Here's the back story....about Costco and 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards in Eagle, Idaho.
I watched the CNBC special "The Costco Craze: Inside the Giant Warehouse" and was totally awestruck with their wine buyer, Annette Alvarez-Peters. Annette started at Costco as a buyer in the auto parts division, and worked her way through a bottle or two of vino and is currently the buyer for one of the largest retailers of wine in the world.
On my last visit to Costco, as I was getting my 30 count pack of toilet paper, I struck up a conversation with the associate driving the pallet reloading t.p. I said something like "Costco's #1 seller of all products is toilet paper, right?" He said yes it is, and bottled water comes in second. We were chatting about the CNBC special and he told me the story of when Annette Alvarez-Peters visited the Boise Costco, and fell in love with 3 Horse Ranch wine. Annette's request of the 3 Horse Ranch Vineyard is that they produce more of the wine so she could stock it in more Costco warehouses. The producers have a small operation and can't fulfill the request of Costco, but something tells me they should be looking at expanding, and if they aren't, well, they are losing a boat load of money.
I had to try a bottle, my arm was getting twisted, and of course the clue to a good buyer (me) is to see which of the product brand has fewer items on the shelf. The white wine, 2011 Estate Vivacious, was low in inventory which told me people love it and are buying it!
2011 Vivacious
A lightly oaked, perfectly balanced blend of two great
white Rhone varietals, a most beautiful marriage.
Blending the voluptuous mouth feel and aromatics of
the Viognier grape to the more acidic, floral side of the
Roussanne grape expresses the terroir of our vineyards
as well as any wine we have produced.
3 Horse Ranch Vineyards Wine. $12. Made by Idaho families in Eagle, Idaho.
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