Winter 2004-2005 - Farms of Amador

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Quarterly Newsletter
Winter
www.farmsofamador.org
We stand at mid-winter looking forward. Rains have set in,
the landscape somewhat bleak and windswept has assumed
the dark wintry colors. Native grasses have spread a soft
green carpet on the sleeping earth to remind us there is hope
in a time of nature’s rebirth, when again the days are long
and the farmer is anxious about his harvest.
As this year is at its end, it is time to step back and take
stock of the Farms of Amador during its first full year of
existence. This newsletter is focused on recapping the Farms
of Amador 2004 Events Calendar. In the following pages, a
collection of photos from the various programs and activities
serves as a reminder to everyone who participated..
The thought of things accomplished is only worthy to the
extent it serves as guide and motivator to pursuing the goals
set for this organization. There are many things to do in 2005
such as:
•
presenting to the Board of Supervisors a proposal
for FARM TRAILS signs to be posted throughout the
County and gaining their approval and support
Winter 2004-5 Vol 2 No. 4
•
developing a schedule of workshops on subjects
of interest to the membership
•
improving the ways of disseminating information
about the County’s agricultural resources
•
enhancing partnerships with similarly minded
organizations
•
updating and printing a 2005 FARM TRAILS
brochure
•
last but not least, holding elections for half the
seats of the Board of Directors.
However to have Farms of Amador grow into the role for
which it was conceived, it is necessary for all of its members
to assume an active part in its operation, growth and direction. Participate in the meetings, seminars, events and most
of all give us your ideas, thoughts and feedback.
Dimitris Zorbas
FofA Board of Directors
Last
minute...
2005 PlacerGROWN Farm
Conference
Saturday, February 5th (8:00 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m.)
continued on page 4
Contents
WINTER
LAST MINUTE...
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1
RECIPE CORNER
FARMS OF AMADOR AND 2005 EVENTS
FARM ITEMS (SELL OR BUY)
FARMS OF AMADOR MEMBERSHIP LIST
DID YOU KNOW...
FARMS OF AMADOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Sobon Estate & Shenandoah Vineyards
Olive Oil Harvest 2005
Amador’s Old Vines
Farms of Amador 2004 Calendar of Events
Page 1
2
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7
Sobon Estate & Shenandoah
Vineyards: Organically Grown
Products, History & Fine Wines
Our History
Shirley and Leon Sobon founded Shenandoah Vineyards in
1977 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.
Paul Sobon composting young vines.
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 amounts 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.
Leon Sobon
Olive Oil Harvest 2005
Amador Olive Oil - Barn & Storage
The 2005 harvest was early this year, in November and December, perhaps similar to the early 2004 grape harvest, due
to the long hot spring and summer. Trapping was employed
extensively at my farm for the olive fruit fly and it was successful since no damage to the olives has been detected. The
French Bar olives also looked fruit fly free, luckily.
The estate crop was sufficient to afford a nice supply in two
sizes of bottles, 25.4 and 12.7 oz. The 2005 Amador Blend
is made up of olives from the French Bar and Jackson area.
It will be bottled in three sizes, 25.4, 12.7 and 5 oz. There
is still available a limited quantity of 2004 olive oil, which
is mellowing in my cool basement that I will be selling at a
discount. The 2005 supply of oil will become available in
January or early February.
Susan Bragstad
Page 2
Amador’s Old Vines
Bent, twisted, haggard old arms reach to the crisp mountain
sky from a gnarled, defiant truck weathered gray-brown by a
century of wind, rain, frost, and sun. Its job done for another
season, the ancient Shenandoah Valley Zinfandel vine is
read for winter slumber.
This particular vine is one of the “old vines” on 14 acres
still producing two to four tons per acre for Amador County
grower and vintner Ken Deaver. Planted in 1886 by Ken’s
grandfather, Joseph Davis when he was 16 years old, the
Deaver/Davis vineyard has thrived 117 years in the decomposed granite soils of Sierra Foothills.
To many, 117 years doesn’t sound like that long. But let’s
think back to 1886. The Civil War was only twenty years
behind a recovering nation. Gold had been discovered only
38 years earlier and California had only been a state for 36
years. Coco-Cola was invented in Atlanta, GA and Robert
Lewis Stevenson wrote Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
But 1886 didn’t mark the beginning of grape growing or
even Zinfandel in Amador County. According to Eric J.
