Rich red wines to linger over this month, by Susy Atkins

It’s impossible to overestimate the comfort factor of a slow-braised stew and glass of good red at this time of year. February – the first half at least, when nights still feel long and dark – is the perfect month for drawn-out cooking and slow sipping. Beef and lamb are the most likely casseroles, so which are the best reds to pair with them?

For beef, show some restraint. A wine that’s too sweetly ripe never really works with this meat – avoid cheap jammy Aussies, Chileans and Californians in particular. Even Argentina’s malbec is better matched to a rare steak than a mellow, peppery stew. Beef is better paired, in general, with medium-bodied European reds with fresh, lifted cherry or plum notes and perhaps a spicy, savoury twist. Think southern Italians like nero d’Avola or primitivo or an elegant version of fitou or grenache/garnacha. (One proviso – if your beef stew has cream or crème fraîche in it, you need to go lighter yet and make it a soft pinot noir to avoid a clash of textures… red burgundy, then).

For a lamb casserole, you can turn up the vinous volume. It has a richer flavour than beef and can take a bigger, oakier wine. Iberia produces the true stars here, not only in the form of classic red rioja, the strawberry and vanilla oak flavours of which have a natural affinity with lamb, but also by way of other tempranillos and the fine Douro Valley table reds of northern Portugal.

If sploshing red wine in the casserole, beware of using anything too cheap. The wines here are all excellent value, so suitable for going into the pot as well as in your glass.

IL SARMENTO NERO DI TROIA 2018

Puglia, Italy (13%, Co-op, £5.50)

Made from the lesserknown southern Italian grape nero di troia, which comes almost exclusively from the Puglia region. It has lots of plum and black cherry fruit and finishes juicy and fresh. It’s easily one of the best-value reds I’ve tasted this year, so far.

TASTE THE DIFFERENCE BARRIHUELO RIOJA CRIANZA 2016

Spain (13.5%, Sainsbury’s, £7.75 down to £6.50 until Feb 16)

A rioja with a mellow note of toffee along with strawberry and redcurrant and warm hints of spicy oak. It’s 100 per cent tempranillo 70-year-old vines, aged in cask for 12 months. One for lamb braised in (the same) red wine.

RESERVE DES HOSPITALIERS CAIRANNE CRU DES COTES DU RHONE 2017

France (14%, Waitrose, £11.79 down to £8.79 until Feb 18)

Rhone reds are another canny choice with a beef stew, especially one made with plenty of herbs and pepper, and this grenache-basadone, though fairly rich, is well-balanced with delicious savoury, spicy twists.