ANCIENT PERIOD

Shabo is one of the oldest terroirs in Europe. Ancient Greeks are considered the forefathers of winemaking in this region. In the 6th century BC, Greek colonists founded the settlement of Tyras on the Black Sea shore (later known as Akkerman) and planted the first vineyards there. It happened no less and no more than 2.5 thousand years ago…

OTTOMAN PERIOD

The Ottoman period in this land began in the 16th century. The settlement was renamed to Aşa-abag, Turkish for ‘lower gardens’ (as vineyards were called back then). This name was given for a reason: the vineyards were located below Akkerman (present-day Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi).
Various grape varieties were grown there, but there was one among them, which is still grown in Shabo and considered autochthonous: Telti-Kuruk, translated from Turkish as ‘fox tail’. Shabo has a special program of preserving these unique grapevines.

SWISS IMMIGRANTS

The beginning of cultural winemaking in this region is attributed to Swiss immigrants, who founded here a winemaking settlement in 1822. After a long journey of 2.5 thousand kilometers, the Swiss from the faraway Canton of Vaud have arrived to Aşa-abag on the shore of the Dniester Estuary. Because of the difficult pronunciation, the Swiss have soon renamed their settlement – first to Shabag and then to Shabo.
The founder of the Swiss colony, Louis Tardan, wrote: ‘If you want to see the paradise on Earth, you won’t find a better place’. Thanks to the unique properties of local terroir and the exceptionally hardworking attitude of the Swiss immigrants, this area has gradually become a real grape growing country.
The Swiss brought European winemaking standards with them and planted these standards here. As a result, in 1847 Shabo wines won their first gold medal, thus originating a tradition of winning the highest awards at the world’s best tasting contests.

SOVIET PERIOD

During Soviet times, our company specialized in primary winemaking and was one of the largest in the Soviet Union. Shabo vineyards provided the base for scientific research. The company was growing grapes of many varieties and producing base wine for still and sparkling wines; vintage wines were highly popular, too.
Despite the best efforts of Mikhail Gorbachev’s ‘anti-alcohol campaign’, the locals were able to preserve the grape plantations and winemaking infrastructure. Nevertheless, during the years of perestroika the winemaking in Shabo has gradually declined…

NEW ERA OF WINEMAKING

Shabo’s centuries-old winemaking traditions were at the basis of the foundation in 2003 of SHABO Wine Company, a Ukrainian winemaking complex with full production cycle. The company is engaged in grape growing, processing, production, and sales of Shabo alcoholic beverages made from selected grapes only.
In a short time, the company became one of the industry’s leaders. Today, a wide range of SHABO beverages is sold in all regions of Ukraine and in Georgia, Israel, China, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, USA, Brazil, Canada, Azerbaijan, Japan, Norway and Great Britain.

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