Costa in his book Old Vines - A History of Winegrowing
in Amador County, the county’s first known grape grower
was Massachusetts native Benjamin Burt who first planted
grapes in 1852. By 1855, Amador County sported 4,740
grape vines or about six acres of grapes.
In 1857, New Hampshire native and Jackson physician Dr.
Samuel Page bought an orchard and vineyard originally
belonging to Horace Killam. Page expanded the vineyards
and planted a grape he referred to as Black St. Peter’s. This
is significant to Amador grape history because, according to
wine historian Charles L. Sullivan, New England Black St.
Peter’s and California Zinfandel grapes were identical.
Zinfandel came to the United States in 1829 from the imperial nursery in Vienna, Austria. Imported by Long Island
nurseryman George Gibb, “Zinfandal” vines were sold to
Bostonian Samual Perkins in 1831 and by the late 1830’s
New Englanders were growing Zinfandal as a popular table
grape.
Exactly when the first Zinfandel vines arrived in California
is uncertain. Some of the first items to be shipped from New
England around the horn to California in 1849 were tree and
vine nursery stock.
Amador’s first Zinfandel vines were most probably brought
to California from New England in 1855 by Sacramento
nurseryman A.P. Smith. At about the same time, San Jose
nurseryman and wine maker Antoine Delmas imported
Black St. Peter vines from the east.
Exactly when the first grape vines were planted in the
Shenandoah Valley of Amador County is unknown. “Most
of the old records of who planted how much of what where
were lost when the original farms house burned.” says fourth
generation Valley grower Ken Deaver. “The only records we
have are old newspaper articles and some documentation
from local and state agricultural commissions.”
One such report was the census of August 1870 indicating
several Shenandoah Valley residents in possession of wine
from what was most likely the 1869 vintage. Figuring at
least five years for vines to mature enough to produce wine
grapes, vines must have been in the ground at least in 1865.
Two of the notable names of those having wine in 1870 were
Adam Uhlinger (600 gallons) and John J. Davis (200) gallons.
Swiss immigrant Adam Uhlinger came to Amador County
in 1856 from Iowa. By 1867, Uhlinger considered himself
a “vine grower”, by 1869 was making substantial amounts
of wine, and became the first truly commercial winery in
Amador County. Because Uhlinger realized Mission grapes
limitations in making good “claret” it is suggested that at
least some of those early vines were Zinfandel.
Uhlinger’s winery was built of hand hewn native oak timbers and rock quarried on site. His fermentation and storage
casks were fashioned on site of native oak by neighbor John
J. Davis. Today, the old winery is a museum on the property
of Sobon Estate and is open to the public at no cost.
In 1852 John J. Davis headed for the California gold fields
from Iowa. Originally from Indiana, Davis worked five
years as cooper before venturing west. Arriving in Placerville, Davis was a fair placer miner who made enough to
settle on a 117 acre ranch in the Shenandoah Valley in 1859.
By 1870, Davis had one of the most successful fruit ranches
in the valley with 43 “improve” acres including at least two
acres of grape vines.
With experience as a cooper in the east, Davis opened a
Cooper Shop in the valley in 1869 and advertised his ability to manufacture and repair wine casks. Samples of his
craftsmanship can be seen in the 500-gallon oval shaped oak
casks on display in the old Uhlinger (Di Agostini) winery at
Sobon Estate.
The Deaver family came to Shenandoah Valley as school
teachers. Grover Deaver was the teacher at the Shenandoah
School and, as was tradition in those days, boarded with a local resident. That local was John Davis’s son, Joseph Davis.
Some time later, Grover brought his wife Elizabeth and three
children, Willard, Ruth and Ken from Fiddletown to live in
the valley. After both Grover and Joe’s wife passed away,
Elizabeth married Joe in 1927. Elizabeth’s son Ken kept the
Deaver name and became a rancher. Ken Sr. managed the
original Davis vineyard for John Davis’s daughter Mary and
eventually inherited the property in 1964.
While the original planting records are gone and passeddown information is a bit hazy, the Davis/Deaver vineyard
planted in 1886 may be the oldest producing vineyard in
Amador County. This is some evidence however, in the form
continued on page 4
Page 3
OLD VINES...
continued from page 3
of a U.S. Geological Survey map that suggests Grandpere
vineyard on Steiner Road was in existence in 1869.
