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California’s wine crisis hits new low as luxe bottles sent to Costco, Aldi and Kroger for knock down prices

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Cite

Jerkovich, K. (2026, October 8). California’s wine crisis hits new low as luxe bottles sent to Costco, Aldi and Kroger for knock down prices. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/08/us-news/california-wineries-selling-discounted-premium-bottles-at-costco/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-08 · by Katie Jerkovich

Quick Summary

California's wine industry is struggling with an oversupply of high-end wines due to factors like changing consumer habits and inflation. To manage this surplus, luxury wineries are offering their top-tier bottles to retailers such as Costco, Aldi, and Kroger for significantly reduced prices. For example, a $150 bottle from a winery can be purchased at Costco for less than $30 under the Kirkland Signature label. Retailers like Kroger have seen an increase in wine ratings for their private labels recently, with some premium wines being sold at stores for around $9.99 that would typically cost $45-$85 elsewhere.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

California's wine industry is facing significant challenges due to changing consumer habits, inflation, and other factors like the side effects of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. California, which produces around 80% of the wine consumed in the U.S., has seen a surplus that wineries are trying to manage by offering premium wines to retailers at deeply discounted prices. Luxury wineries are sending their top-tier bottles to stores like Costco, Aldi, and Kroger for sale under these retailers' private labels, with some wines being sold for less than $30 at Costco instead of the typical $150 price at a winery. This strategy benefits consumers by making high-end wines more affordable but puts pressure on traditional wine sales channels and prices.

Written for “California Wine Crisis” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California Wine Crisis
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16360 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Katie Jerkovich
57 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Katie Jerkovich
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 57 articles by Katie Jerkovich →

Topics

Aldi California Costco Kroger U.S.

Subjects

California GPE · 3× Costco ORG · 2× Kroger ORG · 2× Aldi ORG · 1× Curtis Mann PERSON · 1× Food4Less ORG · 1× FoodsCo ORG · 1× Ralphs ORG · 1× U.S. GPE · 1× the Los Angeles Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

While all this is bad news for wineries, Peter Baedeker, owner of Baedeker Wine, a Santa Barbara-based consulting firm, said it’s an incredible time for wine drinkers. “Probably one of the best times I’ve seen in my near 30-year history in the industry for the consumer.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 Beckner said a wine that would cost $45-$85 can be found in store under their label for around $9.99.

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

California wineries are giving their premium wines to retailers like Costco, Aldi and Kroger to sell for a steal under their labels. asserted
wineries → give → labels
The state’s wine industry has been facing a challenging time amid things like changing views of alcohol among younger generations, inflation, and the side effects of the GLP-1 weight loss drug. asserted
industry → face → drug
For California, which produces around 80% of the wine consumed in the U.S., the impact on supply and demand is being felt. asserted
impact → produce → supply
To deal with the surplus, luxury wineries are offering some of their top wines to retail outlets to sell at bargain prices, the Los Angeles Times reported. asserted
Times → deal → prices
What that means to the consumer is that a bottle of wine being sold for $150 at a winery can be picked up at Costco for less than $30 under the brand’s Kirkland Signature, industry buyers shared. asserted
buyers → mean → Signature
Grocery company Kroger — which in California is Ralphs, FoodsCo, and Food4Less — are seeing their labels go up in wine ratings in recent months. asserted
labels → see → months
“We went from having no wines with 90-plus scores in our portfolio from respectable reviewers to 20 in the last two months,” said Curtis Mann, the company’s vice president of wine, beer and spirits. asserted
Mann → go → wine
Grocery Outlet’s Steve Beckner, responsible for direct import and private label wine buying, said his company went from taking offers to buy wine in bulk of 1,000-3,000 cases a few years ago to 20,000 -200,000 cases now. asserted
company → say → cases
Beckner said a wine that would cost $45-$85 can be found in store under their label for around $9.99. asserted
that → say → 9.99
Taylor Case, president of Navigator Wine Collection, said he “would not want to be a grower right now.” asserted
he → say → Collection
Case, who buys from vineyards and sells under labels Decoded, Motif and Gearbox, said he recently tasted a $149 cabernet from Napa Valley they sold for $29.99. asserted
they → buy → 29.99
“There’s a ton of wine that’s still on the market.” asserted
that → ’ → market
A 2026 wine market report highlighted the challenges wineries are facing, saying the industry is “heavily weighed down by older bulk wine inventory that has no viable market use.” asserted
that → highlight → use
“Growers and wineries are spending precious time trying to sell this older vintage wine to mitigate damage when time and energy should be on growing consumer demand at sustainable pricing.” asserted
time → spend → pricing
The report said when it comes to the bulk wine market, there’s an insane amount of inventory that needs to be dealt with. asserted
that → say → inventory
“Of the roughly 28 million gallons currently offered for sale statewide, we estimate that only about 15 to 17 million gallons could possibly have a home in the future.” uncertain
gallons → offer → future
A ton of the inventory consists of 2023 and older red wines, along with pre-2025 and select 2025 whites, according to the report. uncertain
ton → consist → report
“It is apparent that the market has no interest in these wines and is very unlikely to have interest in the future,” the report read. asserted
report → have → future
In addition to selling off premium wines for a steal, wineries have taken to ripping out vineyards, crushing fewer grapes, and decreasing future supply. asserted
wineries → sell → supply
While all this is bad news for wineries, Peter Baedeker, owner of Baedeker Wine, a Santa Barbara-based consulting firm, said it’s an incredible time for wine drinkers. “Probably one of the best times I’ve seen in my near 30-year history in the industry for the consumer.” asserted
I → base → consumer
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