by Fergal Gleeson

I love the warm aspirational values of the TV Cooking Shows. On an average weekend the kids are filleting John Dory for the Sashimi starter (not as complicated as it sounds!).

My wife is out the back plucking the goose we‘re cooking for our main (great fun and you can really taste the difference!). I’m just back after carting home a bucket of seasonal vegetables from the Local Organic Vegetable Market (You’ve got to taste the Lebanese artichokes!).

As I’m hand making the pasta I’m feeling a range of emotions: Pride (at the vigour and industry of our household) but melancholic (childhood memories of cooking with my Italian Nonna come flooding back). I could go on.

The fact that the share price for Dominoes Pizza (ASX: DMP) has doubled in the last year tells me that the domestic bliss served up by cooking shows isn’t too common on the other side of the 55 inch HD LED screen. In the real world sometimes we cook but mostly we keep it simple.

As far as Wine is concerned cellaring your bottle is about as labour intensive as it gets. OK you can milk some extra drama with some decanting but drinking good wine is thankfully a very easy part of dinner.

You don’t even need to cellar the Carpineto Chianti Classico Riserva 2009. At 6 years old it’s drinking beautifully. It has some twiggy, smoky flavours on the nose. The average Sangiovese has sour red berry flavours but this Riserva is darker and has smoother tannins that give the wine a great texture.

It still has the characteristic Chianti leather and tobacco flavour which is more pleasant than it sounds. Just uncork and enjoy.

Available from Dan Murphys. Price: c $30. Rating: 4/5. Drink and be merry!