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Canino Ridge -- The View from Above |
Canino Ridge is a 53 acre ranch in the Clear Lake County of Northern California 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 Carolyn and I purchased our land in November 2000, our goal was to grow wine grapes exclusively. For the first two years we gave little thought to the long abandoned 2 acre olive grove on the hill and its hidden potential.
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As any Johny-come-lately grape grower knows, the twenty-first century has been a difficult time to enter the wine industry. But with our combined resources and Carolyn's technical education (Masters in Viticulture from UC Davis) and commercial field experience, we were confident we could grow top quality grapes. With no growers contract, our first challenge was to select a a grape varietal that was both suited for the climate and growing conditions of Lake County and had market potential in an increasingly competive grape market. Petite Sirah stood out as a strong contender. Although originally a grape from France known as Pleurisan, Petite Sirah is now an American heritage grape, grown almost exclusively in California. It thrives in the hot Lake County sun, refreshed by cool night moderating temperatures influenced by Clear Lake. Commercially, with its robust fruit and tannins, Petite Sirah is well suited as a stand-alone varietal or flavoring-enhancing blending grape for other wine varietals. Our first commercial sell to David Coffaro Winery in 2006 justified the initial risk. In 2007, we sold small lots of grapes to three North Coast wineries and and the list of wineries keeps growing. Cautiously optimistic about our prospects, we are preparing for planting additional acreage with this remarkable grape. Learn More About Our Vineyard |
Canino Olives in California
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During this time, we also turned our attention to 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 orignal cuttings from Italy. What were they? The World Germplasm Repository at the University of Cordoba Spain identified these trees as the Canino and Bouteillan olive varietals from an examination of the fruit pit and morphological characteristics. 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 posses a paradoxically overlooked potential. Well now the secret is out! |