Is Costco Or Aldi Wine Cheaper? We Compared Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, And More

While it's a tradition to splurge on the best champagne to celebrate the holidays, when you're hosting tons of guests for a backyard barbecue, you probably just want some cheap bottles of wine that taste expensive. Costco and Aldi — grocery chains beloved by budget-savvy wine connoisseurs — both sell tons of affordable vino for any occasion. To determine which store has the best-value bottles, we compared the prices and other qualities of five popular varieties, from cabernet sauvignon to rosé to pinot grigio.

To keep the competition fair, we took prices from Costco's same-day-shipping online store and Aldi's online shop using the same location setting (Bloomington, Illinois) — prices may vary depending on your location. We also focused on comparing the chains' signature in-house labels: Kirkland Signature for Costco and Winking Owl Wine (aka WOW) for Aldi. The products available at different Costco and Aldi locations can also vary widely, but the companies' own brands are easy to find and likely to be more consistently priced. Winking Owl Wines are made by E & J Gallo and it is strongly rumored that several Kirkland wines are made by the same company, but the differences in price and taste may surprise you. With that, let's get into the head-to-head matchups.

Rich, full-bodied cabernet sauvignon is one of the most popular wines in America and is made from grapes of the same name and known for its tannin-heavy fruit flavors. Costco and Aldi each offer their own versions in 3-liter boxes and 750-milliliter bottles. For the boxed wines, Winking Owl cabernet sauvignon wins for affordability at $15.49 versus Costco's Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon at $17.69. That's a small difference of $2.20, so either box gives you plenty of affordable cabernet to pair with umami-rich foods. As for the bottles, Kirkland Signature's cabernet sauvignon Columbia Valley rings in at $9.09, while Winking Owl is $4.70 cheaper at $4.39.

Aldi brags that its cabernet sauvignon has notes of plum, blackberry, vanilla, and oak. However, Tasting Table ranked it as number seven in our Winking Owl Wine ranking, as it doesn't live up to the bold complexity of a great cabernet. Other reviews praise its drinkability for the price but also call it light and rather basic. Kirkland's boxed cabernet is sweet and fruity, with heavy cherry notes, though some reviews note that it also lacks body. The bottled Columbia Valley version, though, is aged for 16 months, giving it more complex notes of spices and dark fruits. Aldi saves you some dough here, but Kirkland might provide a richer drinking experience.

Out of everything you need to know about chardonnay, the essential facts are that this dry white wine must be made from chardonnay grapes and can be oaked or unoaked to create different profiles. High-end bottles can fetch prices around $200, but a 750-milliliter bottle of Kirkland Signature Sonoma County chardonnay rings in at just $9.09. However, Aldi's Winking Owl Chardonnay White Wine beats that at $4.39 for a same-size bottle. What a hoot!

You can guess that Kirkland's chardonnay comes from Sonoma County, California. It's matured in French oak and the bottle's label names flavors such as white peach, tropical fruit, apple, and melon. Customer reviews note a slight creamy, buttery mouthfeel and call it a good value crowd-pleaser, if not extremely complex.

Winking Owl's medium-bodied chardonnay is also from California, with notes of apples, pears, spices, and toasted oak. Tasting Table ranked it as number three in our ranking list for its nice orchard and tropical fruit flavors. Other reviews call it light and basic, yet pleasant. It's a cheap wine that could be made better by some chilling. Costco's chardonnay may have a tad more depth of flavor, but you'd be hard-pressed to beat Aldi's price at any store.

There are so many different types of rosé that it can be hard to know where to start. If saving cash is your priority, though, Costco has you covered with Kirkland Signature France Cotes de Provence Rosé at $9.09 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Meanwhile, Aldi's White Zinfandel Rosé Wine costs $4.39 for the same volume. Once again, Aldi saves you more money, but in this case, Kirkland definitely beats the Owl when it comes to clout.

Rosés are often easy-drinking with light fruity notes, and Aldi writes that Winking Owl's version (which is made in California) carries notes of strawberry, cherry, watermelon, and cranberry. Reviews call it refreshing and praise the price-to-quality ratio, but many drinkers say that it's super sweet, with more than one comparison to Jolly Ranchers and other candies.

Kirkland's rosé is made in Côtes de Provence, France, and the company behind this particular Costco alcohol is the Familie Sumeire, which has run its respected winery since the 18th century. Provence, in general, is known for its excellent rosés,, and reviewers praise Costco's version as fresh, fruity, and flowery, full of strawberry flavor with a crisp minerality. If you like your pink wines dry rather than candy-sweet, Kirkland might be worth the extra bucks over Winking Owl.

The best pinot grigios under $20 exemplify the light, crisp, and acidic flavors that are characteristic of this major type of white wine. Winking Owl Pinot Grigio White Wine, with notes of citrus, pear, stone fruits, and honeysuckle, is priced at $4.39 for a 750-milliliter bottle, like most other wines from the brand. Meanwhile, Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Friuli Italy bucks the $9.09 trend by being $3 cheaper at $6.09. That's a difference of just $1.70 for the same amount of wine in each bottle.

Winking Owl's pinot grigio actually replaced the brand's best wine, the pinot grigio/Colombard, which won first place in Tasting Table's WOW ranking. However, the newer pinot grigio is no slouch. Reviewers call it mildly tart with apricot notes and very refreshing, especially when chilled. Beyond drinking it straight, it could be excellent in white wine sautéed mushrooms or white wine braised pot roast chicken.

Costco's pinot grigio from Friuli, Italy, a famed white wine-producing region, is described as apple- and white flower-forward on the label. At 12.5% alcohol, it's an easy all-day sipper with a light-to-medium body and crisp lemon, peach, and orchard fruit notes. Reviews say that the floral quality is definitely noticeable. Between Costco and Aldi, it looks like both the price and quality are almost neck-and-neck.

When comparing Costco's Moscato wine to Aldi's, you'll see some familiar prices and volumes. For each 750-milliliter bottle, the Kirkland Signature Moscato D'asti costs $9.09 while the Winking Owl Moscato White Wine costs $4.39. But while Aldi's is cheaper, its quality is questionable, according to Tasting Table's ranking. Our tasters deemed the Moscato as the worst Winking Owl brand wine for its lack of fizz and aroma, plus an overt syrupy sweet taste and mouthfeel. This style of white wine made of sugary muscat grapes is supposed to be on the sweet side, but there is such a thing as too much.

Other online reviews are a little more positive, mentioning nice peachy and apricot flavors, though many concur that WOW's Moscato is super duper sweet. Multiple taste testers (including our own) recommend pairing it with dessert, where its saccharine qualities won't be so unwelcome. Spicy foods might offset the fruit juice-like profile too.

Kirkland's Moscato is also quite sugary with a rather low 5% alcohol content. The label singles out honeysuckle and peach notes, and reviews also point out citrus flavors as well as a smooth texture. Moscato D'asti is supposed to be slightly sparkling, and the effervescence in Kirkland's version is gentle but noticeable, putting it above WOW's fizz level. Overall, Aldi wins consistently for the cheapest house-brand wines, but flavor differences may sometimes lead you to pick Costco for a few bucks more.