Our take
Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel California Red Wine
- Style
- Red wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Zinfandel
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0097921978105
Our take
What we make of this bottle
Why does one wine wear so many different prices? Across the stores we checked in September 2026, the high we saw for this California Zinfandel from Rombauer was $54.99, and the prices we recorded fanned out well beneath it.
Zinfandel carries a long history in California, and our grape research notes the grape can become a red wine, the pink wine sold as White Zinfandel, or one part of a blend. Regional authorities, that research notes, describe ripe berry and plum fruit with spice, and a fuller body when the fruit ripens further. Vineyard age, when the grapes are picked, and the alcohol in the glass can move the result a fair distance.
The winery behind it goes back several decades. Rombauer says Koerner and Joan Rombauer founded it in 1980. We do not have a shopper rating for this wine.
Those prices sit over a grape our research says can be a red wine, a White Zinfandel, or part of a blend. In our September 2026 checks the lowest we saw was $38.99.
The 2023 vintage of this Zinfandel carries a full technical sheet on the producer's page: 91 percent Zinfandel with 9 percent Petite Sirah, picked at an average 27.2 Brix between September 25 and October 30, 2023, finishing at 15.9 percent alcohol, a notably high reading for the grape, then aged 14 months in American oak, 10 percent of the barrels new, and French oak. The tasting note reaches for cherry jam, blackberry and nutmeg, with a rich body, soft tannins and pleasant acidity carrying through the finish. Rombauer's own history page traces this fruit to two vineyards it bought in 2010 specifically to grow Zinfandel, Bennett Lane in Calistoga and the higher-elevation El Dorado Vineyard in the Sierra Foothills.
Our call: worth the price for a shopper who wants the producer's full technical account, an exact blend, a named harvest window, and 14 months of specified oak treatment. It is not the pick for a shopper leaning on ratings; none has reached our record for this bottle, so the producer's account carries the full case for the price on its own.
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.
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Read our take →The prices we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$54.49
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$42.99
- Ralphs, Long Beach, CA$54.99
- King Soopers, Colorado Springs, CO$38.99
- Smith's, Las Vegas, NV$49.49
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$41.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$47.99
- QFC, Tacoma, WA$50.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Winery history
Rombauer Vineyards says Koerner and Joan Rombauer founded the winery in 1980.
Research status
What we are still checking
Our overview above draws on the dated store feed, shopper ratings, our region and grape research, and any sourced producer facts. We are still working to confirm the current release, the full producer record, and the bottle itself, and we update this page as we learn more.
Getting to know California.
California on the label is useful provenance but weak detail about place. For these wines, sourcing disclosure, blend construction and house-style consistency carry more decision value than a generic climate paragraph.
What the name means
A state-level appellation, broader than an individual American Viticultural Area. It permits a multi-region blend and does not by itself identify one climate or soil.
How grapes grow here
The state spans cool maritime zones and hot inland valleys. A California designation alone does not reveal which conditions shaped the fruit.
What lies under the vines
At state scale, sourcing and house-style construction matter more than any single soil story.
How large the region is
- Reusable question
- Which counties or AVAs supplied the blend, and did that mix change by release?
Places within the region
- Resolution limit
- County, AVA and vineyard claims begin only when the release names them.
Getting to know Zinfandel.
Zinfandel is a red grape with a long history in California. It can make red wine, pink wine sold as White Zinfandel, or part of a blend.
Category guide
What to expect in the glass
Regional authorities describe ripe berry and plum fruit with spice, and fuller body when grapes reach higher ripeness. Vineyard age, harvest timing and alcohol can change the result substantially.
Sources: Napa Valley Vintners; Lodi Winegrape Commission. Checked Aug 10, 2026. See all 20 Zinfandel wines we cover →
Where this information comes from
- Store listing
- Price, package, product identifier. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
- Barcode
- The shelf barcode shown here is computed from the store product identifier. It has not been checked against a bottle.
- Method
- Every price, rating and fact here is a dated observation. How we check.