Most everyone today is always on the lookout for a bargain, especially since the price of beef has gone through the roof. We’re all feeling the toll of the drought a couple of years ago, when a lot of ranchers had to sell their herds early. Considering the price of ground beef has gone from $2.99 a pound in 2012 to $6.29 a pound this morning at the grocery store, I watch for sales and since we belong to Sam’s Club as an Advantage Plus Member, we get early access before the regular members can shop, I buy a lot of beef that has been reduced for a quick sale because of the sell by date. We joke about it calling the steaks and roasts we buy “You bet your life meat”, but I figure that the meat I buy is going straight to the freezer, we’re pretty safe and we usually save between $2 and $3 a pound. Anyway so far so good, nobody’s gone to the hospital.

For dinner the other night I pulled out a bottom round roast out of the freezer, one of the larger “You bet your life meat” roasts that I brought home and cut into smaller size roasts and threw it in the crockpot with some chili powder, garlic and other spices to simmer all day. To go along with the roast I opened a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was from Simi Landslide Vineyards, Alexander Valley, California. The vintage was 2011 and had 13.5% alcohol. The wine was a dark red color in the glass and I could smell a subtle berry or cherry note. There was also a smoky tobacco aroma to go with the berry smell. The wine was dry and supple with a bite at the end. This wine was a bit pricier than what I normally spend on wine, less than $30, but it was one that I have wanted to try for a while. You can find them online at http://www.simiwinery.com.

The roast had just the right amount of heat from the chili powder and cayenne peppers to go really good with dry Cabernet. This is a wine that I would buy again, maybe not multiple bottles since the price was a bit high, but it was a tasty wine.