You Should Be Drinking: Rombauer Zinfandel

Falling in love with a California Zinfandel can almost get you cancelled in the wine-writing world, but as you all know, we don’t really care about that stuff here at Honest Cooking.

byKalle Bergman

I’ll admit that I’m not generally a huge fan of the ol’ zin. Even a “big-bold-Cali-wines-lover” like myself feel like zinfandels often end up just being…. well… too much. Too much alcohol, too much fruit, too sweet, too hot. I guess that’s partly why zins have gotten a reputation as the “non-wine-lover’s-wine”, a clunky, unrefined entry-point into the world of fermented grapes.

But every once in a while, a zin pops down on my table that blows my socks off, and when that happens it’s honestly kinda magical.

Rombauer is one of the most classic Napa Valley wineries, and I’ve always been a fan. Their labels look like they were made in early versions of MacDraw, but their wines are no joke. They have great pinots, cabs and chardonnays, and while a lot of wine-snobs that spend their entire existence disliking California wines are haters – I’m right here smacking my lips whenever I hear someone uncorking a bottle.

This zinfandel is lush, juicy, with lots of fruit and a little bit of barrel. It’s like a piece of licorice wrapped in cherry. It’s a perfect reward at the end of the day, a long day, where you were on Zoom-calls all day, drove the kids to soccer practice in two different parts of town, did laundry, went grocery shopping and had to choose between a workout and a glass of wine at the end of it all. You chose wisely.

The Wine You Should Be Drinking:

Rombauer Zinfandel
$40

About the Winemaker:

Rombauer Vineyards has been part of the Napa Valley landscape since 1980, when Koerner and Joan Rombauer planted roots along the Silverado Trail near St. Helena. The winery is best known for its unapologetically plush Chardonnay—ripe, oaky, and crowd-forming—but its story runs deeper than one varietal. With estate vineyards in Carneros, Atlas Peak, and the Sierra Foothills, Rombauer straddles some of California’s more expressive growing regions. The family’s winemaking philosophy leans toward generosity—of fruit, of structure, and of hospitality—shaped in part by Koerner’s aunt, Irma Rombauer, who wrote The Joy of Cooking.