Hello Summer Wine Sampler

Here’s a fun new Costco wine find that I’ve heard about from multiple readers who have already found it and enjoyed it – the “Hello Summer” mixed wine multi pack that contains 12 375ml bottles from around the world.

Sound kind of familiar?  If you were a fan of the Costco Wine Advent Calendars we wrote about last winter, then this concept might be familiar, and it’s produced by the same people. 

Gotta love the fun styling too, and once we tasted a few of the bottles it was clear that these are definitely hand picked wines to be enjoyed during the warmer months.  We’ll run through our tasting of a few bottles below.

Each box contains five whites, four reds and three rosé wines. The wines come from Portugal, Spain, Italy and France and include some interesting varietals you don’t come across every day; such as Macabeo or Aragonez and Castelao from Portugal, all of which we tasted and enjoyed.

So to that extent the box is a great way not only to quench your thirst but also expand your wine horizons.  Finding and tasting new varietals from new regions is one of my favorite parts of the lifelong wine journey.

Costco’s price is $49.99 which equates to around $4 per each half bottle.  Not bad at all.

While we found the wines to be interesting and a nice assortment, the size of the bottles also offers a ton of convenience.  We noted this with the Advent Calendars, how sometimes you just want to share a glass of white while cooking, or a glass of rosé on a whim.  Here’s an easy way to do it without opening a whole bottle.

Plus they fit great in coolers where the longer necks on regular sized wine bottles can protrude. So I think you get a lot here for only $50.

As we like to do with these box sets, we pulled four random bottles to sample, resulting in two reds, a white and a rosé.  We are just sharing some notes to give you an idea of our impressions. 

The overall takeaway is that these wines clearly hit the mark for “summer wines.”  They were light, crisp and refreshing, even the reds that in their youth were inviting in the Atlanta heat. So let’s get into the box.

2020 Ceu do Norte Rosé

This is a rosé from Portugal consisting of the unique varietals we mentioned above: 80% Aragonez, 20% Castelao.  The wine is pale copper in the glass with light red berry fruit; nice strawberry and cherry flavor; light and super crisp. Alc. 11.5%.  This one is summer in a bottle.

2020 El Campeon Macabeo

Macabeo is a tasty varietal you don’t see enough of. Often times you can find it from Rioja at the big box wine shops.  This one is medium straw in color, with a floral nose, a little stone fruit; peach, nectarine and green apple flavors.  Again, super crisp and light.  11% alc.  A fun summer sipper.

2020 Crush Red Blend Portugal

This Portuguese red blend is pale ruby in the glass with a spicy, earthy nose; nice aromatics; mostly dark fruit, some spicy black cherry and some pepper into the finish.  A good little wine; 13% alc.

2020 Birds on a Wire Sangiovese

Here’s an Italian Sangiovese that’s pale purple on the pour; super dry throughout, medium body with red fruit.  This wine is young and juicy, and would make a great pizza or BBQ bottle.  12.5% alc.

Since it’s the middle of June it’s almost the perfect time to pick one of these up to cool you off this summer.  We’re looking forward to trying the rest of the bottles.  Our first impression is that the box is a great assortment, some interesting picks and a nice mix of varietals.  And the price is right at around $4/bottle.

Enjoy, and if you have any favorites from the box, please share in the comments below.

CostcoWine item number: 1426807

This wine was received as a sample for the purpose of writing this review. All reviews are written at the discretion of the individual reviewer. Opinions of the reviewer do not necessarily reflect those of CostcoWineBlog.com as a whole, and reviewers are not paid for their reviews by wineries or their affiliated distributors. We at CostcoWineBlog.com believe that wine preferences and opinions are often subjective and highly individualistic. Our scores are based on our individual perception of a wine and how well it reflects the area in which the grapes are grown, the expression of the grapes, and also the quality of the finished product. We remind readers that we are 100% independent of Costco Wholesale Corporation, and are simply of a group of Costco wine fans looking to try new wines and share our favorites with this community.