Only about 200 acres of truly old vines are left in Shenandoah Valley today. Some of these old vineyards including
Story, Esola, Fox Creek and the famous Eschen Vineyard in
Fiddletown were propagated with cuttings from the original
Davis/Deaver vineyard. The origin of other old vineyards
including Teri Harvey’s Original Grandpere Vineyard is
more uncertain.
There is no wine industry standard for applying the term
“Old Vine”. In many cases, the term is applied for marketing purposes and may refer to wines made from grapes from
20 to 30 year-old vines. Other vintners consider old vines
as those planted prior to prohibition (1920) or World War II
(1940). Vineyards over 100 years old are being referred to
more and more as “ancient” vines.
In reality, the term “old vine” may have viticultural base.
Many veteran winegrowers and winemakers agree that vines
can be considered “old’ when they become self-regulating.
According Shenandoah Valley grower and winemaker Leon
Sobon, “I think grapes become self-regulating/self balancing
at 35 to 40 years but it depends on the growing conditions.
Self-regulating vines kind of take care of themselves. Canes
never get too long and the vines don’t shoot a second crop
anymore which limits crop size.”
Consulting winemaker Don Reha says that self-regulating
vines tend to produce consistently smaller yields of grapes
with more intensity, color and flavor. “There are only so
many flavor and aroma components in a given area of vineyard”, Reha says. “The vines want to naturally distribute
those components over a smaller volume of fruit. Therefore
wines from old ‘old vines’ tend to be more intense and concentrated.”
Is there really a difference between mature and “old vine”
Zinfandels? That’s up to you to decide. Visit some of the
Amador wineries that feature old vine Zin and taste for
yourself.
Amador Old Vine Zinfandels
Amador Foothill Winery
2001 Shenandoah Valley Zinfandel - Esola Vineyard. Grapes
from Esola Vineyards 65 year old vines produced a wine of
luscious fruit flavors with complex spice, earth and black
berry aromas. An intense wine with rich flavor, ripe tannins,
firm acidity, and exceptional balance.
Deaver Vineyards
2000 Zinfandel. Deaver doesn’t always use old vine fruit in
their Zins but the 2000 is 100 percent old vine. Rich an opulent with signature spiciness, this wine is a classic Amador
Zinfandel. Wonderful black fruit flavors with lively berry,
cherry and pepper aromas are exquisitely balanced with velvety tannins and nuance of oak.
Karly Vineyards
2000 Sadie Upton Zinfandel. An opulent Zinfandel full of
big, firm black cherry fruit with a bouquet of freshly scraped
cherry bark. Grapes for this fruit dominant wine were harvested from the vineyard planted by John and Sadie Upton
in 1922.
Montevina
1998 Terra D’ Oro Zinfandel Deaver Ranch. A classic old
vine Zinfandel made from grapes from the original Davis/
Deaver Vineyard. Nearly black in color, the wine is marvelously complex with aromas of super-ripe blackberry and
black raspberry fruit mingled with scents of raisin, anise,
pepper spice and oak vanillin. Lush flavors are well balanced
with soft tannins and excellent acidity.
continued on page 5
LAST MINUTE...
continued from page 1
Lincoln High School
790 J Street • Lincoln, California 95648
CO-SPONSORED BY: University of California
Cooperative Extension,
PlacerGROWN, and County Agriculture Marketing Program
COST: $45.00 per person (includes refreshments, lunch
and sessions.)
Call (530) 889-7398 or (530) 889-7385.
Registration form on page 9
Jan 19-22: 25th Ecological Farming Conf in Pacific
Grove, California. Ecological Farming Association, 406
Main St Ste 313, Watsonville CA 95076; 831-763-2111;
www.eco-farm.org.
Page 4
Jan 23-25: 50th Fancy Food Show in San Francisco,
California. National Association for the Specialty Food
Trade. www.fancyfoodshows.com
Feb 8-10: World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. $7.
Erin Machado, 559-688-1030; [email protected];
www.farmshow.org.
Mar 7-9: BioCycle West Coast Conf in San Francisco,
California. BioCycle, 419 State Ave, Emmaus PA
18049; 610-967-4135 x22; www.biocycle.net.
Jun 21-26: Llama Association of North America
Expo in Plymouth, California. LANA, 1800 S
Obenchain Rd, Eagle Point OR 97524. Sheila Fugina,
715-246-5837.
OLD VINES...
Recipe cor ner
continued from page 4
Lemon Zested Goat Chops
Adapted from the Goat Magazine Aug/Sept 2002
**Serves 2-3 persons**
4-6 thick goat chops
5 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced lemon zest
1 teaspoon French thyme
Lemon slices for garnish
Combine garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and
mustard in bowl. Place fresh chops into bowl and
thoroughly coat making sure to press on all sides of the
chops. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.
Place chops in a large baking dish coated with cooking
spray. Preheat oven to 450F. Bake for about 25 minutes
or longer, to your liking. Garnish with fresh lemons and
serve with roasted garlic potatoes and a green salad.
Carole Cuneo-Marz
The new theme for 2005 is
Old Farm Tools
Send in your most interesting photos.
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Farms of Amador and 2005 Events
Date
Day
Event
City
Location
Barns
Amador
Month
Renwood
2000 D’Agostini Brothers Zinfandel. Unique maple and
blueberry aromas are followed by brilliant acidity and bright
berry flavors with firm tannins. The D’ Agostini vineyard
was planted in 1920 and has been tended by the family ever
since.
Sobon Estate
2001 Fiddletown Zinfandel. A stunning wine with intriguing
aromas of spice, cherry, and concentrated fruit. Highly complex featuring multiple toasty, dusty-cherry flavors typical of
the Fiddletown Lubenko Vineyard planted in 1910.
Story Winery
2000 Picnic Hill Zinfandel. Planted about 1900 with cuttings
from the original Davis/Deaver vineyard, grapes from Picnic Hill make wonderfully dark, spicy “old-style” Zinfandel.
Loads of black cherry and blackberry flavors set off with a
touch of cassis and firm tannins.
Ken Young
Page 5
TO OUR MEMBERS
We need your help
If you can assist with setting up or taking down the Farms of Amador booth or if you can represent the organization
at the booth in any of the events listed in the newsletter, please contact Bob Allen at 274-4589.
Newsletter contributions wanted: Stories and photos of your farm, recipes, classified items (free to all Farms of
Amador members) and miscellaneous suggestions for the newsletter. Remember your voice counts, make it heard.
Submit information to the editor by regular mail c/o Scott Oneto at 12200B Airport Rd., Jackson, CA 95642 or
preferably by E-mail to [email protected].
Farm Items (Sell or Buy)

Did you know...
Did you know that as a member of Farms of Amador you
have access to “self-service” features of the organization’s
website? It’s now possible to list your produce as it becomes
available to the market. Just click to What’s Available Now
and use the Add Item button at the bottom of the page to
add, modify, delete your entry and even upload a picture.
The only thing you need is the password for the Farms of
Amador members.
Farms of Amador Fundraiser T-shirts
Order on the Web
Farms of Amador Board of Directors
ALLEN, ROBERT
PRESIDENT, MEMBERSHIP
274-4589
[email protected]
BRAGSTAD, SUSAN
TREASURER, FUNDRAISING
267-5506
[email protected]
CALAIS, CHARLES
MEMBER
296-3362
[email protected]
COSTA, ERIC
MEMBER
223-3165
[email protected]
CUNEO-MARZ, CAROLE
SECRETARY
223-3908
[email protected]
DEAVER, KEN
MEMBER
245-6661
[email protected]
GIANANDREA, CARLA
PR AND EVENTS
245-6770
[email protected]
ONETO, SCOTT
ADVISOR TO THE BOARD
223-6482
[email protected]
ZORBAS, DIMITRIS
VICE PRESIDENT, NEWSLETTER EDITOR
245-3643
[email protected]
Farms of Amador Membership List
The Farms of Amador membership list is maintained online at the organization’s Web site. For the latest list please consult
http://www.farmsofamador.org. To reach the membership list go to Projects: Find a Farm or a Product and select on the right
hand column All Farms. Let us know of any discrepancies or inaccuracies.
Page 6
FARMS OF AMADOR 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Sierra Showcase of Wine
KVIE Jazz on the water
May 1, Plymouth.
May 26, Sacramento.
On Wednesday, May 26 Farms of
Amador joined about 20 local wineries and 20 Amador and Sacramento
area restaurants for Wine and Jazz on
the River. This year the group chose
to feature samples of some of the
products our members have to offer,
as well as give away prizes for those
attendees who came forward to spin
the wheel. We gave away walnuts,
wine, olive oil, an Asian pear tree
and a few other items. This greatly
increased the interest in our booth
and we made sure to give everyone
a Farms of Amador brochure. This Supervisor R. Forster addressing FofA members at Amador
year’s event was a great success and Flower Farms.
generated a lot of interest.
General Meeting at Amador June 9, Shenandoah Valley.
Tour of the Flower Farm, BBQ and
Flower Farm
General Meeting featuring speakers
Jim Spinetta of Farm Bureau and
County Supervisor Richard Forster.
President Bob Allen opens FofA General Meeting.
TSPN Interview
June 28, Jackson.
On June 28th Bob Allen, (president
& recruitment) and Carla Gianandrea, (PR & events) were interviewed live on the morning show
of local television station TSPN by
Amador County District 2 supervisor Richard Forster. Bob and Carla
discussed information about membership and fielded questions from
the host about Farms of Amador.
Banners and horses at County Fair.
Page 7
Amador County Fair
July 22-25, Plymouth.
Hay ride.
Eskaton Retirement Village September 10, Carbondale.
On September 10th Carla GiananRanch Tour
drea hosted at her ranch 5 ladies
from the Eskaton Reitement Village
in Carmichael. She gave a tour of
the ranch and a talk on Farms of
Amador.
Showing off the colors.
Farmers’ Market
Meek’s Garden Show
June-October, Sutter Creek &
Pine Grove.
September 18, Martell.
At the Farmers’ Market Asian pears & chickens.
ADVERTISE HERE
Please inquire with Farms of Amador
Page 8
2005 PLACERGROWN FARM
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Saturday, February 5th (8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
Lincoln High School
790 J Street • Lincoln, California 95648
CO-SPONSORED BY: University of California Cooperative Extension,
PlacerGROWN, and County Agriculture Marketing Program
COST: $45.00 per person (includes refreshments, lunch and sessions)
For more information about the 2005 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference, or
for questions regarding PlacerGROWN, please call (530) 889-7398 or (530) 889-7385.
AGENDA:
8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Registration, Trade Show
and Morning Refreshments
9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m
12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Opening Speaker
Workshop Sessions 1 and 2
Participants will have an opportunity to attend
two workshops during the morning.
LUNCH
Provided by Lincoln High School FFA
Trade Show
by Ag Agencies and Businesses
1:30 to 3:15 p.m.
EDUCATIONAL
WORKSHOPS:
Workshop Sessions 3 and 4
Participants will have an opportunity to attend
two workshops during the afternoon.
3:15 to 3:30 p.m.
The 2005 PlacerGROWN
Farm Conference will offer
eight “strands” or groups of
workshops.
The conference will be
scheduled so that most
workshops within a strand do
not conflict with each other.
Conference participants do
not have to follow one strand,
and can attend any workshops
they choose.
Trade Show
EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE: January 21, 2005
UC Cooperative Extension WEB SITE: ceplacernevada.ucdavis.edu OR PlacerGROWN WEB SITE: www.placergrown.org
2005 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference
REGISTRATION FORM
NAME(S):
NAME OF BUSINESS:
ADDRESS:
CITY/STATE/ZIP:
EVENING
PHONE(S): DAY
E-MAIL ADDRESS: __________________________________
REGISTRATION FEES:
EARLY REGISTRATION:
people @ $45.00 per person
PlacerGROWN Members:____ people @ $40.00 per person
TRADE SHOW BOOTH:____ booths @ $60.00 each, plus extra lunches
After January 21st: $55.00 per person, lunch not guaranteed if paid at the door
Page 9
Volunteers Needed!!
� YES, I would like to
volunteer to help at the
2005 PlacerGROWN
Farm Conference.
Make checks payable to
PlacerGROWN, mail with your
detached and completed
registration form to:
PlacerGROWN
11477 E Avenue
Auburn, CA 95603
For additional information, call
PlacerGROWN at (530) 8897398. To send information,
FAX (530) 889-7397.
Farms of Amador
12200-B Airport Road
Jackson, CA 95642
Editor: Dimitris Zorbas
[email protected]
First Class Mail
Seasonal Availability Of Local Farm Fresh Commodities
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Beef
Berries
Corn
Eggs & Poultry
Fruits
Goat Products
Green/Dry Beans
Melons
Nursery Products
Nuts
Olive Oil
Other Livestock
Root Crops
Salad Greens
Squash
Tomatoes
Wine
Winter Vegetables
Page 10
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