Pairings: Pair classic chardonnay with fresh corn, peas

Our Wine of the Week, Chappellet 2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($35) is a classic, a spot-on expression of California’s style with the world’s most popular white varietal.

Fruit flavors - especially white nectarine, white pineapple, custard apple and ripe apricot - are rich and concentrated, with layers of complexity. There’s citrus, too, but it reveals itself in the richness of, say, lemon curd spiked with orange zest, not in a spritz of acid.

The buttery quality expressed in the lemon curd eventually gives way to a heady acidity laced with delicate notes of allspice, cardamom, clove and nutmeg. The finish reverberates with suggestions of crème fraiche and a pleasing brightness that sparkles on the palate like little starbursts.

At the table, you’ll enjoy the wine with everything from roast pork tenderloin glazed with apricot preserves to roasted chicken, winter squash, mild Indian-style chicken curry, savory galettes, veal with mushroom-cream sauce, eggs Benedict and almost anything with fresh corn, from corn on the cob slathered with butter to corn and mussel or salmon chowder.

Given that it is spring, I’ve turned to a favorite match possible only at this time of year, a simple soup of fresh peas that you’ll enjoy hot or chilled with this luscious wine alongside.

Spring Pea Soup

Makes 3 to 4 servings

3 tablespoons butter

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 small leek, white and palest green part only, washed and thinly sliced

1 potato, about 6 to 8 ounces, peeled and diced

- Kosher salt

- White pepper in a mill

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, or water

3 cups shelled English peas

2 scallions, very thinly sliced

1 tablespoons minced fresh chervil or 1 tablespoon mint, cut into very thin strips

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

- Crème fraiche

Melt the butter in a medium soup pot set over medium-low heat, add the onion and leek, and sauté until limp and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Add the potato and sauté 3 minutes more. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Add the broth or water and simmer until the potato is just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and simmer until they are just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender, conventional blender, or food processor, puree the soup and, unless using an immersion blender, return it to the pot. Add enough water to thin the soup so that it is about the thickness of heavy cream and heat through. Stir in the scallions, chervil or mint and the chives, cover the pan, and let steep for 10 minutes.

Taste and correct the seasoning. Ladle into soup plates, top with a dollop of creme fraiche and enjoy right away. The soup is also delicious chilled.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com