Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 the beef and cook and stir until it browns on all sides. Remove the beef and set aside. Brown the remaining meat and set aside. *If using pressure cooker: use a 5-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat.*
Place the chopped onion in the pot; stir for 1 minute. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Pour the wine, beef broth and red wine vinegar; stir in the tomato paste and mix.
Grind rosemary, oregano, and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Add the spices to the pot adding bay leaves, cloves, cumin, black pepper, and brown sugar.
Add in tomatoes and it’s juice; rinse the can with a small amount of water and add the water to the pot. Stir in carrots and potatoes. Now add the browned meat to the pot. A 5-quart pot should be about half full and soupy; the potato will most likely dissolve but thats okay, it will thicken after cooking. Cover the pot with it’d lid.
Turn the pot up to high heat and let cook for 1-2 hours. After that time, keep heat on low not exceeding 4 hours. Taste the Greek stew and add salt, if desired. *If using a pressure cooker: Bring the pot up to high pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure reduce naturally.