Grower Spotlight: Michael O. Ryan

Michael O. Ryan | Photo credit: Karen Pavone

After five decades in the U.S. Air Force and national security engineering, Michael O. Ryan wasn’t planning to become a Lake County winegrower. But in 2014, a family call changed everything.

“In early 2014 I had just retired from my second career at a for-profit engineering house in the national security space business,” he recalls. “My aging aunt needed help on her 80-acre ranch property in Lake County, so I moved up here from Southern California to give her a hand full-time.”

That was the beginning of his initiation into farming, which included learning to manage her property’s thirty acres of walnut groves and five acres of Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.

Michael had plenty of education (a B.S. degree from the United States Air Force Academy, an M.S. degree from USC in Systems Engineering, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Nova University, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from Nova University), but no formal experience or training in agriculture. Undeterred, he rolled up his sleeves and dove in.

“I learned a lot from my aunt’s advisor at the time, Dave Tuttle,” he says. “He actually planted one of the first vineyards in the Red Hills of Lake County on the adjacent property.” At the time it was owned and run by Beringer. A few years ago Andy Beckstoffer bought the property, and it is now called the Amber Mountain Vineyard.

“Dave was an experienced vineyard manager who educated me on essentials like pruning, suckering, raising wires, picking leaves…all the things that needed to be done. I also learned a lot from Francisco Lopez, a tenant on the Perry Ranch. Francisco had worked for over twenty years on the Beringer vineyard, where he learned a lot, and was very helpful in helping me manage the vineyard.”

Located in the Red Hills AVA, the Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted on the property thrived.

“We have volcanic soils here, which provide good drainage, and our vineyard is also at higher elevation (2,300 feet), so the grapes get more exposure to UV light, which intensifies the flavor in their skins. The diurnal temperature swings also contribute to ultra-premium grapes.”

Michael takes pride in the tradition of sustainable land and crop management and has carried those values forward since inheriting the property from his aunt.

“The walnut orchard has been Certified Organic since 2006,” he notes, “and the grapes were certified organic in 2022. Organic certification is the highest standard in terms of chemical regulation for fertilizers, pest control, and weed control.”

He notes that the vineyard is also Certified Sustainable, a program under the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance that requires meeting a standard beyond conventional farming.

A former Lake County Winegrape Commission board member, Michael benefited from his connections with fellow growers who shared their experience and knowledge with him.

“Before I started this new chapter, I’d experimented with making my own wine,” he says. “I am a maker at heart.” It gave him fresh perspective and an appreciation for the craft of winemaking.

Michael holds cautious optimism for the future of Lake County wine. “Millennials and younger generations are not drinking as much wine these days,” he says, noting a shift toward consumption of spirits, hard cider, and non-alcoholic cocktails among this influential consumer group.

“It is the job of the wine industry to cultivate the next generation of wine drinkers,” he says, “but Lake County wine isn’t going away. Industry trends are cyclical. I’m hopeful the category will pick up again as up-and-coming generations find their way back to drinking more wine.”

Michael continues to steward his family’s land with the same curiosity, discipline, and sense of purpose that shaped his earlier careers. What began as an unexpected transition has become a long-term commitment to land stewardship in the Red Hills AVA — where volcanic soils, elevation, and careful farming come together to produce distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon. As he looks toward the future, Michael remains committed to championing Lake County’s wines and the growers behind them, confident that the region’s strength lies not only in its land, but in the people who choose to invest their lives here.