Iced Mocha: Mud in the Eye of the Little Guy Coffee Shop

Normally a fairly happy person, sometimes I just feel the urge to rant. On this blog I've ranted against Starbuck's efforts to brand coffee as the new wine and against the ridiculous marketing of Wolfgang Puck's crappy wrapped sandwiches as airport gourmet. And everyone feels happy, because both those target Goliath, and give him a little spit in the eye. Well, I'm sorry to say, but today is

How To Host a Wine Tasting Party

I am a big fan of tasting parties. At the wine tasting party we hosted recently, I caught myself standing at the island in our kitchen just smiling and taking in the scene of our living room filled with people we love. The sound of that many people having fun is the greatest blessing on any home.The world is too full of people telling you what you should like, giving you intimidating rating

Into the Wine "Way-Back" Machine

The New Year is always a time of looking forward to upcoming trends. My husband and I have recently been having fun constructing and "in-and-out" list for Skinny Gourmet, which we will surely post soon. But sometimes we get so focused on being hip and trendy enough to predict the future, that few of us take time to look back on predictions past. My mother-in-law has a prodigious collection of

Seghesio Port

This is one wine to get your hands on before everyone else catches on. A group of friends and I discovered this fine port while on a trip to wine country in California. When we go, we make it a point to visit several vineyards and try new places. This was our first visit to Seghesio, and I have to say it is one of the more delightful wine tasting experiences. We did a tasting flight downstairs,

Is Coffee the new Wine?

As I promised last week in my rant about airport "gourmet" I'm back with another installment of my investigation into all things gourmet (or not). Like so many fashionistas regularly announcing blue (or brown or red) is the new black, the high-end coffee industry is now emulating the well established snobbery of the wine industry. As I sit in Starbucks, gleefully sipping my mocha cappuccino with