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

California wineries are giving their premium wines to retailers like Costco, Aldi and Kroger to sell for a steal under their 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.For California, which produces around 80% of the wine consumed in the U.S., the impact on supply and demand is being felt.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story 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.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.Grocery company Kroger — which in California is Ralphs, FoodsCo, and Food4Less — are seeing their labels go up in wine ratings in recent 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.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.Beckner said a wine that would cost $45-$85 can be found in store under their label for around $9.99.Taylor Case, president of Navigator Wine Collection, said he “would not want to be a grower right now.”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.“There’s a t...