As the Bay Area gears up for a major heatwave, consider this week the unofficial kickoff to the 2026 rosé season. To help you prepare, the Chronicle Food & Wine team scoured the rosé sections at two Bay Area Costcos — San Francisco and Richmond — and performed a blind taste-test of six wines, all under $20. The winner shocked us all.
Since launching its wine program in 1990, Costco has become the largest wine retailer in the U.S., offering a highly curated, global selection at hard-to-beat prices. Savvy wine stewards on staff help shoppers find the best pairing for their $4.99 rotisserie chicken or $1.50 hot dog. (You don’t even have to be a member to buy alcohol.) Costco’s own line of private label wines — Kirkland Signature — have achieved a cult-like following for quality at incredibly low prices, often under $10. That said, Costco’s rosé section can be limited.
Costco’s wine buying team has a clear preference for Provençal rosé. Sourced from France’s Provence region, these wines are the reference point for much of the world’s rosé production. Light, high-acid, fruity and salmon-colored, these rosés are primarily made from Grenache blended with varying combinations of Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Syrah, and sometimes a small amount of a white grape like Vermentino. Almost the entire rosé selection at both Costcos was from Provence, so for our tasting, we picked four rosés from Provence, one from California and one from Italy.
- Reader feedback:What’s your favorite wine under $20?
If you find yourself on a boat or lying by a pool this summer, any of these rosés would likely work for the moment. But there were two that stood a few steps above the rest…