FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
FOR THIS month’s story on pairing wine and cheese (“Matches made
in heaven,” page ;;), we turned to some experts: Costco’s very own
wine and cheese buyers. These folks operate out of our main o;ce in
Issaquah, Washington, and our regional o;ces around the country.
They have done a wonderful job developing a selection of wines and
cheeses from both local and international producers.
Often, our buyers are able to work directly with the winemakers
and cheesemakers to come up with exclusive items for Costco. These
collaborations start in the vineyards and on the farms with exploratory talks about what our members want and what the producers
have to o;er, before a purchase order is even brought out. We’re thrilled when we are able
to bring in a top-quality item at the right price.
In the case of wine and cheese, I don’t tend to be as discriminating as those with
more re;ned tastes. That re;ects my own foibles: I like both wine and cheese, so anything on the table looks good. Also, holes in my education have left me relatively uninformed about things like notes of apple blossom in a young riesling or overtones of
freshly cut hay in Emmenthal. Fortunately, food a;cionados have lots of tips on the best
pairings. For starters, think in terms of either complementary or contrasting ;avors.
An acidic wine will cut a cheese’s sweetness. Thank goodness, experimentation is
accepted and encouraged.
But wine and cheese shouldn’t be the only pairing enjoyed this holiday season. So
many other special ones deserve attention. Turkey and stu;ng, of course, top the list.
My tasting note: lots of gravy on both. Pumpkin pie and whipped cream should also be
included (heavy on the whipped cream). And after dinner, how about a cup of decaf
co;ee with Kirkland Signature™ Irish Cream Liqueur (don’t be stingy with the latter—
are you seeing a pattern here?).
Of course, pairing up with family and friends is the most important match over the
holidays. Let Costco help out when it’s time to feed everybody. C
FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK
ONE WORD (and an exclamation point) comes to mind when I think
of November and Costco: busy!
There is so much going on in the warehouses and on Costco.com
at this time of year to help our members make the most out of the
upcoming holiday season, no matter what holiday you celebrate.
This issue of The Connection is packed with articles and ads that can
help out as you start planning for those holidays.
Food, of course, is central to our holiday celebrations. Our “For
your table” stories (beginning on page ;;) o;er tips on preparing
the best turkey ever, accommodating vegan and vegetarian guests,
and matching wine with the wonderful cheeses found at Costco.
More recipes are featured in our Farm to Table section. And I’d be
negligent if I didn’t point you to a short story on Costco’s new peppermint bark (page
;;;). The samples from the photo shoot came to our o;ce and were a big hit among
Connection sta;ers.
To help you with your gift purchases, our annual Holiday Season Gift Guide (
following page ;;) features a wide selection of products our buyers are bringing in to the
warehouses and Costco.com for the holidays. This guide is a great place to start as you
begin checking o; items on your Christmas list. You’ll also ;nd a selection of books that
make great gifts in our Arts & Entertainment Special Section (beginning with our cover
story on astronaut Scott Kelly and his book, Endurance, on page ;;) for the readers in
your family.
As you make holiday plans, I’d also like to recommend that you look at Costco.com.
Our online warehouse is a great place to ;nd expanded selections of products, unique
Costco “treasure-hunt” items, food and more—all with our traditional value. Our
“Buying Smart” story (page ;;;) looks at some hot items you’ll ;nd there, as does the
Costco.com special advertising section (after page ;;;).
Wishing all our members a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year. C
FRONTEND
The Costco Connection is published by Costco Wholesale. All editorial
material, including editorial comments, opinion and statements
of fact appearing in this publication, represents the views of the
respective authors and does not necessarily carry the endorsement
of Costco Wholesale or its officers. Information in The Costco
Connection is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but
the accuracy of all information cannot be guaranteed. The publication
of any advertisements is not to be construed as an endorsement of
the product or service offered unless it is specifically stated in the ad
that there is such approval or endorsement. Products advertised may
not be available at all locations at the time of publication. Publishing
offices are located at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, WA 98027. Copyright
© 2017 Costco Wholesale.
PUBLISHER Sandy Torrey storrey@costco.com
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Tim Talevich 425-313-6759 ttalevich@costco.com
EDITOR, U.S.
T. Foster Jones 425-313-6748 tod.jones@costco.com
EDITOR, CANADA
Stephanie E. Ponder 425-427-7134 sponder@costco.com
EDITOR, UK
Will Fifield 425-313-6988 wfifield@costco.com
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Lorelle Gilpin, Canada lorelle.gilpin@costco.com
Sue Knowles, UK sknowles@costco.co.uk
Heather Seoyoung Lee, Korea hsylee@costcokr.com
Yuko Nakagawa, Japan connection@costco.co.jp
Abelardo Navarrete, Mexico anavarrete@costco.com.mx
Nora Wang, Taiwan norawang@costco.com.tw
ONLINE EDITOR David Wight david.wight@costco.com
REPORTERS
Steve Fisher steve.fisher@costco.com
Christina Guerrero cguerrero2@costco.com
Hana Medina hanamedina@costco.com
COPY EDITOR Miriam Bulmer
CONTRIBUTORS
Annette Alvarez-Peters, Suzanne Badiozzaman, Damon
Brown, Gordon Craigie, William B. Flynn, Hope Katz Gibbs,
Peter Greenberg, Elisabeth Handley, Sterling Hawkins,
Amanda Horowitz, Steven L. Kent, Lisa Alcalay Klug,
Heather Larson, Robert Lerose, Sean Lynch, Annie Makoff,
Erik J. Martin, Debra Mashek, Nancy Mills, Marlo
Miyashiro, Suze Orman, Matthew Robb, Ilene Raymond
Rush, Marc Saltzman, Pamela Kleibrink Thompson,
Cindy Uken, Avantika Waring, Joe Yonan
ART DIRECTOR Doris Winters dwinters@costco.com
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
Lory Williams lwilliams@costco.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Ken Broman, Bill Carlson, Steven Lait, Chris Rusnak,
David Schneider, Brenda Shecter
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Pam Sather psather@costco.com
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
Antolin Matsuda amatsuda@costco.com
COLOR SPECIALIST
MaryAnne Robbers mrobbers@costco.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Jane Klein Shucklin 425-313-8277 jshucklin@costco.com
ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER
Kathi Tipper-Holgersen 425-313-6581 ktipper@costco.com
ADVERTISING COORDINATORS
Nikki Chellew 425-427-3534 nchellew@costco.com
Nico Cordero 425-313-2558 nmcordero@costco.com
Kirsten Neubrech 425-313-2549 kneubrech@costco.com
ADVERTISING COPYWRITER Bill Urlevich
ADVERTISING GRAPHIC DESIGNER Susan Detlor
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
West; Texas/Northeast: Frank Colonno 201-962-2759
fcmediapartners@optonline.net
BUSINESS MANAGER Jane Johnson
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Rossie Cruz rcruz@costco.com
PUBLISHING ANALYST
Dorothy Strakele connection@costco.com
COSTCO WHOLESALE
P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088
999 Lake Drive, Issaquah, Washington 98027
Fax: 425-313-6718
Email: connection@costco.com
MEMBER SERVICE QUESTION? Go to Costco.com,
scroll down and click on “Get Help Or Contact Us.”
®
Sandy Torrey
is Vice President of
Corporate Marketing, Packaging, and
Publisher of The
Costco Connection.
Tim Talevich
is Editorial Director
of The Costco
Connection.
