Costco Chooses the Wine Enthusiast
Is Costco the largest single retailer of wine in the United States? I believe they are.
So, it’s a very nice little coup for Wine Enthusiast Magazine to be able to announce that their reviews and ratings will accompany wines being sold at 300+ Costco stores around the country.
I can’t speak to all the Wine Enthusiast wine reviews with the confidence that I can speak to their reviews of California and West Coast wines. But here’s the thing. Over the past two years or so I’ve seen the Wine Enthusiast’s reviews of West Coast wines take on what seems to be a call for balance in wines. It seems more and more these reviews are marking down or not rating as high wines of huge extraction or high alcohols, or some combination thereof, in favor of wines of balance.
This is a pretty important change. The person behind what I see is Steven Heimoff, the West Coast Editor of the Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Heimoff is a man who has been tasting and reviewing wine for quite some time. So, it’s not as though it’s a newcomer on a crusade. Also, I’m not suggesting that Heimoff has no time for "BIG" wines. He clea
rly understands there is a market for them and a devoted following for such prototypical California wines. It’s just that he seems to be looking to make sure that when they come in that form they have the entire package…fruit, weight and structure. That’s a good thing!
The Costco partnership will impact the visibility of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. That’s a good thing, too.
I heard about this and found it interesting as well. And, by the way, I share your sentiments on Steve Heimoff. But before we anoint this as significant, the question is: Will Costco be featuring WE scores exclulsively? Doesn’t look that way based on how wines are presented online. Like most retailers, costco.com seems to feature a preponderance of WA and WS scores, not to mention the HIGHEST score when multiple ratings are available. I would be shocked if there is actually any exclusivity involved here; and even more shocked if WE ratings below the magic 90-point threshold ever get featured in Costco stores. However, will anyone be shocked if Costco happens to be named WE’s Retailer of the Year for 2006?
I heard about this and found it interesting as well. And, by the way, I share your sentiments on Steve Heimoff. But before we anoint this as significant, the question is: Will Costco be featuring WE scores exclulsively? Doesn’t look that way based on how wines are presented online. Like most retailers, costco.com seems to feature a preponderance of WA and WS scores, not to mention the HIGHEST score when multiple ratings are available. I would be shocked if there is actually any exclusivity involved here; and even more shocked if WE ratings below the magic 90-point threshold ever get featured in Costco stores. However, will anyone be shocked if Costco happens to be named WE’s Retailer of the Year for 2006?
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