“We have rosemary planted all over the ranches, especially along our pollinator rows between our vineyards,” says Bonterra Executive Chef Olan Cox. “Plants like rosemary support a host of native pollinators, beneficial insects that help naturally balance the ecosystem of our farms.”
As Olan can attest, rosemary has range. It can make a tray of potatoes the thing everyone picks at before dinner, turn a weeknight chicken recipe into a plan and keep everyone hovering over the focaccia while it cools. It also happens to know its way around a wine glass.
These recipes with rosemary keep the cooking straightforward and the payoff high. Each one comes with a Bonterra wine pairing chosen to pick up the herb’s savory, piney character or bring a little brightness to the plate.
Why Rosemary Belongs in Your Kitchen (and Your Glass)
Rosemary moves easily between proteins, breads and starches because it brings both fragrance and structure. Its resinous edge can cut through olive oil and roasted meat, while its woodsy character finds an easy echo in wines with bright fruit, earthy notes or a hint of spice.
At Bonterra, rosemary is part of the same living landscape that shapes the wines. It thrives in Mendocino’s Mediterranean climate and asks for little once established. Pairing the herb with wine is not a reach so much as a continuation of that landscape, from what grows near the vineyard to what lands on the table.
“Rosemary has a way of staying with you through the day,” notes Olan. “Tucked into a pocket, tossed on a fire, soaked into olive oil, or blooming in your yard or garden row, it’s one of those plants that connects us to our earth and seasons.”
The recipes that follow are simple enough for a weeknight, but considered enough to bring back when company is coming. One herb, four directions and a bottle that knows what to do next.
Rosemary Focaccia
Focaccia looks ambitious. The dough knows otherwise. For a no-knead version, stir together 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons instant yeast and 1¾ cups lukewarm water until no dry flour remains. Cover and let it rise until doubled, then stretch it into a generously oiled 9-by-13-inch pan.
Let the dough relax for another 30 to 60 minutes. Dimple the surface with oiled fingers, drizzle with more olive oil and scatter over 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary and flaky salt. Bake at 425°F for 22 to 28 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and the edges have gone crisp.
For the plan-ahead version, refrigerate the mixed dough overnight and let time develop the flavor. For focaccia today, use the room-temperature rise and keep going. Either route ends with a moist, pillowy center, a rosemary-scented crust and at least one corner disappearing before dinner.
What to Pour: Bonterra Chardonnay
Bonterra Chardonnay brings bright acidity and notes of pear, green apple and citrus to the olive oil richness of focaccia. The wine refreshes between bites while its subtle blossom and spice notes leave rosemary plenty of room to be rosemary.
“One of the simplest ways to enjoy rosemary is to let it slowly infuse into good extra-virgin olive oil,” Olan says. Gently warm 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil with 3 to 4 fresh rosemary sprigs and an optional garlic clove, then remove from the heat and allow it to cool completely. Strain the rosemary-infused oil before using, then drizzle over the warm focaccia. With a chilled Chardonnay alongside, the table has something new to hover around.
Garlic Roasted Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes
This is the one-pan answer to an easy dinner. Heat the oven to 425°F, then toss 1½ pounds halved Yukon Gold or red potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, four smashed garlic cloves, the zest and juice of one lemon and 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary. Spread them across a sheet pan or roasting dish and nestle six bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on top.
Rub the chicken with a little more olive oil, salt, pepper and another tablespoon of rosemary. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning the potatoes once, until the skin is crisp, the potatoes are golden, and the chicken is tender and reaches 165°F at its thickest point.
Olan describes citrus and rosemary as “a natural flavor friendship.” For his preserved-lemon variation, combine 4 chicken thighs, legs, wings or breasts with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary, 1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon, 2 minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Marinate for at least an hour, then grill or roast until cooked through. It feels considered and flavorful without making dinner complicated.
What to Pour: Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon
Rosemary and Cabernet have long understood each other. As a food-friendly red wine, Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon brings dark cherry and blackberry character, approachable tannins and a dried-herb note that meets the roast rather than overpowering it. Chicken keeps the pairing generous; crisp skin and golden potatoes give the wine plenty to work with.
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
The potatoes can also take the lead. Cut 2 pounds Yukon Gold or red potatoes into even one-inch pieces and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, 3 minced garlic cloves, salt and black pepper. Spread them across a large sheet pan and roast at 425°F for 30 to 40 minutes, turning once.
One of the simplest recipe tips: do not crowd the pan. Space lets steam escape and gives every cut side a chance to go properly golden. Serve the potatoes beside dinner, pile them into a bowl for snacking or add a lemony yogurt dip and call the arrangement complete.
Olan’s first choice is live fire, though a very hot oven works beautifully, too. He applies the same rosemary-garlic treatment to carrots, parsnips, sweet turnips and gold or red beets. The method stays the same; only the timing changes.
