John Hanna & Sons Ltd.

If you find you’re not enjoying the wines you buy quite as much as you might like, I’ve got news for you: you’re not alone! Today I want to talk a bit about a few common mistakes people make when serving wine, and easy fixes to these problems that will have you enjoying a more delicious and fulfilling experience that exceeds your expectations.

We’ve all been there – that moment, when after great anticipation, enthusiasm and excitement – whether it be following a recommendation from a trusted local store employee, a glowing review from an important wine critic, tasting while traveling through wine country, a must-try endorsement from a wine-loving friend, or worst yet, through your own research and shopping experience – you finally sit down to try a wine you’ve been dying to taste. You pull the cork, pour yourself a glass and take a sip.

And, well… it’s ok.

Or worse yet, it’s less than ok.

But it’s not exciting or delicious or creating a sensational desire to take another sip – or the any of the other wonderful things you expected or wanted or had been hoping for. This result can be one of the most disappointing wine experiences you can have; approaching a wine with enthusiasm and excitement and a desire to fall in love at first sip, and it just doesn’t live up to your lofty expectations. More often than not, we chalk experiences like this up to faulty advice from the referring party.

But is this really the answer?

Or are there other reasons why wines just don’t taste as good as we’d like them to?

The short answer is yes. Wine is a living and breathing product that is made from natural organic materials. Not only can the way we handle and serve wine impact our enjoyment, but the wine itself can change and taste differently based on a myriad of considerations. The jumping off point in this conversation is to shift perspective; let’s think about wine less as just another beverage – and personify it to a certain extent, and in turn look at how we handle and serve wine with a focus on its “living, breathing” qualities.

My experience is that there are a handful of reasons why sometimes wines underwhelm, so allow me to walk you through the 5 most common reasons why you might not be enjoying wines you buy, quite as much as you’d like to. More importantly, I’ve got some simple and easy fixes you can employ to make sure the wines you’re drinking deliver the amazing, astonishing, delicious brag-worthy WOW-factor you’re after.

Is it just me, or does meat always taste better when it’s served to you on a stick?

Whether we’re talking kabobs, skewers, souvlaki, brochettes, satay or any one of a myriad of regional food classics showcasing tasty morsels of meat, fish, poultry, game or the finest farm fresh fruits and vegetables, what was once tasty street food is quickly being elevated to a loftier culinary position.

Sure, these delicious dishes are easy to eat and fun for their playful, almost whimsical nature, but what is it about these ideas that makes them so compelling? In part, they seem to accomplish complete bites without the need to pull little bits of various components together in a single forkful. They often use gorgeous sauces or bold flavourful marinades to enhance the proteins or produce on display. And given their history, often times as street food, they seem to pack an authentic regional flavour punch.

For these reasons, the recipes featured today are also wonderful foods with which to match wine. The pungent, complex and layered flavours reward careful and thoughtful wine picks that showcase and draw out the sensational flavours in the food. Moreover, wine loves aromatic herbs and seasonings – not to mention meat! – so dishes, for example, featuring rosemary or thyme are enhanced by southern French “garrigue” influenced red wines.

Now some of these recipes are famous classics, but others will be culinary discoveries or less heralded regional dishes. In this same way, we’ve aimed to bring you a combination of wines including both familiar grapes from famous wine regions, but tried to spice things up with a few new discovery type wines whose acquaintance you will be pleased to have made.