Canino Ridge Vineyards - Lake County AVA

An Anomaly in Climate and Soil
Canino Ridge is a 53 acre ranch in Lake County owned by the husband and wife team Chris and Carolyn Ruttan. It includes a 6.5 acre Petite Sirah vineyard and a 100 year old grove of Canino Olive trees. When they purchased their land in November 2000, their goal was to grow wine grapes exclusively.

Canino Ridge, named after the ridge-top grove of 100 year old Canino olive trees, overlooking the Petite Sirah, is located in Lake County down from the Lower Cache Creek River east of Clear Lake. The north border provides access to Cache Creek, which is the source of water for the grapes. Approximately a third of the total 53 acres is hillside and the remaining two-thirds is flat to gentle grade. The Canino olives, produce high quality olive oil and occupy the highest elevations on the property at 1475 feet.

“Daytime temperatures during the peak growing season can soar into the high 90s Fahrenheit, often topping 100 degrees. Doesn't sound like the sort of climate where you expect to find premium wine grapes growing. What saves it is Clear Lake, the largest natural lake within the state of California. At night, the huge lake acts as a heat sump, sucking cold air from the mountains down into the valleys. Within a few hours of sunset, temperatures can drop by more than 50 degrees, often falling into the high 40s in mid-summer. This radical temperature swing, coupled with rocky volcanic soils, leads to balanced grapes with intense, concentrated flavors.”

100 Year Old Olive Grove
"For the first two years we gave little thought to the long abandoned 2 acre olive grove on the hill and its hidden potential... the mysterious olive grove on the ridge. Abandoned for decades the trees needed extensive pruning to become productive again. All we knew was that the trees were planted 100 years ago by an Italian immigrant who brought the original cuttings from Italy. What were they? The World Germplasm Repository at the University of Cordoba Spain identified these trees as the Canino olives from an examination of the fruit pit. Canino olives, which produce high-quality olive oil, are a very ancient cultivar and very rare in United States. Like a best kept secret, these hardy, adaptable trees possess a paradoxically overlooked potential. Well now the secret is out!" -- The Ruttans

Mikael Gulyash, Our Winemaker's 411 on Canino Ridge
Viola, final musings from the compound! Canino Ridge is west to slightly southwest facing hillside, a big solar collector, rocky hillside. Vine rows are generally oriented east - west with a split canopy being trained to offer fruit protection from direct sunlight. The crop comes in late, which is interesting as the vineyard gets plenty of sun, long days, and adequate water. To date the petite from last year has very nice color development and with the right choice of oak barrels resulted in a wine with good varietal flavors and aromas and moderate weight, and not overly tannic. Very nice fruit.