This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on September 5, 2004 10:54 PM.
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One of the guilty pleasures of being 50 years old is the fun I have shopping at Costco. Big cases of cool stuff. Great prices. All you need is a homestead large enough to store the stuff.
One marvel of the Costco world is its wine selection. Awesome! And now, they've got their own "Kirkland" brand wines in the cases next to the big hitters.
We just took a $9.69 flyer on the Kirkland Australian shiraz, and I'll tell you, we'll be heading back for more of that. It's a $15 bottle at least. Go, Costco!
Comments (12)
Enjoy the Costco wine, Jack, but it kind of shatters any cred you might have had complaining
about the loss of the old Portland sensibility,
disappearance of small & family-owned businesses
and sense of self-supporting neighborhoods.
I know, youve heard all this blah, blah, blah
ad nauseum. Happy tippling, bud--glad you found a
bargain!
Costco is perfectly compatible with my vision of Portland. You can't use Costco very well if you live in an apartment tower. But if you live in a nice, close-in east side neighborhood, you should be able to drive to a big box warehouse store out by the airport once a month and buy the things that would cost you twice as much at a California-owned Safeway, a Colorado-owned Wild Oats, or Ohio-owned Fred Meyer.
The greedy landlords have pushed all the small grocers out of my neighborhood, so I find it hard to blame Costco for that one. If I need a lemon, I have to get in a car and pay an out-of-stater, any way you look at it.
Another benefit is getting to watch tax cheats in action. Every one of those customers with Washington plates on his or her car is violating the Washington sales and use tax law by hauling stuff back to the 'Couv and not paying tax on it.
The ones that are covered in patriotic bumper stickers and decals are the most amusing in this regard.
Aside from Costco, New Seasons is my favorite shopping stop. About 10-15% too expensive, but worth it.
Not too helpful when you're after a large quantity of something, however. Plus, it's too far to walk. Gotta take the bike or, realistically with a big order, drive.
I remember when Costco tried to move into industrial northwest. Oh, heavens, no! Vera quashed that idea. But a Home Depot next to the Burnside Bridge? No problem. As long as the developer slush fund known as Portland Development Commission (run by Goldschmidt lieutenants) gets its cut, everything's hunky dory.
One could also argue that by shopping at Costco, one can now afford to pay the Multnomah County property tax bill that keeps climbing and climbing and/or the water bill that keeps climbing and climbing as a result...
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (12)
Enjoy the Costco wine, Jack, but it kind of shatters any cred you might have had complaining
about the loss of the old Portland sensibility,
disappearance of small & family-owned businesses
and sense of self-supporting neighborhoods.
I know, youve heard all this blah, blah, blah
ad nauseum. Happy tippling, bud--glad you found a
bargain!
Posted by Theo | September 6, 2004 8:48 AM
Can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Could be both...confused.
Its a guilty pleasure for 25 year olds too. Except we mostly sample stuff.
Posted by Andy | September 6, 2004 10:09 AM
It's all about the free samples. They also make those yummy muffins, too.
Posted by davidwhunt | September 6, 2004 11:31 AM
I don't know. To me, anything in bulk kind of loses its concentrated goodness.
PS: Those muffins kinda suck.
Posted by rose | September 6, 2004 12:53 PM
Costco is perfectly compatible with my vision of Portland. You can't use Costco very well if you live in an apartment tower. But if you live in a nice, close-in east side neighborhood, you should be able to drive to a big box warehouse store out by the airport once a month and buy the things that would cost you twice as much at a California-owned Safeway, a Colorado-owned Wild Oats, or Ohio-owned Fred Meyer.
The greedy landlords have pushed all the small grocers out of my neighborhood, so I find it hard to blame Costco for that one. If I need a lemon, I have to get in a car and pay an out-of-stater, any way you look at it.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 2:01 PM
Andy-
As a fellow "50 something" that loves Costco "outings", Jacks not being sarcastic.
Posted by Randy | September 6, 2004 2:28 PM
Another benefit is getting to watch tax cheats in action. Every one of those customers with Washington plates on his or her car is violating the Washington sales and use tax law by hauling stuff back to the 'Couv and not paying tax on it.
The ones that are covered in patriotic bumper stickers and decals are the most amusing in this regard.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 3:04 PM
Can't it be both?
Posted by Andy | September 6, 2004 5:00 PM
Jack, feel free to buy your lemons at New Seasons, which is still in-state-owned. Plus, you can buy just one lemon, if you don't need a case.
Posted by Matt | September 6, 2004 6:42 PM
Aside from Costco, New Seasons is my favorite shopping stop. About 10-15% too expensive, but worth it.
Not too helpful when you're after a large quantity of something, however. Plus, it's too far to walk. Gotta take the bike or, realistically with a big order, drive.
I remember when Costco tried to move into industrial northwest. Oh, heavens, no! Vera quashed that idea. But a Home Depot next to the Burnside Bridge? No problem. As long as the developer slush fund known as Portland Development Commission (run by Goldschmidt lieutenants) gets its cut, everything's hunky dory.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 8:18 PM
One could also argue that by shopping at Costco, one can now afford to pay the Multnomah County property tax bill that keeps climbing and climbing and/or the water bill that keeps climbing and climbing as a result...
Posted by Betsy | September 6, 2004 8:52 PM
There is an interesting article on Slate about the politics of Costco shoppers.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2104988
Posted by Jyah13 | September 6, 2004 10:20 PM