As far back as 1982, the founder of this cellar, Pablo Morandé, was discovering the benefits of Chile's great coastal-cooled regions. That was a decade before anyone else. He set up his winery in 1996 and has won scores of awards since then, including being five times Chile's Winery of the Year. Pablo was also named a 'Winemaking Legend' by MW Tim Atkin in 2017, while James Suckling called his "a leading and innovative winery", "a bold, experimental winemaking adventure project".

His winemaker is Jorge Martinez, who has worked at cellars worldwide, including Napa's Kendall Jackson and Pauillac's Léoville Poyferré. Carignan from 40-year-old vines in the warm Maule valley, this is a velvety, dark, spiced red. An ideal match with lamb shanks.

Founded in 1976 by Luis Felipe Edwards Snr, descendant of a London-born doctor, Viña Luis Felipe Edwards is synonymous worldwide with quality and innovation. That's why it's a four-time winner of the ‘Best Chilean Wine Producer’. Chief winemaker Nicolas Bizzarri has the highest quality standards, having worked with fine estates all over the world, and has picked up top Trophies for LFE along the way.

For this refreshing white made from his favourite white grape, Chardonnay, Nicolas selects fruit with an ideal balance of ripeness and freshness, all from estate vineyards. It's delicious and always ready to delight. Brimful of bright citrus, melon and peach flavours, it's a superb partner to sauced fish or white meat dishes. Or simply solo.

From the 4th-generation De Martino family, this is a rich, ripe red using Chile's speciality grape, Carmenère. It shows what elegance and richness can be achieved in Chile's best sites. The family are Italian, but left their homeland for South America in 1934. They made the Cachapoal Valley their new home and now have the largest holdings of organic vineyards in Chile.

Their wines always show a great sense of "place, purity and balance". Twice named 'Chilean Winery of the Year', they specialise in using sustainable practices in the vineyard and carefully match each grape to its optimum region. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in cool Limari, while Carmenère excels in the warmer Maipo Valley. Silky solo, it's tasty too with chicken or veggie bake.

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.

This juicy, full-of-fruit red sums up the best of Aussie wine – gorgeous ripe flavour, good intensity and freshness. Way & Cat is short for ‘wayfaring catador’, catador being Spanish for taster.

So the name is a tribute to how the team source their fruit – they head out into the vineyards to taste the grapes of their grower friends. When they find the selections they like, they vinify each parcel separately, then blend the results into fruit first expressions of the varieties they chose. That blend changes vintage by vintage, depending on what performs well that year. It's top for versatility too – great as a glass on its own, tasty with roasted vegetable quiche, sausage and mash. And just the ticket at a barbecue.

As Jancis Robinson MW says, "some truly magnificent wines are now emerging from Chile". The country is indeed producing exciting and character-filled wines, the quality exceptional, the price still incredibly low.

This is a gorgeous Syrah from the premium, cool-climate San Antonio Valley, just 12km from the Pacific. Sleek, polished, with intense black fruit, and pepper notes, you'll also find delicious spice and vibrant freshness. "Over the last few years, Syrah has stayed high on our list of best-rated Chilean wines that also offer the greatest value," (Jamessuckling.com). One taste of this shows why!

This flavour-packed Chilean red is the perfect accompaniment to the finest cut of steak and a must-have for your wine rack. Taste by yourself and you will know how good it is.