Organically Grown Products, History, & Fine Wines
By Leon Sobon
Our History: Shenandoah Vineyards was founded in 1977 by Shirley and Leon Sobon when they moved to the old Steiner Ranch with their six children. Shortly after moving they planted a vineyard and converted the old stone garage to a winery. All of their children helped in building the operation, and two sons and a son-in-law now work full-time along with Leon and Shirley in the business. Tom Quinn is the sales manager, Paul Sobon is the assistant wine maker and vineyards manager, while Robert Sobon is the coordinator of computer and business systems. Shenandoah's philosophy is to produce high quality wines at affordable prices. Popular varietals are produced along with the Cal-Ital varietals, Sangiovese and Barbera. Sobon Estate was founded with the purchase of the former D'Agostini Winery (State Historical monument No. 762). Three old vine Zinfandel's are produced at Sobon Estate, along with the Rhone Varietals: Syrah, Viognier, and Roussanne. The Sobon family has made a commitment to being good stewards of the land, and all of our vineyards are farmed organically.
Organic Farming & the Sobon Family Wines: In 1989, our family made the decision to start farming organically. After a winter of much research, the following spring we saw the start of our new endeavor and continue to keep learning today. In 1994, we registered with the County Agriculture Commissioner and the State of California as organic growers of grapes and walnuts. We now farm 125 acres without herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. Our wines, both at Shenandoah Vineyards and Sobon Estate, are made by conventional means using a minimum of sulfites to preserve freshness and color. At bottling, our wine contains between 15-20 parts per million free sulfites, which diminish after several months in the bottle. (For informational purposes, wines with no added sulfites can contain 8-12 ppm of sulfites, a natural product of fermentation). We believe the small amount of sulfites we use are necessary to maintain the freshness, stability, ageability, and enjoyment of our wines. All of our Sobon Estate wines are made with our own organically grown grapes. We buy grapes from three growers - one is certified organic and two use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) techniques, which is the next best thing, but technically not organic. Those grapes are blended into the Barbera and the ReZerve Zinfandel. All other wines are made with organically grown grapes.
Former D'Agostini Winery: (from Fun Times, June 1989, by Marcia Oxford) Shenandoah Valley Museum occupies the original D'Agostini winery building, complete with huge wine casks, pioneer farming and wine-making implements, and valley artifacts. The D'Agostini Winery is the third oldest in the state and is recognized as California Registered Landmark Number 762.
Leon E. Sobon: Leon Sobon had a long successful professional career before becoming a vintner. He spent twenty years as a research scientist in the Silicon Valley where he authored numerous publications and obtained three patents. Leon was a very serious hobby wine maker while working as a scientist and was drawn to Amador County by his love of Zinfandel. His scientific past has carried over into wine making where he still experiments with new wine making and viticultural techniques. Community and professional service is important to Leon, he is or has been the director of Wine Institute, Chamber of Commerce, Amador Vintners, Sierra Business Council, The Rhone Rangers, and the American Society for Viticulture and Enology.