Locally Grown
One could say that Karl Wittstrom’s path to co-ownership of Santa Margarita Ranch was paved by destiny. Here, he has found a home for all of his main life passions: farming, entrepreneurship, local history, agritourism and community involvement. In retrospect, it just feels meant to be.
Karl grew up in a humble farming family in Shandon, approximately 40 miles northeast of Santa Margarita, where they raised barley, alfalfa and cattle. He earned a degree in political science from California State University at Long Beach in 1974, and just three years later, he and his wife Cindy founded CKC Inc. Environmental Services, a successful recycler of metal waste products from high-tech circuit boards. He sold the company in 1992 and subsequently focused his energies on local endeavors, including growing grapes at his family’s vineyard.
“In the early ’80s, the wine grape industry started making inroads in the Paso Robles area and initially we thought it was a passing fad,” Karl recalls. “But by the early ’90s, we realized that there was something to this AVA and it was here to stay.”
Within the decade, Karl was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime in partnership with two longtime local friends, Rob Rossi and Doug Filipponi. “When I had a chance to buy into Santa Margarita Ranch with Rob and Doug in 2001, it was like a dream come true,” Karl says. “The stars were aligned. I was in a position to be part owner of one of the most iconic ranches in San Luis Obispo County, which had only five different owners in the preceding 200 years.”
Then, in 2005, the three friends decided to establish Ancient Peaks Winery with estate grapes grown on the ranch, and the rest is history.
But Karl is never one to stand still, and by 2011 he had sparked another entrepreneurial endeavor at the ranch: agritourism under the banner of Margarita Adventures which has grown to offer zipline tours, nature tours, vineyard e-bike rides and escape rooms.
“I believe that agritourism provides a meaningful opportunity to connect people with the land and where their food comes from.”
“It gives them an appreciation and context for farming that they otherwise might never gain.”
History and Community
Santa Margarita Ranch also provides an endless platform for Karl’s abiding fascination with history and global cultures. The land here was settled by Native Americans and the ranch was established by Franciscan missionaries in the late 1700s. Artifacts from the era of the American Wild West also abound on the ranch. All of this provides Karl with an endless field of study and discovery.
“I have always been interested in how our predecessors survived without the modern conveniences of electricity, refrigeration, internal combustion engines and our modern telecommunications systems,” he says. “I’m curious about common traditions that people rarely think about today, and how we can learn from them.”
Karl and Cindy are also passionate contributors to the local community, supporting numerous charitable causes including Cancer Support Community Central Coast, which is the beneficiary of the annual Ancient Peaks Walk for Cancer. Cindy recently published a book titled When the Brakes Fail, which documents her struggles with bipolar disorder in the hopes of helping fellow sufferers and their families.
Karl is a member of the California Cattlemen’s Association and the California Farm Bureau, and is a past director of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and a former board member of the California Mid-State Fair.
“As time passes and you get older, you begin to realize that there is nothing you can take with you from this world.”
“It is only what you leave behind in the terms of your effect on the next generation. So we’re always striving to create positive experiences for the next generation in hopes that the traditions and the patterns of our lives leave a positive impact.” Karl says.