The sine-Gordon field theory emerges as the low-energy description in a wealth of quantum many-body systems. Recent efforts have been directed towards realizing quantum simulators of the model, by interfering two weakly coupled one-dimensional cold atomic gases. The weak interactions within the atomic clouds provide a sine-Gordon realization in the semiclassical regime. Furthermore, the complex microscopic dynamics prevents a quantitative understanding of the effective sine-Gordon validity realm. Here, we focus on a spin ladder realization and observe the emergent sine-Gordon dynamics deep in the quantum regime. We use matrix-product state techniques to numerically characterize the low-energy sector of the system and compare it with the exact field theory predictions. From this comparison, we obtain quantitative boundaries for the validity of the sine-Gordon description. We provide encompassing evidence for the emergent field theory by probing its rich spectrum and by observing the signatures of integrable dynamics in scattering events. Finally, we discuss some possible experimental probes.