Mingle & Graze

Wine, Cheese, and Passion: Crafting Unique Experiences in Chandler

Pete and Oren host Mahfam Moeeni-Alarcon, owner of Mingle & Graze in downtown Chandler and the wine shop Spin the Bottle, to discuss her 20+ years in the restaurant industry and how Whole Foods training led to a cheese-focused concept. Mahfam explains building charcuterie boards and grazing tables, teaching customers how to eat and pair cheeses, and sourcing higher-quality imports from small family creameries while avoiding mass-produced "deli cheeses" and bioengineered rennet concerns. She describes educating customers through tastings and classes, emphasizing how aged cheeses can be easier on lactose-intolerant diners, and shares the Adopt-an-Alp program and tariff impacts. The conversation also covers small-lot wines, ingredient transparency, Arizona winemaker relationships, and why she chose Chandler for family and community involvement, with possible future expansion and a local farm cheese-making connection with Orin.

00:00 Welcome and Banter

00:36 Meet Mingle and Graze

03:35 Why Cheese First

04:44 Teaching the Board

05:43 Arizona Charcuterie Scene

07:46 Ingredient Quality Matters

10:25 Educating on Price

12:23 Producer Stories and Alps

14:07 Will Arizona Make More

18:02 Learning Cheese at Whole Foods

21:09 Seasonality Mold and Health

22:24 Aged Cheese Digestion

22:48 Quality Ingredients Bellwether

24:23 Wine Shop Philosophy

25:31 Small Lot Wine Benefits

27:25 Arizona Winemaker Connections

28:56 Craft Curiosity Trend

30:57 Why Downtown Chandler

33:57 Chandler Culinary Momentum

36:50 Local Farm Cheese Plans

39:49 Wrap Up and Next Steps