I wasn’t familiar with Simi prior to this wine dinner in April 2022, which made for a fun adventure.
Chardonnay
Paired with Randy’s Hors D’Oeuvres
This paired well with the starters, and I had two glasses. It’s a nice chardonnay from Sonoma County California. Simi describes it at as a “food-friendly” wine. I would agree. As you can tell by the picture, I’d already drunk half the glass before the starters even arrived. It’s a Monday wine. You can open in on Monday and drink it again on Tuesday, but if you forget and don’t get back to it, that’s ok. Deglaze the shrimp scampi on Friday with it and you’ve not lost anything.
Pinot Noir
Paired with Beef Stroganoff Soup
This is a Wednesday/Thursday wine from Sonoma County, California. It went really well with the beef stroganoff soup, so that tells me it would go really well with a traditional beef stroganoff or even roasted portobellos with goat cheese.
I could see it as a Sunday Dinner with Family wine. It would accentuate the pot roast, but not break the bank since all the cousins are coming to dinner.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Paired with Beef-Stuffed Poblano Chiles
This is a perfect grocery store varietal to serve the next time you have a big party and are serving enchilada casserole, venison chili, or any other tex-mex/spicy dishes.
Easy to drink, goes great with spice and doesn’t leave you with the need to still grab the glass of water if it’s too spicy for you. This is the Sonoma County, California cabernet.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Paired with Bourbon Ribeye Steak, Butter Balsamic Mushroom and Garlic Mash Potatoes
This is the Landslide Vineyard, Alexander Valley, California Cabernet Sauvignon. Personally, I don’t think the cab really went with the strong balsamic flavor with the mushrooms, so it’s a cab that needs subtle flavors, or something sweet like a peach glazed pork loin.
And since this has a Friday night price point, I wouldn’t run the risk of tainting the wine with something too strong. If you’re feeling adventurous, a beef wellington would be a great pairing, with some asparagus on the side. This way you still get the earthy mushrooms that bring out the flavor, but don’t overpower the wine.
I’d describe this wine as: your cousin Lexie – loud, outspoken, laughs a little too much at dinner, but you can’t help but love her because she makes you smile.
High West Double Rye
Old-Fashioned
Paired with Lazy Mans Peach Cobbler with Cinnamon Ice Cream
I am a huge fan of rye. In fact, I prefer an old-fashioned made with rye over just plain whiskey.
Unfortunately, the peach cobbler was TOO sweet for this rye. I know the thought was the cinnamon in the rye would pair with the cinnamon in the peaches, but for me it was a miss.
This is a deep rye flavor, and probably should have been enjoyed on its own, in front of the fire pit with some classic Johnny Cash on low in the background. Which is how I intend to enjoy it in the future.
Final Thoughts
This was a good wine dinner with some great easy to obtain wines. The Sonoma cab would go great with takeout burgers, or even pizza if you’ve decided it’s just too hot to cook.
I know many people around me at the wine dinner were impressed by the name “Simi” but as someone who wasn’t familiar with it prior to that night, I probably wasn’t impressed as much as I should have been. To me it was an average wine – with the exception of the Landslide Vineyard Cab (and the Rye). However, if your in-laws are hung up on brands, this is a good label for a holiday dinner like Easter. The pinot or Sonoma cab would pair well with the ham and sweet potato casserole, but you could still have both sides of the family there and not have to ration the wine.
