The $8 “Gourmet” Costco Find I Buy Every Year for the Holidays (It’s Always a HUGE Hit)

The 40 pounds of cheese in my passenger seat kept setting off the seatbelt alarm. It was only a 20-minute drive home, but I couldn’t deal with the dinging for another second. So there I was, pulled over on the side of the road, digging through 20 cheese wedges to plug in the buckle. (It was hot outside, and I wanted to keep the cheese in the air-conditioned interior. Also, my trunk was full of crackers.)

When I got my first big catering gig — making a grazing table and charcuterie boards for 500 people — Costco was my first stop. I knew I would follow the rule of threes for most of the boards for the event: three meats, three cheeses, three carbs, three extras. I also knew one of those cheeses had to be Kirkland Signature Sartori Cabernet Sauvignon BellaVitano; every single person I have introduced to this cheese has loved it.

What’s So Great About Kirkland Signature Sartori Cabernet Sauvignon BellaVitano Cheese?

BellaVitano is a line of cow’s milk cheese made by Sartori, a Wisconsin-based cheese company. Sartori was founded in 1939 by an Italian immigrant who brought his cheese-making knowledge to America with him. (The family actually holds a patent for cheese curd mixing!) The Cabernet variety of its award-winning Parmesan is a Costco exclusive. (Varieties available at other retailers include tomato basil, whiskey, Chardonnay, espresso, and garlic and herb.)

This cheese is nutty and sharp without being too sharp. It can be crumbled into chunks or sliced and arranged to display the colorful wine-soaked rind. I try to make sure every bite has a bit of the rind, which adds a fruity note that balances out the salty bite.

Kirkland Signature Sartori BellaVitano Cabernet Sauvignon Cheese

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$10.88

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TL;DR: It’s a total crowd pleaser. This cheese is uncommon enough that it’s an exciting (and pretty!) cheeseboard addition, but it’s not wildly and totally unrecognizable. “It’s a fancy Parmesan,” I told my dad the first time I had him try it.

What’s the Best Way to Enjoy Kirkland Signature Sartori Cabernet Sauvignon BellaVitano Cheese?

I love serving this cheese with grapes (to reinforce the wine notes) and sturdy crackers like fig and olive crisps. The fruity, savory crisps stand up to the flavor of the cheese and round it out. They also make a good textural contrast with the hint of crunchy calcium crystals in the cheese.

After my catering gig, so many people asked me about “the white and purple cheese” that I knew I’d scored — and the leftovers (not that there were many!) were great, grated on pasta.

Find it in stores: Kirkland Signature Sartori Cabernet Sauvignon BellaVitano, $7.99 per pound at Costco

What Costco items are you picking up for the holidays? Tell us about it in the comments below.