Simi Winery

One of the oldest wineries in Sonoma, Simi made their first wine in 1876. The estate’s then owner was Giuseppe Simi and his brother Pietro, two Tuscan natives who left Italy to find their fortune in the gold mines of California. They built their stone cellars in 1890, which were later expanded in 1904, the same year that both Simi brothers passed away suddenly. Giuseppe's daughter, Isabelle took over at the young age of 18. With the introduction of Prohibition in 1920, Isabelle sold all of the vineyard holdings in order to keep her wine cellar and winemaking facilities intact. She was hoping for a quick repeal and 13 years later, she was able to sell the 500,000 bottles in her cellar to a very thirsty public. Her business acumen carried on until 1970 when she retired selling the winery to Russell Green, an Alexander Valley grape grower. Today, Simi has extensive vineyard land all throughout the Alexander Valley including, 70 hectares in Landslide, 29 hectares in Red Fan, 39 hectares in Los Amigos and 18 hectares in Del Rio. From these vineyards, they produce 15 wines.