Sommelier hits out at 'scam' wine selling for $6,000 at Costco

People generally head to Costco for the bargain prices, but the wholesaler isn’t immune to having some big ticket items in its inventory.

Famed for its rotisserie chickens, $1.50 hot dog and drink combo, and the air of exclusivity that comes with a membership limited to certain professions, Costco is where you go when you’ve got a big shop, a strict budget, and an appreciation for wholesale prices on decent-quality goods.

One Reddit user, however, found a particularly outlandish price tag in their local Costco that the rest of the thread agreed was unlikely to be worth the expenditure.

The highly-priced case was seen at a San Francisco Costco (visciouspumpkin/Reddit)

At the San Francisco store, the Redditor found a three-pack of the well-regarded Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon priced at a staggering $6,399.99 (£4,730).

"Excited to see the screaming eagle, but reality hit and picked up a $12 bottle," they said in their image caption.

Despite Screaming Eagle being well-known among wine aficionados, not least for its typical price, the thread was awash with in-the-know commenters discrediting its value.

"I am a professional wine snob. A sommelier. This is not worth the price,” said one such comment. “At all. It's a scam for rich people to think they're fancy - they buy it and never drink it just want to say they have some in their cellar. Total knobs.”

"As a footnote, it's not even that good,” said another. “You can get way too many better wines without paying the price for this particular name."

"So like If I buy this, can I return it if I'm not satisfied with it?" asked one pertinent question.

“Honestly, it's really affordable for the quality if you have the disposable income like me,” began another. “I personally bought a pack for myself and another one for a close friend of mine that mowed my lawn. I made all of this up. That's such a ridiculous price for wine. Give me a $20 Josh and I'm solid.” Got ‘em!

Another user suggested it might be a useful sales tactic for flogging cheaper bottles: “Makes it easier to justify spending $100 on a bottle of wine. ‘$6400 for a bottle of wine? That's crazy! This $100 bottle is probably just as good! Even though the $15 bottle of wine is probably just as good as the $100 bottle…”

Wholesale prices tend to come in a little cheaper than this... (Steve Proehl/Getty Images)

“No alcohol is that good,” concluded another.

If you’re after something more affordable on your next Costco visit, another Redditor shared a tip: "The Costco NZ sauv blanc is sublime. It's $6.99 and it's my favorite. Not too grassy but just green enough to be crispy. CA sauv blancs are great from Sonoma."

Costco has been approached for comment.