Henry says
Happy 10 Year Anniversary! I enjoy the blog so please keep it coming!
Vijay Vashi says
Congratulations on achieving this milestone. Excellent summaries- keep up the great work!
I always look forward to reviewing your summaries.
Much appreciated!
Vijay
Mike McMinn says
Greetings. I appreciate receiving and reading your commentaries on the Costco wines. Although I have been a big Costco fan for many years, I never bought a Kirkland label until I started reading your emails. Now I buy nearly all of my wines at Costco. I wish we had a better selection in some of our Tampa area stores, but it is what it is. Thanks for all your work which I know is a labor of love. Congratulations on 10 years of success!
Carl Plaskett says
@Mike McMinn, I also am sad about the selections offered at Tampa area stores compared to the Atlanta area. In the past, I found that the South Sarasota store sometimes had wines not available in Clearwater or Brandon, but I have not been back to that store since the Bradenton store opened. Now, I get the item number from the Costco wine blog and call a store. They are usually willing to check to see if any other stores in the area have items in stock.
Ken says
Andrew, thanks for the historical review and fun facts! Your guidance is evev better!!
Jason says
Congrats on 1000 reviews. This post is something I look forward to and the first email I open when it arrives. I love to search and try the wines you review. I am still learning about wines and find your notes mostly spot on and extremely informative to a novice. I often try new Costco wines, and try to imagine what this blog would say about them. Keep it up.
Janice says
Andrew, congratulations on this milestone! I’m a longtime reader and lucky enough to live in the north metro Atlanta area near you, so I often find your posted wines. Keep up the good work!
Glen says
Good job Andrew! I don’t always agree with the ratings of those I’m fortunate enough to taste, but isn’t the difference in opinions what makes talking about it fun? As for me, I’d rather drink it than talk about it!🍇🍷
Rockbell says
thanks.... hope all your wine is a business expense!
Martrese says
Thanks for this recap. I've wondered about your history. Congratulations on continuing to do such great work! We all appreciate it.
Stephen Rejto says
Big thumbs up and congratulations.
Rocco Tinnirello says
I want to kick myself for not purchasing more Austin Hope when COSTCO carried it. The kirkland french wine is amazing for 20$ .