Pairings: Tomato Stilton Soup with zin

Our Wine of the Week, Joel Gott 2013 California Zinfandel ($20), is no fainting violet. It's big, bold, and sassy.

The wine's black fruit is punctuated by notes of black pepper, coriander and dried leaves, that briary quality of a dry forest floor.

After the wine does its full-bodied somersault over your palate, its finish lingers, with sweet, firm tannins and a final tease of spice.

The wine is a perfect companion to a big juicy bacon burger slathered with homemade ketchup and fried onions.

It's also excellent with braised short ribs and other slow-cooked meats, chili, pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, polenta and sausages, figs, eggplant and roasted sweet peppers.

A grilled cheese and onion chutney sandwich on Revolution Bread sourdough is a great companion, too.

Because we are nearing the end of tomato season, I've chosen a favorite fall soup, adapted from a recipe in 'The Good Cook's Book of Tomatoes' (Skyhorse Publishings, 2015).

For the best results, use backyard tomatoes or tomatoes from a farmers market, not supermarket tomatoes.

The bacon and bacon fat deepen the connection with the wine, while the fried sage engages those brambly characteristics, making the match soar.

Tomato Stilton Soup with Bacon & Fried Sage Leaves

Serves 6 to 8

3 bacon slices

2 medium leeks (about 1 cup), white and pale green part, washed, drained, and thinly sliced

l white or yellow onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

— Kosher salt

5 cups peeled, seeded, and minced ripe beefsteak tomatoes

4 cups homemade chicken stock

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh sage leaves

24 medium fried sage leaves (see Note below)

4-6 ounces (1 to 1 ½ cups) crumbled Stilton or other blue-veined cheese, to taste

— Black pepper in a mill

Fry the bacon in a deep pot until it is crisp; drain on absorbent paper and then chop or crumble it. Set it aside.

Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat, set the pot over medium-low heat, add the leeks and onions and sauté until they are soft and fragrant, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt.

Stir in the tomatoes, stock and sage and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

While the soup cooks, prepare the fried sage leaves.

Add the cheese and stir constantly over low heat until it is just melted; do not let the soup boil. Add several generous turns of pepper, ladle into soup plates, top with crumbled bacon and fried sage leaves and serve immediately.

Note: To fry sage leaves, select large blemish-free sage leaves, rinse them under cool water and set on a tea towel.

Pat the leaves dry. Pour a thin layer of olive oil into a small, heavy saucepan and set over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Carefully add a single leaf and if it sizzles, add 3 to 4 more.

If it doesn't sizzle, wait until it does, turn over and cook 5 seconds more. If the leaf curls, use a dinner fork to hold it flat.

Transfer the cooked leaf or leaves to a paper towel folded into fourths and continue cooking — about 5 to 6 seconds per side —until all the leaves have been fried. Sprinkle very lightly with salt and use within 30 minutes or so.

Michele Anna Jordan is author of the new 'Good Cook's' series. Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You'll find her blog, 'Eat This Now,' at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.