If you like dry, bright, berry-fresh rosés, then you'll love Portugal’s new wave rosados. This country cultivates a myriad of exciting red varieties which, when picked early, with lots of refreshing zip, make perfect crisp pinks. Amoras is from a single estate 40km north of Lisbon, Casa Santos Lima, which has been owned by the same family for four generations.

The wine is named after the wild blackberry bushes that frame the vineyards, giving the local wildlife something other than tasty grapes to feed on! For this refreshing rosé, the winemaker selected Portugal’s prized native grapes, plus a portion of deep, blackcurrant Cabernet. It's a tasty drop on its own and ideal with seafood, salads, at a barbecue or with Asian cuisine.

However, a down draught from the Andes and the Pacific’s Humboldt Current both help to moderate temperatures by day and ensure very cold nights.

In addition, the sunlight is exceptionally bright and snowmelt from the Andes provides all the irrigation water required.

Viña Falernia, one of only two wineries in the valley, was built in the late 1990s by Italian Giorgio Flessati and won a Trophy with its first vintage. Elqui produces “some particularly gutsy Syrah at altitudes of over 2,000 metres” (World Atlas of Wine), and the Carmenère is equally robust.

Deep bramble, cassis and spice character, it's great with lamb. Best decanted.

Antonio Federici is a small, 3rd-generation cellar in Lazio, just south of Rome. As you'll taste here, its wines are both authentic and delicious. Normally, they only supply their meagre output to top restaurants in Rome.

But with most shut in 2020, we managed to gain a small allocation of this superb, cherry-scented red. And again, the following year. On fine limestone soils (the rocks of which were used to build some of Rome's most famous buildings) they grow some of Italy's most characterful native grapes.

From these they make a small range of award-winning wines. No doubt the skill of top Italian consultant Franco and Matteo Bernabei comes into play, as well as the commitment and passion of the family.

A silky, smooth, easy red.

Atakarma is a star from Matetic, a winery whose consistent quality has seen it listed in Wine & Spirits magazine’s Top 100 Wineries of the Year four times now.

Nestled in the Colchagua Valley, they source their fruit from across Chile's finest grape-producing valleys.

The Sauvignon for this white was harvested from the banks of the Tinguiririca river, where winds keep the grapes cool and aromatic, with a sparky freshness.

Winemaker Felipe Vial cool fermented this white, giving it a little lees ageing to lend a creamy textured edge.

With a crunch of citrus and tropical fruits, it's an ace apéritif.

The hottest name coming from Romania is Cramele Recas. Founded in 1998, this pioneering cellar leads the field in premium wines, with an up-to-the-minute winery and vineyards that were first planted in 1447. Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife started the estate, bringing in winemaking expertise from Oz, Hartley Smithers, and Spain, Nora Iriate. Their bottles have even caught the attention of The Telegraph and The Drinks Business who have written rave reviews about their vibrant, characterful wines.

This silky smooth Merlot is part of their new Babele range, named after the Romanian tradition of celebrating the arrival of spring. Bright and succulent, it has a wealth of drink-me-now flavours. Great solo or with grilled meats.

If you enjoy the food-friendly reds of northern Italy, especially the Valpolicella Ripasso style, you'll love this. We have worked with Italian Winery of the Year Cantina di Negrar for years. They own a vineyard in the Marano Valley and they’ve offered us a deal on their Rosso Veronese – a wine usually reserved for their Italian fans. It’s named after Bartolomeo Lorenzi, whose epic 18th-century poem of rural life made Valpolicella wines famous the world over.

The Marano Valley is especially cool, so grapes take longer to ripen, which adds depth, character and freshness to the wines. Also included is a dash of dark Amarone. With black cherry fruit and Christmas cake spice, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing Veronese red. Great with game.

The supple, ripe Barón de Barbón has remained our bestselling Rioja since the early 2000s. That’s decades of popularity and loyal customers coming back for more. The Daily Express even claimed on its release that it’s “what true Rioja is all about.” The talent behind this contemporary, fruit driven red is the infectiously keen Javier Murúa. His father Julián owns Bodegas Muriel (a winery Julián's father established in 1926) in Rioja’s superior Alavesa. We’ve known the family well for years now, so much so that Javier calls us up after the vintage so we can get the top pick on their finest vats.

With its easy going, ripe red berry flavours and fragrant vanilla character, this supple Rioja is great on its own or with grilled meats or tapas.