In this blog post I'm going to try and buck the trend of asceticism which seems to come over many of us in January.

I've never really been one for detoxing in the new year let alone giving something up for a month only to return to business as usual in February, and now that winter seems to be setting in for real I've found myself hungering for hearty home cooking, a log fire and a glass of rich spicy red wine to drive the chill from my bones. So why not give in to temptation?

I'm going to talk a little about two specific styles of wine that come from the sun drenched vineyards of South America, which is a rather comforting landscape to imagine when the temperature outside is below zero. The varieties in question are Malbec and Carmenere which have in effect become the signature varietal grapes of Argentina and Chile respectively. As well as producing satisfying, rich warming reds they also offer great value for money, perfect for those on a tight budget following the Christmas blow out.

Malbec has been becoming steadily more and more fashionable in recent years and is now firmly established as the great Argentinean grape variety. Its origins however lie across the Atlantic in France where it once quite widely grown in Bordeaux and the Loire valley. It is still grown in some parts of France, most notably in the region of Cahors where it forms the backbone of many blends. It is also making a bit of a comeback in the south, piggy backing on the Argentines success, but few would argue that the grape seems to have found its true home in the heart of South America where the soil and the high altitude seem to suit it perfectly.

When I think of Argentinean Malbec there's one thing above all else which goes along with it in my mind and that's steak. The big bold flavours of the wine marry better than anything else with medium rare beef but it's is also versatile enough to match with rich, rustic stews and casseroles. Always look out for Malbec from Mendoza which is recognised as one of the very best wine producing regions in the country. The wines from here are inky red in colour and packed full of bramble and plum flavours. One of the other great things about them is that they are remarkably consistent.  Malbec has become one of my go to wines if I'm eating out at a restaurant as I can almost always be sure of getting something I'm going to enjoy.

For our next variety we're going to move west over the Andes to Chile. This is a country which is often described as the Bordeaux of the Southern hemisphere and its reputation is built on the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines. However in the past what it really lacked was a specific wine style to call its own, like Malbec in Argentina. This has changed in the past couple of decades with the emergence of Carmenere.

Carmenere, like Malbec was at one time a Bordeaux variety and records show that it was widely cultivated in the Medoc region in the 18th century. In later times however, it was abandoned largely due to low yields.  Bizarrely it was then grown for over a hundred years in Chile without anyone even realising it. In 1994 after extensive testing it was discovered that a large quantity of vines previously thought to be Merlot were in fact Carmenere. These were probably brought over directly from France, along with Cabernet and Merlot, in the form of cuttings sometime in the 19th century. Even today a great deal of Chilean wine labelled as Merot will contain some Carmenere through "field blends" as the two varieties have not been separated in the vineyard.

A good Carmenere has much of the soft plummy approachability that you would typically associate with Merlot but it has a bit more structure to it meaning it will partner very well with more flavoursome foods. One of my favourite matches for Carmenere is a lovely piece of herb encrusted roast lamb, this type of dish really helps to bring out some of the herbaceous notes in the wine.

As I said at the beginning of this blog post Carmenere and Malbec are great wines to go for if you're looking for a bargain. There's a lot on offer both in supermarkets and independent wine shops under the £10 mark. The Co-op in particular has some great South American wines which are all fair trade. So shake off those January blues give the detox a miss and start sampling the sumptuous delights of the South American wine world.