What to Pour: Bonterra Rosé
A chilled glass of Bonterra Rosé brings watermelon, grapefruit and blood orange notes, plus the bright acidity needed to lift a dish built on earthiness and crisp edges. It does not compete with the rosemary. It resets the palate and reaches for another potato.
Lemon Rosemary Lamb Chops
For eight lamb rib or loin chops, stir together 2 tablespoons olive oil, two minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, the zest of one lemon, salt and black pepper. Coat the lamb and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to four hours in the refrigerator.
Heat the oven to 400°F. Sear the chops in a hot oven-safe skillet for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then finish them in the oven until they reach your preferred doneness. For food safety, the USDA recommends 145°F followed by at least a three-minute rest for whole lamb chops.
That rest is part of the recipe, not lost time. It keeps the juices where they belong and gives you a minute to open the wine, toss a salad or decide the rosemary potatoes should make a return appearance.
What to Pour: Bonterra Pinot Noir
Rosemary can match lamb’s intensity, while Bonterra Pinot Noir handles its richness with bright cherry and pomegranate, earthy detail, balanced acidity and fine tannins. Give the bottle 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. That slight chill sharpens the fruit and makes the pairing especially good when lamb is on the summer menu.
When Olan is grilling, he likes to toss whole sprigs of rosemary directly onto the campfire or coal bed to add fragrant smoke. If these chops are headed outside, consider that your cue. It is a small flourish, but one the Pinot will notice.
Rosemary’s Sweet Side
Rosemary is not finished when dinner is. Warmed gently with honey or scattered over grilled fruit, its floral side comes forward without losing the savory edge that makes it interesting.
Rosemary Honey with Fresh Cheese
Warm 1 cup honey with 2 fresh rosemary sprigs over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool, then spoon over fresh chèvre or sheep’s-milk cheese. Add toasted bread, nuts and seasonal fruit, and consider the cheese board handled.
What to Pour: Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc
Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc brings citrusy freshness and bright acidity to the honey, while its clean finish meets the tang of the cheese. A pairing that knows when to be sweet and when to move on.
Grilled Stone Fruit with Rosemary Salt
Halve 4 ripe peaches, nectarines or plums and brush them lightly with olive oil. Grill cut-side down until lightly caramelized. Mix 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary with 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt, sprinkle it over the warm fruit and finish with a drizzle of local honey.
What to Pour: Bonterra Pinot Gris or Rosé
Choose Bonterra Pinot Gris for a light, fresh pairing or Bonterra Rosé for a brighter, fruit-led contrast. Either way, serve it chilled and let the rosemary salt handle the surprise.
How to Grow Rosemary at Home
A rosemary plant is useful in the garden for the same reason it is useful in the kitchen: it asks for relatively little and gives plenty back. Start with a nursery plant rather than seed, then give it the conditions it actually likes.
- Find the sun. Rosemary grows best with six to eight hours of direct light each day.
- Prioritize drainage. Use loose, well-drained soil and a pot with a drainage hole if you are growing it in a container. Wet roots are a faster problem than a missed watering.
- Water with restraint. Keep young plants evenly watered while they establish. After that, let the top inch or two of soil dry before watering again, often every one to two weeks depending on heat and container size.
- Prune the green growth. Trim after flowering or harvest sprigs regularly to keep the plant bushy. Avoid cutting hard into old, woody stems, which may not push new growth.
- Bring the pot inside when needed. In colder climates, move container rosemary to a bright indoor spot before frost.
At Bonterra, rosemary grows close to the vines, with Tuscan Blue and Spanish among the most abundant varieties. Tuscan Blue grows tall, with thicker leaves and a sweet floral bouquet suited to grilled vegetables, dressings and marinades. Spanish rosemary drapes over walls and containers; its milder flavor works beautifully with seafood and chicken.
A pot on the patio is a smaller version of the same idea: choose the rosemary that suits how you cook, clip what dinner needs and let the season set the menu.
Your Table, Your Garden, Your Wine
The best rosemary recipes are not complicated. They are built on a few simple ingredients that know how to make one another better: olive oil and flaky salt, lemon and garlic, rosemary and the right wine.
That is the throughline from Bonterra’s estate gardens to the bottles on the table. The same farming perspective that makes room for herbs, pollinators and vines also shapes a collection of organically farmed wines designed to bring clear, vibrant flavor to the glass.
Bake the focaccia. Give the potatoes room. Rest the lamb. Then keep the pairings in rotation by using the Wine Finder to stock up on Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rosé and Pinot Noir near you.
Citations
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. “Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.”
- University of California Cooperative Extension. “Rosemary Seed to Harvest Fact Sheet.”
