A LOVELY warming pot roast should really have a lovely warming glass of red to go alongside. You’ll need something with a bit of spice and character to stand up to the deliciously intense roasted goodness in the pot.

Chile would be my first port of call, and though no longer the cheap and cheerful destination that it once was, you can still find excellent value and top-quality wines at your local merchant. The country’s unusual geography creates wonderful microclimates perfectly suited to growing grapes. The natural barriers of the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atacama desert (incidentally the driest desert on the planet) in the north, the Andes mountains on the east and the ancient glaciers to the south provide protection on all sides for the vineyards.

The Pacific provides a cooling influence to the more coastal areas such as Leyda Valley, dropping the vineyard temperature by a few degrees and crucially lengthening the ripening period of the grapes.

The Andes provide essential irrigation for the more inland areas allowing further quality grape production.

Carmenere has become Chile’s signature grape following the discovery in the mid-1990s that it was distinct from Merlot. Until then, producers assumed that it was actually Merlot that they were growing as the two grapes look almost identical on the vine. In terms of taste, the Carmenere is bigger and fuller than its smooth, plummy cousin.

Santa Rita Medalla Real Carmenere 2012 (Majestic, £11.99). The Santa Rita is an excellent example of the more old-fashioned, earthy style of Carmenere as opposed to the modern fruit-driven ones that you can normally pick up for under a tenner. It’s an excellent wine, and great with pot roast.

Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow www.inverarity121.com