Pairings: Pedroncelli cab flatters French onion soup

What a pretty wine our Wine of the Week, Pedroncelli 2015 Three Vineyards Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($20), is. It is light on its feet, with none of the ponderous qualities a young cab sometimes shows. Its acidity is as bright as a crisp and cloudless December night. Tannins are surprisingly and engagingly smooth.

There are plenty of berry and cherry flavors but they are delicate enough that no one could call this wine a fruit bomb. Rather, the fruit is integrated and elegant, with bright little flashes of dried herbs, brambles, good top soil full of mushrooms, toast and a delicate whisper of vanilla.

At the table, the wine shows best with such foods as Gorgonzola cheese, rich tomato sauces, Italian sausages, white beans, eggplant, black lentils, and black olives. It is excellent with roasted root vegetables and vegetarians will enjoy it with grilled portobello mushrooms garnished with black olive tapenade. You can also enjoy it with pizza; creamy polenta with Gorgonzola, oregano, and olio nuovo; rare ribeye steak topped with anchovy butter; and traditional Italian lasagne.

You can’t beat the price, either; the wine holds its own alongside cabernets that are two, three, even four times more expensive. It is better than many pricey cabs.

Today’s recipe is inspired, in part, by the wine’s price. This luscious soup calls for a cup of red wine and because the wine is priced so well you can use it instead of needing to find another wine. The rich onions and melted cheese make the match soar.

French Onion Soup

Makes 4 to 6 servings

4 tablespoons butter

3 pounds onions, preferably a combination of white, yellow, and red, peeled and very thinly sliced

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced

- Kosher salt

¼ cup brandy

- Black pepper in a mill

1 cup medium-bodied red wine

6 cups homemade beef stock

4-6 slices of good bread (2 day old bread is ideal), toasted

12 ounces cheese, grated (Italian Fontina, Gruyére, Monterey Jack or Joe Matos St. George)

In a large, heavy soup kettle, heat the butter until it is foamy. Add the onions and leek, season with salt, and sauté over low heat until very limp, fragrant, and completely tender, about 35 minutes. Do not let them brown.

Turn the heat to high, add the brandy, shake the pan and cook rapidly until the brandy is evaporated. Season with salt and several turns of black pepper. Add the wine, reduce by half, add the stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer very gently for about ?40 minutes. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.

To serve, preheat the oven to ?325 degrees.

Ladle the soup into deep, oven-?safe soup bowls, and set a piece of bread on top of each one. Divide the cheese among the servings, set the bowls on a sheet pan, and carefully set in a 325-degree oven for about 7 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove the soup from the oven, place each bowl on a saucer, and enjoy right away.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “The Good Cook’s Book of Salt & Pepper). Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com