Pairings: Pinot noir pairs with vinegar-spiked eggs and bacon

Our Wine of the Week, J Vineyards 2015 Sonoma, Monterey, & Santa Barbara Counties Pinot Noir ($25), is both delicate and lush, with a profound richness and silky texture, like the feathers of one of those strange looking breeds of silky chickens.

There is a bit of heat on the palate, too, from the wine's alcohol, which hovers around 14.6 percent.

Pinot noir is among the most food friendly of all red wines, and this one is no exception. It is delicious with everything from eggs, blue cheese and mushrooms to the dark meat of chicken, rare duck breast and leg of lamb.

Maitake mushroom risotto, pasta with mushrooms in cream sauce, roasted beets and grilled portobello mushrooms over farro are all outstanding companions to the wine.

Wild rice, grilled spring onions, wild salmon, quiche, and even macaroni and cheese flatter the wine and are flattered by it.

For today's recipe, inspiration comes from an old favorite, originally from Kermit Lynch of Kermit Lynch Wine Market fame in Berkeley.

It appeared in one of the company's newsletters in the late 1980s or early 1990s and has become a favorite.

It is in heavy rotation in my kitchen.

My version elaborates on Lynch's adding bacon, frisée, and bread to his eggs fried in butter and finished with vinegar. Using a local, full-flavored red wine vinegar from B. R. Cohn or O Olive Oil & Vinegar will produce the best results.

Vinegar Eggs with Bacon & Frisée

Serves 2

6 thick rashers bacon, cut into 1/2-inch crosswise strips

2 large handfuls of frisée, rinsed, dried and trimmed into bite-sized pieces

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

6 tablespoons butter, preferably local

4 extra large farm eggs

6 tablespoons best-quality red wine vinegar

4 thick slices of local hearth bread, preferably from Della Fattoria, Artisan or Village Baker, lightly toasted

Cook the bacon in a medium frying pan until it is almost but not quite crisp.

While the bacon cooks, put the frisée in a bowl, season it with salt and pepper and set it aside.

Warm two plates in a slow oven (200 degrees).

Melt all but 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium frying pan set over medium low heat. When the butter is foamy, slip the eggs, one at a time, into the pan, cover and cook the eggs slowly, until the whites are firm but the yolks runny, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Slip two eggs onto both of the warmed plates.

Quickly return the pan to high heat, add the vinegar and swirl to deglaze the pan and reduce the vinegar to 2 tablespoons.

Add the remaining butter and swirl the pan gently until it is melted; do not let it boil. Remove from the heat, taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the eggs.

Divide the frisée between the plates, top with bacon and some of the bacon drippings and serve immediately, with the toast alongside.

Michele Anna Jordan hosts “Mouthful: Smart Talk About Food, Wine, & Farming” every Sunday evening at 6 p.m. on KRCB-FM. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan .com