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Evonne Shinn: From Homemade Wine to Estate Vintages!

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Faith, family, homemade wine and sharing life; that’s what it’s all about for Evonne Shinn, owner of Block 21 Winery, the newest, up-and-coming winery of the Lodi appellation. This past May, Evonne and her husband, Matt, celebrated their first year as an estate winery. They may be the youngest winery in the Lodi region, but their history and love of wine making began over two decades ago as they shared their love with family and now share that with the Lodi community.

As class of ’96 Lodi high school sweethearts, Evonne and Matt would attend San Joaquin Delta College to embark on their winemaking journey. Evonne recalls taking an oenology class, the scientific name for wine making, with expert wine maker Lloyd Martel. As they fell in love with the art of wine making, she knew this was just the beginning. As their relationship grew and both continued their education to California State University of Fresno, Evonne majoring in liberal studies and Matt focusing on agricultural business, they would eventually return to Lodi, marry and Matt would carry on the family business of farming. 

Their Heritage
Both are from sixth-generation Lodi farming families, the Shinn and Bechthold lineages, and they’ve grown everything from watermelons, wheat and grapes to cherries. But for Evonne and Matt, something was missing. “No one in our family had a winery, so that was the goal of ours someday,” admits Evonne. In fact, 99 percent of their grapes was sold to other wineries, and they reserved only a small batch for their own winemaking hobby and consumption. Matt would always reserve the “special row of fields” for their homemade use. “We had so much fun making wine,” she smiled. 

Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the pace of life for everyone and, ironically, presented the perfect time for the couple to transition their hobby into a business. “We’d been saving and waiting to build our own place. It was the right time to do this.” Matt would bottle their first vintage straight from their property in the 21,000 block of Davis Road, and their journey into the wine making business began.

Significant Life Event
As one might guess, the name Block 21 winery stems from their address and farming property. But the block of grapes and address weren’t the only significance. Two years later, in 2021, on the corking of their first 

vintage, they would also celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary. Everything aligned.

It’s a particular love and pleasure for Evonne about estate wine making that she’s able to point out on the property where the grapes grow to show her customers. She especially enjoys their 2020 chardonnay as she looks over the river on their property next to the chardonnay vines. In the first year of business, they produced a variety of wines including their 2019 cabernet, zinfandel and rosé. “We farm special rows of our fields and make sure that their production makes really good wine.”  

Favorite and Best
A more recent release from Block 21 is their 2021 tempranillo, which has notes of vanilla, oak, whiskey and cherries with hints of pipe tobacco, dried fig and blackberry. They also released a 2021 viognier, which is perfect to serve chilled on a hot summer day. But like any true Lodi native, her favorite always goes back to the zinfandel. “What can I say? I love the zin; I’m a Lodi girl.”  

Just like the grapes and the generations of family farming, the winery continues to be a family affair. Evonne thinks back to her father-in-law, Steve Shinn, who passed away six years ago of cancer. While he was not able to see their dreams come to fruition, she feels the specialness of the family and the vines. And to carry that legacy, her mother-in-law, Sharon Shinn, represents him as she plays a special role in the winery. You can often find her on Sundays assisting in the tasting room. “She’s the highlight of our winery,” Evonne affirmed.

Affirmation, Faith, Family
Now, as their inaugural year comes to an end, Evonne looks back over their journey in amazement. “We had a dream and we did it, the wines turned out really well and everyone loves it. We took a leap of faith.” She admits all the feedback she has received from neighboring wineries and patrons has been beneficial. “It’s really special when someone says they love all your wines.” 

As she looks to the future and offers advice to anyone pursuing their dreams, she acknowledges two things have been the key to her success: family and faith. “You have to love your spouse and the people around you; and lots of prayer.”

For more information about Block 21 Winery, check out their tasting room on 21610 N. Davis Road, Lodi, or go to their website at block21winery.com